When Eric and Christopher moved into their home in upstate New York, there was no spectacular garden waiting for them.
There were no winding paths, mature flower borders or waterfall.
Just a suburban yard and a lot of empty space.
They began slowly.
One bed became another. Hydrangeas were added for privacy. Roses followed. Then came perennials, annual flowers, evergreens and paths that gradually changed how the entire property felt.
Eight years later, their garden contains more than 200 hydrangeas and nearly 100 roses. A recent before-and-after video showing the transformation has attracted fresh attention online.
The garden was built one season at a time
The transformation did not happen through one expensive makeover.
Eric and Christopher describe the early years as a process of experimenting and learning.
In 2019, they began carving out garden beds and planting their first perennials. By 2020, the garden had become a place they used as an escape, and they started documenting its progress with photographs and videos.
Over time, they learned which plants worked, which combinations failed and where the garden needed structure.
That slow approach eventually created the layered look people now see in their videos.
Then they replaced a simple hedge with a waterfall
One of their biggest changes came in 2025.
A straight hedge of Limelight hydrangeas had provided privacy for years, but summer storms repeatedly flattened the large flowers.
Instead of maintaining the same design, they removed the hedge and gave the plants to friends and neighbors.
The empty border was rebuilt around a pondless waterfall.
The system hides a roughly 100-gallon underground reservoir, allowing water to circulate without requiring an exposed pond. Japanese maples, evergreens, hydrangeas and flowering annuals were planted around it.
More than 100 plants went in during one day
The permanent shrubs and trees were only part of the design.
Eric and Christopher also used annual flowers to fill gaps while younger plants matured.
During what they called their “100-plant day,” they installed a large number of annuals around the new waterfall border.
That decision produced immediate color instead of forcing them to wait years for the permanent planting to fill every space.
The biggest lesson was patience
The finished garden can look like one enormous project.
It wasn’t.
Eric and Christopher say the result came from years of small decisions, moving plants that did not work, redesigning beds and learning from mistakes.
Their garden is still changing.
That may be the most useful part of the story for anyone looking at an ordinary lawn and assuming a similar transformation is impossible.
Eight years ago, much of this garden did not exist.
They simply started planting.
