Portfolio of Gardens

       Here is a selection of our projects ranging from small urban gardens to larger suburban spaces, as well as special areas such as home entrances and lighting.

Woodland Garden

Older suburbs often feature mature trees that create woodland conditions for gardens. Careful layout and plant selection can make for beautiful spaces.

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This Chevy Chase, MD, garden presented a particular challenge. Overgrown with a nearly impenetrable thicket of vines and brambles, we first cleared out the non-native plants, then designed a garden reached by an arched bridge over a creek. The garden features a series of patios, retaining walls and a sculpture, and a strolling path through wildflowers and flowering shrubs.

Urban Spaces

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Courtyard                                                                     

This courtyard was a small disused space outside the lower level of a Washington, DC, townhouse. The owners wanted to integrate the area into their house, with the feel of an Italian courtyard. To achieve this effect, we painted the floor and part of the wall to create the look of flagstone and added planters. These are views of the garden both in the day and at night.

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Rear Garden                                 


More typically, urban garden are the back yards of row houses or semi-detached ones. The owners of this Washington, DC, house wanted more space for entertaining in a garden with a nineteenth-century feel. In this photograph the rearmost portion has just been replanted after a major shade tree was lost in a storm. Such changes are a part of nature and of all gardens.

Sunny Suburban Garden

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        The owners of this garden in Bethesda, MD, had a sloping rear lot which they wanted to redesign with both level play space for young children and planted beds.  By excavating the area toward the back, we were able to create a level grassy space with few plants until the children grow older.  Perennials, shrubs, and ornamental grasses fill the bank and the area surrounding the patio.

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Entrances

       Entrance areas are important as places of first impression and where visitors are directed to enter.
      




The front steps of this McLean, VA, house were in poor condition and visitors had to traverse an irregular set of stepping stones set on a steep slope.  The steps were rebuilt and connected to a flagstone landing and path.  The landing also serves as a seating area.  The retaining and seating walls frame a lushly planted perennial border.












This Washington, DC, house presented a steep, eroding front bank to the public view.   Adding stone steps that mirror the width of the house steps and a retaining wall created a more attractive front garden.

Lighting

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