Amherst backyard with lavish gardens was setting for wedding

by Connie Oswald Stofko

Pam Weinrieb  loved her home at 445 Lebrun Rd., Amherst, but she didn’t like how it looked in the front. So for years she concentrated her gardening efforts on the front.

When her son decided to get married and wanted the 2011 ceremony in her backyard, she turned her attention to the backyard.

The result is a 1.3-acre lot filled with lavish gardens. I visited during the Amherst Garden Walk, held July 20.

Above you can see perennial plantings that form a backdrop to the waterfall, which flows directly into the large inground swimming pool.

Directly above is a view of the front of the house. Weinrieb said she started by planting trees and just kept going, adding another bed every year. Not only are there garden beds close to the house, but they continue beyond the circular driveway and fill about half of the spacious front yard. There is also a wide border garden along the side of the driveway.

She chose plants with pink, white and purple flowers for the front.

When her son announced his wedding plans and she turned her attention to the back, she discarded her strict color scheme.

“It’s fun to have an explosion of color in the backyard,” Weinrieb said.

Before we continue, we need to make two points.

First, Weinrieb had the help of a professional landscaper.

Second, gardening at this level is still a lot of work.

Weinrieb plants new plants herself. She has a sprinkler system, but every day she still has to water all of the containers. Take a glance at the photo above and you can see that she has many, many containers.

Weinrieb does much of the weeding herself, but she gets help with that or it would be overwhelming. She also has someone to cut the grass. She’s retired and estimates that she spends at least two hours a day on her gardens.

She warns other gardeners that it’s a spring and summer commitment.

“But you reap what you sow,” Weinrieb said. “As much work as I put into it, it’s worth it. I go out in my garden and I feel so much better.”

Above is one of the wide border gardens in the backyard.

Weinrieb likes to have interesting objects– often quite large– tucked into the gardens.

“If you turn around, you should see something that enhances the garden,” she said.

At left, a dress form holds a gardener’s apron. The pockets are stuffed with tools, gloves and seed packets.

Watering cans, some planted with ivy, dot the gardens. There is an antique scale, a chair shaped like a butterfly and a statue of a woman putting on lipstick.

At left, a giant bird cage or aviary and a street clock add interest to the seating area beside the pool. Weinreib painted the metal table and chairs a vivid blue.

Below left, a  boulder inscribed with her granddaughter’s name shares a spot with a bird bath in the front yard. Weinreib also had rocks inscribed for grandsons Max and Asher.