Plant collecting has taken front row center in the Dennis Shrader/Bill Smith household on Long Island. The steps from the deck are an extension of the garden, where containers of various sizes and materials are used to good effect. Some hold individual specimens of plants that being nursed along for possible propagation, while others hold mini-landscapes of varieties seen throughout the garden. When growing a container garden, be sure to feed regularly as watering quickly leaches nutrients from the soil.

Photographs by Matthew Benson
Text by Ethne Clarke