Pristine Acres (www.pristineacres.com) installed this Techo-Bloc Aberdeen patio with a custom Cedar bench and planter. We also installed a custom gas firepit, landscaping, and LED lighting.

This industrial style patio structure, includes a waterproof corrugated roof, steel ceiling fan and speakers with Wi-Fi.

Photo by Lori Cannava

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.

Photography: Linda Oyama Bryan

@ Garden Gate Landscaping, Inc.

Landscape lighting at courtyard

Renovated woodburning grill with custom console table fabricated from architectural salvage and a bluestone slab.

Custom Myriadstone out door fire place with Myriadstone television surround trim.

Ten years ago, a Memorial-area couple by the names of John and Jennifer Randall contacted us. They had just bought a beautiful lot located off of Piney Point drive. Because Jennifer loved the French, and because John was Acadian from Louisiana, they had already decided to have their home built in the style of a modern French country house. The Randall’s wanted to landscape the property in accordance with a European theme, with a paver driveway and partier garden in the front, and a very large and uniquely styled pool in the back to host summer parties. However, the premier element to this landscaping project was to be a private morning garden they asked us to create in the far East corner of their yard. The Randall’s wanted this corner set apart as separate, personal space, consistent with French design elements, but with the consciousness of Zen. It was to be a place just for the two of them to relax, talk quietly, and read in the early morning and evening hours of the day. To establish the feeling of Zen, we first built a very special kind of fountain in the center of the morning garden known as a disappearing fountain. (Another term you may have heard to describe this feature is vanishing fountain.) The fountain itself was made from a cast iron container shaped like a Louisiana sugar cauldron. This not only supported the French elements of the landscape, but also directly referenced John’s Acadian origins. The concrete water tank was concealed underground beneath the cauldron, and hidden jets filled its center to overflowing, causing it to pour over the sides and onto the steel mesh deck that was concealed under dark moon stones. There, it circulated back into the tank, to be returned to the fountain again by a silent pump. This deceptively simple design created the illusion that there was no base to the fountain, and that the water itself was mysteriously vanishing back into the Earth. To establish geometry and symmetry in the center of the morning garden, we laid down a hardscape/softscape space in the grass that surrounded the fountain. We interspersed travertine blocks through the lawn in such a way as to form proportional, perfectly-shaped squares of green space that alternated like a checkerboard within the stonework. In a few of these places, we further ornamented the softscape with the same gravel that surrounded the vanishing fountain. This sharp contrast of light and darkness provided the ever so subtle suggestion of Yin and Yang that added the Zen element the Randall’s wanted to an otherwise European design theme. We then planted greenery all along the wooden walls that surrounded the property, deliberately integrating curved spaces into the linear planting areas to soften the sharp right angles of both the walls and the hardscape/softscape design. Palm and bottlebrush trees worked to give the morning garden a sense of private enclosure, while azaleas, seasonal flowers, and boxwoods created gentle ornamental touches and alternating shades of light and dark ground cover that maintained the French theme of the landscape. The project was completed with the construction of a private patio just large enough to seat two people. Here, the Randall’s could read the paper at sunrise from an elevated vantage point overlooking the fountain and greenery. While their family, friends, and neighbors instantly fell in love with the architecture of the house and the entertainment areas surrounding the pool, the Randall’s always told us that, out of all the many elements we designed in their landscape, they loved their morning garden the most.

patio garden with urn water feature Designer and photographer Marilyn Guidroz

It’s rare when a client comes to me with a brief for a complete home from scratch, but that is exactly what happened here. My client, a professional musician and singer, was having a luxury three-story condo built and wanted help choosing not only all the hardscape materials like tile, flooring, carpet, and cabinetry, but also all furniture and furnishings. I even outfitted his new home with plates, flatware, pots and pans, towels, sheets, and window coverings. Like I said, this was from scratch! We defined his style direction for the new home including dark colors, minimalistic furniture, and a modern industrial sensibility, and I set about creating a fluid expression of that style. The tone is set at the entry where a custom laser-cut industrial steel sign requests visitors be shoeless. We deliberately limited the color palette for the entire house to black, grey, and deep blue, with grey-washed or dark stained neutral woods. The navy zellige tiles on the backsplash in the kitchen add depth between the cement-textured quartz counters and cerused cabinetry. The island is painted in a coordinating navy and features hand-forged iron stools. In the dining room, horizontal and vertical lines play with each other in the form of an angular linear chandelier, lighted acrylic light columns, and a dining table with a special faceted wave edge. Chair backs echo the shape of the art maps on the wall. We chose a unique, three dimensional wall treatment for the living room where a plush sectional and LED tunable lights set the stage for comfy movie nights. Walls with a repeating whimsical black and white whale skeleton named Bruce adorn the walls of the powder room. The adjacent patio boasts a resort-like feeling with a cozy fire table, a wall of up-lit boxwoods, and a black sofa and chairs for star gazing. A gallery wall featuring a roster of some of my client’s favorite rock, punk, and jazz musicians adorns the stairwell. On the third floor, the primary and guest bathrooms continue with the cement-textured quartz counters and same cerused cabinetry. We completed this well-appointed home with a serene guest room in the established limited color palette and a lounge/office/recording room. All photos by Bernardo Grijalva

An elevated covered porch has plenty of space for an extended dining table. The outdoor kitchen with large wrap-around counter, storage and state of the art equipment is a grilling powerhouse.

We took this unlevel yard and created a sunken patio, with 2 retaining walls that also serve as seating. The long steps are solid granite and also the caps o the walls and fire pit are granite.

This new construction home was a blank slate. Our clients wanted a seating area to enjoy with their family or friends. As the space is quite tiny, we designed a built-in bench with storage below and a fire pit that converts to a table on warmer days. We planted succulents at the base of the fire pit to soften the paving and planted low water but lush planting along the adjacent wall.

Accent lighting isn't the only unique feature our adjustable louvered pergolas offer! You can also add fans, heaters, screens, slide louvered tops, and more!

Modernist style courtyard; This is a rather small space at only 12m2 (3x4m) but we got a lot in. To fit all the clients requirements almost all the features, minus the pots, were custom built for the space such as the in-situ concrete bench seat, white planter box to follow the curved brickwork, custom outdoor coffee table and BBQ bench and and laser cut gate.