Incoming residents are often surprised to have so much leniency in the planning of their garden spaces. Some residents tend to their own gardens, hire local landscaping companies or even use Wake Robin staff to do upkeep. The gardens surrounding the cottages can be as simple or as intricate as a resident would like.
For example, there is a cottage in Sycamore surrounded by flowers; sunflowers, black-eyed susans, cornflowers, and white trillium. The residents had also added ferns and a wildflower garden by the woods. Another home in Hickory includes peonies and a perennial garden under an apple tree. The hostas under the fruit tree came from her home in Williston, Vermont. Some homes include sculptures, hummingbird feeders, or bird baths.
There are also community gardens located by the tennis courts. Residents can sign up for a raised bed and plant fruit, vegetables, flowers, or whatever will grow in the space. The flower committee’s raised bed boasts Crocosmia Lucifer, Echinops ‘Nitro’, a deep gold Chrysanthemum Ticonderoga, a Sanguinosorba tenuifolia, and deep red and white peonies. A raised annual bed nearby is filled with giant zinnias, and always a Verbena bonariensis (vervain). These flowers are used to create bouquets that are placed throughout the Community Center.
The surrounding public gardens throughout Wake Robin were created to be durable, easy to maintain, and to attract pollinators. The health and wellbeing of the natural landscape and wildlife has always been kept in mind.
Wake Robin separates itself by being more than just perfectly manicured lawns. It is a dynamic community that welcomes diversity and creativity – not just with residents but with the landscaping as well.
If you come to live at Wake Robin, the Sawdust Sisterhood can make you a bookshelf, a dining-room table, or a new leg for that treasured old couch. In our woodshop they’ve created mailboxes for the Burlington Land Trust, a farmstand for kids at Shelburne Farms, and over 100 projects for fellow residents here.