Visible on the ground behind Ritterbusch is her compost
barrel. “I’m not terribly good at it, but I try.” While the garden
is primarily green, plants like these potted begonias, water
lilies and astilbe add color. OPPOSITE: “The male house wren
builds multiple nests and the female gets to choose which
one she wants to live in. I have multiple birdhouses around,
but they always seem to end up in the same one,” she says.
Green Goodness
The natural canopy created by Ritterbusch’s
own trees — there is a dogwood and a Dura
Heat river birch, among others — and her
neighbors’ maples contribute to the otherworldly
feel one experiences in her backyard
garden. That canopy has also influenced the
types of plants she grows, which are primarily
shade lovers. There are pops of color from
potted begonias, climbing roses and astilbe, but
most of the garden is a marvelous and varied
display of green. There are about “forty-someodd”
types of hosta and large leafed petasites,
which look as if they have been transplanted
from the jungle. On the other side of the yard,
a Jordan Japanese maple flaunts feathery
chartreuse leaves through the spring and
summer that eventually burn bright yellow
and orange in the fall. Near it is an old
rhododendron that Ritterbusch continues
to play with year after year.
One of her favorite plants is the lotus blossom
in the pond. “The New York Yacht Club has
a whole pond filled with them. I love seeing
their lotus blossoms, but the bottom line is I
have my own.”
106 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MAY/JUNE 2020