Charlotte ditched her lawn and created a garden so spectacular it became a visitor attraction—and her new job

Charlotte Andersson from Sundsvall, Sweden, had dreamed of working with plants since her school days—perhaps as a florist or garden designer. However, she ended up studying to become a primary school teacher because it felt like a more practical path. Still, her youthful dream kept simmering in the back of her mind. Over the years, Charlotte met her husband Ulf. About twenty years ago, after they moved into an old wooden villa, she gradually began turning the grassy lot into a garden. For a long time, though, most of it stayed a play area for their two children.

“I started near the house and tackled small areas at a time. I didn’t have a formal plan, but I knew immediately what atmosphere I wanted. I want my garden to be a private, welcoming oasis for rest, delight, and creativity. To me, the right feeling means more than specific plants,” Charlotte says.

Perennials form the garden’s backbone. Charlotte chose many relatively tall varieties, such as ornamental grasses, Joe Pye weed, lavender mist meadow rue, burnet, and foxgloves. Alongside existing old trees, she planted smaller ornamental trees and shrubs.

In the central part of the garden, neatly trimmed hedges of European beech and yew frame the perennial beds. There’s no lawn at all; instead, gravel paths wind through softly curved planting areas.

Between the ‘Goldschleier’ tufted hair grass and ‘Overdam’ feather reed grass are bee balm ‘Beauty of Cobham’ and orpine ‘Matrona.’ The dark-leafed shrub in the background is the ‘Black Beauty’ elder.

There’s no lawn whatsoever—just perennials. Both large and small trees, along with trimmed hedges, add structure.

Next to Charlotte, the container holds dahlias in bloom, including ‘Seniors Hope’ and ‘Strawberry Cream.’

You enter the property through a charming shop, where Charlotte curates products and plants to match her own taste.

The idea behind the plant choices is to keep proportions balanced, soften the differences in elevation, and help the house blend more smoothly into the garden, as it sits at the property’s highest point and strongly dominates the view. Most of the plants are intentionally everyday perennials.

“The older I get, the more I rely on basic plants. They really pull their weight. Of course, at first I was enchanted by rare varieties and collected them, but that’s not how you truly build a garden—you just end up with a plant collection. Especially here in the north, hardy species are the heart of a garden.”

In Charlotte’s view, another typical beginner pitfall is focusing too heavily on spring and early-summer plants. She fell into that mistake herself at first: after a long winter, she was eager to buy every plant in bloom and to plant kilos of tulip bulbs in the fall. But spring weather in Sundsvall can be unpredictable, so despite all that effort, the garden might not look its best. In Charlotte’s experience, late-summer plants are more rewarding because you can enjoy them at least until the first snow—and many last even longer.

Charlotte rakes the gravel paths every day, viewing this as a gentle way to greet visitors. It also keeps weeds away.

In shadier spots, you’ll find fingerleaf Rodgersia alongside hostas and dwarf goatsbeard. The dark leaves belong to the ‘Diablo’ ninebark.

In the baskets, you’ll see dark-flowered pompon dahlias ‘Natal,’ ‘Seniors Hope,’ ‘Yellow Jill,’ and ‘Strawberry Cream.’

The variegated dogwood ‘Ivory Halo’ also adapts well to container growing.

Nowadays, the garden has grown so lush that the main work is refining rather than building from scratch. Besides her steadfast favorites, Charlotte likes to add a few fancier “princess plants,” such as the white Himalayan lily or a Japanese maple with dramatic foliage, for extra flair. She’s also looking into swapping some existing plants for more pollinator-friendly native species to benefit bees and other helpful insects.

Charlotte relies on plenty of container plantings to enhance the overall impact. In large pots, plants stand out in ways they wouldn’t in the ground. She fills big wooden tubs, baskets, and terracotta pots with dahlias, hybrid roses, coral bells, and other perennials that do well in containers. She rarely uses traditional annuals because she dislikes the idea of single-season throwaway plants. She gardens organically and believes her plant choices should align with sustainability.

“I prefer plants that are perennial in one way or another. You can overwinter them in pots or propagate them by seeds or root cuttings.”

Soft, natural curves run throughout the garden’s lush, harmonious views. In the pot at the front, ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ hostas are blooming.

Bee balm ‘Beauty of Cobham’ smells wonderful and draws in pollinators.

A ‘Hillii’ upright yew hedge contrasts with the bed behind it, where rock tassel fern adds a more natural feel.

Dreams do sometimes come true, and that’s exactly what happened with Charlotte’s early passion. Since 2019, she has worked from her own garden. Katrinelunds Trädgård charges an admission fee and includes a small garden shop plus a café, where around 90 lunch guests stopped by just today.

Charlotte says her new profession evolved naturally. At first, she occasionally opened the garden to the public for fun, offering coffee on the porch. But eventually, so many people showed up that it caused chaos. She had to either stop hosting open-garden days or find another way.

“Now that I’m in my fifties, I’m finally doing exactly what I’ve always wanted. I love everything related to gardening. I hope my garden sparks ideas and confidence in beginners, too. You only learn how to create and care for a garden by diving in and experimenting.”

The lunch café accommodates quite a few guests at once.

The garden has plenty of cozy seating nooks and container plantings. Here, ‘Bampton’ vervain is in bloom.

There’s a dedicated container garden section by the café. Under Mediterranean bay trees, Charlotte grows various dahlias and perennials.

Good Luck Oxalis ‘Iron Cross’ fills a wooden tub beautifully.

‘Madame Butterfly Cherry Bronze’ is an especially striking snapdragon.

The purple shamrock, which also grows well indoors, thrives in a shallow pot.

Charlotte’s tips for a container garden

Charlotte has planted the dark-leafed coral bells ‘Timeless Night’ in a wooden tub.

1. Let the plants stand out

Large containers show off a plant’s foliage and form in a striking way. Use them to enliven pathways, seating spots, or entryways, or even place one at the heart of a perennial bed to create a focal point.

2. Seek a wow factor

In recent years, Charlotte has cut back on dahlia tubers in containers since they can carry viruses. She’s exploring other plants that offer the same dramatic look. Hybrid roses have worked well. Tender perennials and small trees also thrive in containers when she overwinters them in a root cellar kept a few degrees above freezing.

3. Group them together

Set up clusters of containers so the plants can accentuate each other’s best features. Keep a sense of unity by choosing pots that complement one another in style or color.