Garden of Vita French

More of this Feature • Part 1: Burritt Mansion • Part 2: Schneider Home • Part 3: Sibold Home • Part 4: Maples/Goldsmith Home • Part 5: French Garden • Part 6: Ritch Home • Part 7: Curl Home • Part 8: Balch House

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Related Resources • Huntsville From A to Z • 2002 Monte Sano Homes • Burritt on the Mountain

As was the custom at the time, this charming cottage was originally used as a summer home in the 1950s.  The land’s abstract details a rich history, and when Vita bought the house in 1978, she determined to respect and nurture the land.  As she had done in her previous homes, Vita started by preparing the soil for flowerbeds.  However, when she tried to recreate the garden she had left behind in Colorado full of sun loving flowers, her efforts failed.  Since she loved the trees that shaded her garden, Vita decided to create a garden that thrived in the mountain woods.  She fell in love with hostas—“They are so accommodating”—and just about everything else that loved shade.  The result is a buoyant, overflowing green oasis.  Azaleas, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and mahonias form the backdrop for hostas, ferns, and other shade loving plants.  The informal woodland garden thrives and spills over pathways into a babbling brook and is visited frequently by birds, rabbits, raccoons, and the occasional fox.

Photo courtesy of Buzz Heeschen
3314 Belcrest Drive - Vita French's Garden

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