This article was published in Montgomery Living in 2002 and was written by Jennifer Kornegay.

“I’ve made a garden that restores me and I hope others enjoy it~Is well. There is deep satisfaction in nurturing something and watching it grow,” said Charlotte Goodwyn as she talked about her work at Grove Park. Goodwyn’s garden there grows green-and amber, and lavender and golden . . . and she created it not for herself alone, but for an entire neighborhood. The Montgomery landscape architect brought her vision and expertise to bear at Grove Park and transformed a tract of grassland into a piece of living art.

As she explained the evolution of the landscaping, she told it like a fairy tale come true. Eight years ago, when her husband George, Grove Park’s developer, presented the project to her, she saw the land as a blank page, one that she would write her garden’s story on, with vines, flowers, shrubs and trees. “When we were working on the Grove Park plan, and George said that we would be living there, I was not initially thrilled,” she said. “I loved my house, and of course, my garden. But then I realized that I was being handed an amazing challenge and opportunity to build what I see as one massive garden.”

And she would be building this garden from the dirt up. She drew on established gardens around the world and those close to home for inspira- tion. The result is a landscape that is both large in scale and small in its many details. Every corner speaks to its designer’s vitality and grace, as formal, structured gardens meld seamlessly with natural areas. “I thought about the garden designs I’d seen during my travels in Europe. I looked at Callaway Gardens. Many gardens, both old and new, have left their impressions on me,” she said. “One thing they all have in common is that they area series of spaces connected to each other, and there are usually distinct entrances and exits. These spaces have many different characteristics. Some are formal and geometric. Others are free-form.”

Taking her cue from the gardens that have captured her imagination, she decided to divide Grove Park into zones. “I thought, What do I want people to experience when they’re here?”‘

The first zone is the entrance off Vaughn Road, what Goodwyn described as “the coming home.” “The Eastern Bypass and Vaughn Road are so visually distracting,” she said.

Click to enlarge