MT. LEBANON, Pa. — More than 30 years ago, Carl Orangis and his father built a large sunken deck surrounded by railroad-tie walls and steps in his backyard.
“It was all wood. My dad was a carpenter,” he explained.
But wood doesn’t last forever. So eight years ago, Carl and his wife, Trish, decided to replace it with stone and concrete. It’s become the ultimate hardscape for a multilevel garden.
The couple love their outdoor space, and visitors seem to, too.
“People have asked to have weddings back here,” Trish Orangis said. And they’re only half-kidding.
Between the raised beds and many containers, there are enough flowers to please any bride. Evan Evanovich of The Landscape Center by Evanovich in Bethel Park, Pa., chose nearly all of the annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees that surround the Pennsylvania bluestone patio. Annuals include vinca, begonias, verbena, lantana, SunPatiens and petunias — lots of petunias.
The Orangises found some unusual seedlings this spring. Before ripping out what they thought were weeds, they asked florist Pete Donati to identify one.
“That’s a petunia,” he said.
They moved them to containers and the white flowers now spill over the sides.
Colorful perennials populate the beds that wind around a third of an acre. Sun lovers include coneflowers, coral bells, daylilies, golden creeping Jenny, dwarf Shasta daisies, ‘Blue Star’ juniper, ‘Alpenglow’ hardy geraniums, ‘Zagreb’ coreopsis, ‘Marcus’ meadow sage and ‘Drift’ and ‘Knockout’ roses.
All were planted after the stonework was installed. The crew had to think big when they realized that the patio and deck it replaced were several feet lower than the surrounding yard.
“They had to crane in the stone and the fireplace,” said Carl Orangis, a “semi-retired” mechanical engineer.
He used those skills to engineer a system of hoses and spigots to water this sprawling garden which gets sun nearly all day. Have they considered sprinklers?
“Boy, are we thinking about sprinklers!” his wife joked.
They’re also talking about adding a pergola near the outdoor fireplace. The two seating areas offer cozy furniture.
A garden this large takes years to come together — eight to be exact. Evanovich has convinced the couple to add a few more beds each spring.
“We had to do it in pieces,” Trish Orangis said.
Pieces also describes what Mount Lebanon’s famous herd of whitetail deer has sometimes left in this yard. One year, they turned a few hanging containers by the side porch into their own personal salad buffet/takeout window. The deer haven’t bothered the wandering Jew plants (Tradescantia fluminensis) growing there now.
The couple haven’t seen as many deer this year, but with the garden tour close at hand, they’re not taking any chances.
“I’m spraying Deer B Gon all the time,” she said.
