I've been gardening here for 30 years. No longer my 'lab' for work, it is a place to play with plants. I established the layout and flow the first year. Over time the structural elements were finished utilizing Pennsylvania bluestone, bamboo and steel. An expansive front porch, protected back deck and a stone patio beneath a corrugated steel and bamboo "Pagoda" provide resting places. It has evolved into an "exotic" garden that evokes a southern hemisphere with Asian plants in back and a low water, west coast/ Mediterranean street-side garden. I am drawn to architectural plants and foliage, liberally using hardy palms, agaves and bromeliads with unexpected accents like tender salvia. It is a garden for us and the birds.