Left to right. the Chamacyparis Torulosa Pom Pom, behind it is a Thuja Rheingold on Standard. The Tall tree is Cedar of Lebanon. the 3 balls in front are Chamacyparis Psifera gold mop. a weeping blue spruce, weeping Japanese maple Tamayukama, Miss Molly Butterfly bushes are behind the yellow balls. The green ground cover is Mazus Reptans. Whew!

Landscape and design by Jpm Landscape

Follow the path under the arbor to your private sanctuary. Landscape design by Peter Koenig: Peter Koenig Design

This lovely, lush front yard is a collection of drought tolerant perennials and ornamental grass. The small lawn is drought tolerant grass. Note the small 'Baby Blue Eyes' spruce tree in the back by the north west corner of the house. Rick Laughlin, APLD

The summer butterfly garden greets the weary traveler upon arrival. Photo by William Healy

A Memorial-area art collector residing in a chic modern home wanted his house to be more visible from the street. His yard was full of trees, and he asked us to consider removing them and developing a more modern landscape design that would fully complement the exterior of his home. He was a personal friend of ours as well, and he understood that our policy is to preserve as many trees as possible whenever we undertake a project. However, we decided to make an exception in his case for two reasons. For one thing, he was a very close friend to many people in our company. Secondly, large trees simply would not work with a landscape reflective of the modern architecture that his house featured. The house had been built as story structure that was formed around a blend of unique curves and angles very reminiscent of the geometric patterns common in modern sculpture and art. The windows had been built deliberately large, so that visitors driving up to the house could have a lighted glimpse into the interior, where many sculptures and works of modern art were showcased. The entire residence, in fact, was meant to showcase the eclectic diversity of his artistic tastes, and provide a glimpse at the elegant contents within the home. He asked us to create more modern look to the landscape that would complement the residence with patterns in vegetation, ornamentation, and a new lighted water fountain that would act like a mirror-image of the home. He also wanted us to sculpt the features we created in such a way as to center the eye of the viewer and draw it up and over the landscape to focus on the house itself. The challenge was to develop a truly sophisticated modern landscaping design that would compliment, but in no way overpower the façade of the home. In order to do this, we had to focus very carefully on the geometric appearance of the planting areas first. Since the vegetation would be surrounding a very large, circular stone drive, we took advantage of the contours and created a sense of flowing perspective. We were then very careful to plant vegetation that could be maintained at a very low growth height. This was to prevent vegetation from behaving like the previous trees which had blocked the view of the house. Small hedges, ferns, and flowers were planted in winding rows that followed the course of the circular stone driveway that surrounded the fountain. We then centered this new modern landscape plan with a very sophisticated contemporary fountain. We chose a circular shape for the fountain both to center the eye and to work as a compliment to the curved elements in the home’s exterior design. We selected black granite as the building material, partly because granite speaks to the monumental, and partly because it is a very common material for modern architecture and outdoor contemporary sculpture. We placed the fountain in the very center of the driveway as well, which had the effect of making the entire landscape appear to converge toward the middle of the home’s façade. To add a sense of eclectic refinement to the fountain, we then polished the granite so that anyone driving or walking up to the fountain would see a reflection of the home in the base. To maintain consistency of the circular shape, we radius cut all of the coping around the fountain was all radius cut from polished limestone. The lighter color of the limestone created an archetypal contrast of light and darkness, further contributing to the modern theme of the landscape design, and providing a surface for illumination so the fountain would remain an established keynote on the landscape during the night.

Front planting bed incorporating the lamp post. Salvia nemerosa 'May Night,' Hemerocallis 'Mary Todd,' and Monarda x 'Jacob Cline' along with other perennials, were used for their continuous bloom. Ornamental grasses, Picea abies 'Nidiformis', and Physocarpus opulifolius 'Monlo' provide structure and winter interest. Westhauser Photography

wood landscape servics, ltd

A view of pavers in gravel with a tiered, planted wall in a hillside yard.

Looking from the decking at the rear of the house across the wild lawn. With the changing of the seasons comes new colour and interest. As the perennial plants mature after being grown from seed, new species come into flower each year. Adding interest as time goes by.

The synthetic turf was laid down to keep debris and maintenance to a minimum around the pool. The homeowner wanted a variety of textures and colors to bring their backyard together.

I did a complete new planting design for this project which is a single family home in the suburbs of Towson. The garden is 1/3 acre in size. Most of the existing plants, including many non-native ground covers, like English Ivy, shrubs, and trees, were removed in order to bring in the sunlight for pollinators and remove interference with the power lines. I designed and installed a mostly native plant garden that is designed to be beautiful to view with many flowers blooming all season long and varied textures and movement with ornamental grasses and provides habitat and food for pollinators, like butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, and for songbirds. Nearly 100 trees, nearly 100 shrubs, and 1,000 perennials and grasses were installed. I continue to oversee the maintenance of this garden. Landscape design and photo by Roland Oehme

Allen Haren

A pondless water feature constructed for beauty. Shelves of Moss rock boulder were constructed at precise elevations to create a tranquil sound of flowing water. Water feature was designed for safety - our customer has small children and they did not want any depth of standing water. Lighting accentuates the surrounding landscape, water and boulder to provide a wonderful evening ambiance.

One of our first ovens.. the Louis Oven is a full firebrick taller than our current Mattone Barile Grande Ovens. The Travertine veneer on the Pizza Oven Base really makes this DIY Pizza Oven unique! To see this oven (and many more beautiful DIY wood fired ovens), please be sure to visit - BrickWoodOvens.com