D. Visser, A. Newell

Jo Fenton

The transition to several garden rooms, a gravel path leads from the rear terrace to the many spaces. The entry is flanked by the New England fieldstone seat wall, capped in blue stone. The path is lined with cushwa brick outlining the formal garden filled with boxwood, pachysandra ground cover, hydrangea, magnolia, and eastern redbud. Photo Credit: Linda Oyama Bryan

After, pillars were designed of sufficient scale, in a style that echoed the home. Photo by William Healy

Eric Roth

Shade Garden with koi pond , cedar fence, ferns and ivy Jeffrey Edward Tryon

Bliss Garden Design

Japanese courtyard garden in NYC. This garden was built in a dark courtyard on top of a roof. All plants are real and had to be planted within the mounds.

Outdoor gathering place; this firepit has been carved out of the native forest of WNC and enhanced in a natural way using native, boulders, stone steppers and plantings. Just a short walk from the formal patio and covered porches, this custom residence includes an abundance or outdoor living areas to enjoy.

A once over grown front yard received a much deserved makeover resulting in an inviting walkway and sitting area near a water feature. The complete project was implemented by Professional Image Landscaping, Inc.

An artist's garden with a garden shed, dog house and run surrounded by hog wire fencing and perennial plantings. Photo by Galen Fultz

Our Houston landscaping team was recently honored to collaborate with renowned architectural firm Murphy Mears. Murphy Mears builds superb custom homes throughout the country. A recent project for a Houston resident by the name of Borow involved a custom home that featured an efficient, elegant, and eclectic modern architectural design. Ms. Borow is very environmentally conscious and asked that we follow some very strict principles of conservation when developing her landscaping design plan. In many ways you could say this Houston landscaping project was green on both an aesthetic level and a functional level. We selected affordable ground cover that spread very quickly to provide a year round green color scheme that reflected much of the contemporary artwork within the interior of the home. Environmentally speaking, our project was also green in the sense that it focused on very primitive drought resistant plant species and tree preservation strategies. The resulting yard design ultimately functioned as an aesthetic mirror to the abstract forms that the owner prefers in wall art. One of the more notable things we did in this Houston landscaping project was to build the homeowner a gravel patio near the front entrance to the home. The homeowner specifically requested that we disconnect the irrigation system that we had installed in the yard because she wanted natural irrigation and drainage only. The gravel served this wish superbly. Being a natural drain in its own respect, it provided a permeable surface that allowed rainwater to soak through without collecting on the surface. More importantly, the gravel was the only material that could be laid down near the roots of the magnificent trees in Ms. Borow’s yard. Any type of stone, concrete, or brick that is used in more typical Houston landscaping plans would have been out of the question. A patio made from these materials would have either required cutting into tree roots, or it would have impeded their future growth. The specific species chosen for ground cover also bear noting. The two primary plants used were jasmine and iris. Monkey grass was also used to a small extent as a border around the edge of the house. Irises were planted in front of the house, and the jasmine was planted beneath the trees. Both are very fast growing, drought resistant species that require very little watering. However, they do require routine pruning, which Ms. Borow said she had no problem investing in. Such lawn alternatives are frequently used in Houston landscaping projects that for one reason or the other require something other than a standard planting of carpet grass. In this case, the motivation had nothing to do with finances, but rather a conscientious effort on Ms. Borow’s part to practice water conservation and tree preservation. Other hardscapes were then introduced into this green design to better support the home architecture. A stepping stone walkway was built using plain concrete pads that are very simple and modern in their aesthetic. These lead up to the front stair case with four inch steps that Murphy Mears designed for maximum ergonomics and comfort. There were a few softscape elements that we added to complete the Houston landscaping design. A planting of River Birch trees was introduced near the side of the home. River Birch trees are very attractive, light green trees that do not grow that tall. This eliminates any possible conflict between the tree roots and the home foundation. Murphy Mears also built a very elegant fence that transitioned the geometry of the house down to the city sidewalk. The fence sharply parallels the linear movement of the house. We introduced some climbing vines to help soften the fence and to harmonize its aesthetic with that of the trees, ground cover, and grass along the sidewalk.

The gravel path leads through to the many spaces ending in the fountain focal point. The path is lined with cushwa brick with a circular pattern reinforcing the space. Boxwood surrounds this space. The wall is graced with two standard form lilacs. Photo Credit: Linda Oyama Bryan

The garden space faces North so gets morning sun then mostly in the shade. In the summer especially it is lovely to sit here have breakfast and later in the day under the large Sugar Maple a cool spot to relax and grill. I am asked all the time are there any shade plants to use! as you can see the garden is constantly changing from spring bulbs and spring flowers to summer and fall color. The gravel terrace provides a simple and affordable surface and very European.