The view of these trees is really why we bought this property. The lot has 2.36 acres with a pool and guest house, three willows perfectly positioned in the far yard and two grand zelcovas along the back of the house. The house also has a stone veranda and walkway in the back, which we plan on keeping and expanding.
The house itself is not meeting our needs, but we have been working with an architect to create a renovation and expansion plan to compliment the landscape and meet the needs of our family.
We really want to create a master plan for the whole 2 acre property that we can implement in phases. The home renovation will also be done in phases, to minimize the disruption to our kids' lives.
This year, we concentrated on the Children's Play area. I dreamed up this concept at our old home, but we did not have the space to do it. We hired Fine Landscapes to do the project. See all of the planning that went into this area here.
Landscape Goals
1. Entry
- a. Welcoming, not too complicated
- b. Setting a tone for the property
- a. Prefer some sort of tree lined. My favorite entrances always look a little bit hidden.
- a. Located somewhere close to the front of the current bay window
- b. Maybe a parking pad and a court big enough to drop off and turn around.
- i. (Note: Move Natchez Crape Myrtle)
- c. Lila suggested an area of grass opposite the front door.
- d. I always notice homes that do a low stone wall around the court, with stone piers and some sort of evergreen hedge.
- Entry to front door to be very welcoming.
- a. This is an area that will be visible from the kitchen, mudroom, and office over the garage. It will be a shady area flanked by pine trees that give us privacy.
- i. This area could be for all of my favorite woodland plants, such as astilbe, azalea, aucuba, rhododendron, hydrangea, and hellebores, as well as any other plants that fit the space nicely.
- a. Need heavy privacy along Persimmon Tree Rd. side of property
- i. Maybe hollies, magnolias, more Norway spruce.
- b. Might need a stepping stone path along area. Unsure is just plain grass would be fine.
- c. The Combination of the stone veneer to the house, the arched stone wall, and Japanese Maples along the Persimmon Tree Rd. side of the property in my favorite spots in the yard. It has that “rustic cottage in the woods” look that is hard to create in a new home. When you walk this area from the front yard to the back, and it opens up to all of the willows, and now our Children’s Play Area, I think it is pretty special. I would love to enhance this area further by planning a great landscape through this area. We put a huge catch basin at the edge of the driveway this spring. It catches rainwater that was flowing from the street, to our driveway, and along the side of our house like a river. I would move the path from this area to under the two maples, moving whatever plants are in the way.
- a. This area has worked out really well this year. It is so much of what we hope it would be. The only area where we have been a little disappointed is the plant selection and arrangement.
- i. It was supposed to have a “secret garden” effect. Here are the basic problems that need some adjusting in my mind
- 1. Not enough evergreen plants
- 2. Not enough formality mixed with garden look, maybe this would not bother me as much if there were more evergreen plants and shrubs.
- 3. Too much going on in plants viewed from veranda, looks a little “busy”
- 4. Too many deer attracting plants in wrong places
- 5. Flagstone path too tight. Looks too much like a road from the veranda.
- 6. Fountain too open. Maybe I would switch it to a little water fall that would come down one side of berm and also down the back side of the berm, making it visible from the main yard and pool.
7. Athletic field leveled and irregular shape
- a. Our yard has a pretty good slope to it. You notice it immediately when you try to play a sport with the kids. I would like to manufacture an area with fill, big enough for a playing field, but give it a very natural curvy edge that rolls off into the lawn.
- b. Connection to slope of pool and pool house.
- i. This is a very tricky area. We want an exit from the pool, possible a pool fence, and still maintain the park like effect of the rolling hill from the veranda. Charles Owen had suggested a Ha-Ha wall, which might have potential
- a. We know we need better spaces around the pool. The question is how much space and how it will be arranged to look inviting and non-cluttered.
- b. When we renovate the pool, we would probably do it much darker, and replace, or sand down the dangerous sharp edged bluestone coping. We would also consider changing the auto pool cover mechanism and doing a better Jacuzzi design in a new location that could be elevated and also used all year.
- a. We really want to get input on how you would see the entertainments areas, such as seating, screen porch, grill, and outdoor dining working best. We are waiting to finish the design plan for the back of the house because these areas working well are very important to us.
This photo is an idea of doing terraced round patios that I thought might work along the exit from the house down to the pool area on the driveway side of the house.
- b. Basement exit. This area would probably be in the same general location as the screen porch. I would like it designed so that the walk out basement flows very well into the pool area decking. All of the steps and patios need to feel big enough, not like typical basement stairs.
10. Back yard Access
- a. We need a space maintained on the driveway side of the property to access the back yard, pool, guest house, etc.
- b. My thought was that a truck should be able to fit all the way to the back of the property. Maybe even use grass pavers in this area.
- i. Maybe the pool decking on this side has a curved top stone wall to create privacy and hide the access from view.
11. Vistas—These are areas in the house where I would like the interior view of the outdoor area to strongly shape the outdoor design.
- a. Front Door out to courtyard driveway
- b. Breakfast Turret
-This is the current view from where the new turret would be built.
- c. Kitchen
- d. Foyer through to Dining Room/Great Room
