One might debate there’s no finer place to spend a splendid sunny June day than poolside at a beautiful home in the secluded hills of Cumru Township. If you’re lucky enough to be among the family and friends of Jeannie and Mark Edfort, they’d be sure to quickly tell you there is no debate — the house, the gardens, the whimsical pathways all lend to a very special atmosphere.
Indeed, Jeannie will tell you this house is imbued with her own young adult memories.
Her parents, Pat and Ed Langiotti, built the sprawling French country-style manor home in 1992. Berks business notables, the Langiottis loved both the privacy of the location just a bit off Route 10 as well as its convenience for entertaining visitors.
Jeannie was living down the road in Lancaster then, having just given birth to her daughter.
Changed Perspective
As the years passed, events shifted the family course.
Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer, a life-altering diagnosis for many. For Pat and Ed, some of life’s readjustments centered on the sheer expanse of the 8,500-square-foot home. Downsizing seemed in order.
In that same time frame, Jeannie and Mark, both pharmaceutical professionals, had become engaged and were considering properties. Mark was living in Princeton, NJ, and Jeannie still in Lancaster.
Pat and Ed decided to convert the 3,000-square-foot ground floor into their separate living quarters.
Mark and Jeannie wed, bought the property, and, with their blended family, ended up having a perfect child care back-up with grandparents on site.
Since acquiring the property, the Edforts have made changes — considerable ones since 2017, particularly regarding the gardens. They’ve also reincorporated the separate in-law quarters back into the main house, creating a wine cellar, adding a fireplace and a large sewing room for Jeannie, who retired 13 years ago. Mark founded the Evolution Health Group out of Rockland County, NY, which he continues to lead. (The Langiottis now reside in Spring Ridge.)
“I’d say the most dramatic changes have been around the pool, which is original to the house,” says Jeannie. “The patio is all concrete. We added plantings, planting beds, an outdoor kitchen, seating areas and a firepit.”
The row of arbor vitae planted some two decades ago are now in excess of 20 feet tall, making the already private setting feel even more secluded.
Designing Guy
The Edforts are quick to attribute the beauty and success of the garden designs to Bruce Dingeldein and his Garden Keepers firm. Dingeldein’s design in the gardens and pathways in the front and to the rear of the home has created a consistency that enhances the natural and built environment.
River birch accents are integral to the overall design.
Window boxes were added, a nod to the home’s European inspiration.
Scores of large blue ceramic containers — many sourced at Ollie’s — dot the property from the seating areas near the pool to the front door approach, to even the entrance to the three-car garage serving as another design unifier.
Curly willow is found in most of the pots along with varieties of annuals such as begonias, coleus, verbena, sweet potato vines, asters, morning glories, petunias, cosmos, coreopsis, calendula and impatiens that create bursts of brilliant color through the long growing season. Ornamental grasses in containers and in the many planting areas provide additional texture.
Protecting as well as pampering every planter is an irrigation system, set on a timer, that ensures all greenery is properly hydrated.
“It is maintenance-free,” says Mark, “and I’m a big fan of that.”
Not all the planters are filled with flowers.
Veggies & Fruit
Handily located near the kitchen door are repurposed wine barrels filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, Swiss chard and a variety of salad greens. Other barrels serve as herb gardens, filled with all the natural spices that enhance dishes created indoors or at the nearby built-in grill. Indeed, even near the end of winter when the interview for this article occurred, fresh rosemary continued to grow heartily. And the first inches of early greens were popping up in another barrel.
Wild berries continue to thrive along the edges of the property. The couple’s now grown children have happy memories of collecting the various berries — “whollaberry” (a.k.a.: a whole lot of berries) — as the tradition came to be known.
The children then handed their harvest (at least those berries not eaten along the way!) over to grandma Pat who, in turn, created delicious pies.
The four-and-one-half acres that comprise the property are a mix of the natural and manicured that meld seamlessly, thanks to well configured pathways.
Those meandering walkways, though they may appear to be gravel, are actually a composite of shredded rubber mulch that resembles the small stones. Mark says this surface treatment was recommended by a friend in management at Ledgerock Golf Club.
The advantage of this mixture is that far fewer pieces are dragged into the house, particularly by the Edforts’ two treasured standard poodles, Pepper and Axle. The canine duo are the selfappointed deer repellers and, thanks to electric fencing on property, now have full run protecting their humans and plants from the abundant and voracious deer population.
“Our dogs are very rowdy, and they love to run in and out,” says Jeannie. “This really has helped keep things cleaner on the patio areas and in the house.”
The Edforts, pre-2017, also made significant hardscape changes to the exterior. A grand curving front stairway was designed and constructed.
“It’s far more decorative and inviting,” says Mark.
Concrete Changes
Extensive changes were made to the old concrete poolside surfaces and patio areas. Davies Hardscaping of Birdsboro was the contractor.
Working around the improved hardscape, Dingeldein added his touches, among them his signature river birch located around the house.
“You can always spot his work,” says Jeannie. Rocks native to the area serve as accents lining many of the pathways as well as delineating the front gardens.
The front patio, unlike the newer stairway, is original to the house. Dingeldein and his assistant, Rodney, created the various bedding areas that replaced the hedges planted back in 1992.
“I thought the look of the hedges along the house was just boring,” says Jeannie. “We needed something more.”
A freewheeling terraced area framing the stairway now greets visitors as they step off the top of the winding driveway.
Intermingled among the river birch and rocks are a mix of shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennial native wildflowers and containers with annuals. Also added to the front exterior were magnolias, which complement the original azaleas and rhododendrons. Strategically placed spring bulbs signal the start of the growing season as do the generous amounts of pansies, flowers able to withstand considerable cold temperature swings.
Closer to the blue front door — continuing that key color scheme — are at least a dozen more containers of various styles overflowing with annuals of many varieties and hues.
While the inventive irrigation system of the container planters is low maintenance, there is considerable annual work involved in making everything beautiful.
Return Visits
Dingeldein and Rodney make at least 10 visits a year to plant and maintain the beds, containers and flower boxes. And Dingeldein, a neighbor, frequently shows up to double check his work, often with garden tools in hand.
"I’m hoping Bruce never retires,” says Jeannie. Garden Keepers of Myerstown, an Amishowned firm, does the more involved heavy maintenance and is on site at least twice annually.
Mark notes that when budgeting for a garden, maintenance must be included.
“Yes, there are costs to installing but also to maintain,” he says. “It’s not just a matter of creating it.”
Mark noted that it took three months each to transform the front and rear exteriors of the home to the design created by Dingeldein.
The overall design included several seating areas, especially near the pool, where wroughtiron benches, chairs and side and bistro tables reinforce the French country style.
There is also a covered pavilion where a granite-topped table comfortably seats eight adjacent to the outdoor kitchen area.
Covid Calm
The Edforts’ perspective on the transformation was actually enhanced during the COVID crisis of four years ago.
“For us, this made COVID so much more manageable,” says Jeannie. “To be stuck at home in such a beautiful place really was no real sacrifice.”
Both Mark and Jeannie stress the importance of setting a budget but with the caveat of realizing it may need to be expanded.
“To me, making it look as you want is well worth the investment,” says Mark.
“It’s a matter of long-term joy,” Jeannie adds.
The couple advises others looking to do such a major undertaking to first find a creative garden designer with an accomplished track record like Dingeldein.
Jeannie explains that she and Dingeldein continue to discuss color schemes for the annuals planting.
“It’s different every year,” says Jeannie. “He knows what I like to see and makes it happen. I like to think I’m creative as well, but gardening is not my thing.”
Mark favors the bright yellows of spring and the deep reds of autumn.
“I enjoy seeing what blooms throughout the season,” he says.
This time of year, as the couple nears their 24th wedding anniversary in July, the poolside is a quiet respite as well as a lively gathering place for their now three grown children and three-year-old grandson.
Though Mark shies away from a lot of home-based maintenance, keeping the water sparkling is a different thing.
“He’s the pool guy,” says Jeannie, “and he’s a pretty good one.”
