Artemis Landscape Architects is an award winning design studio located in historic Bijou Square in downtown Bridgeport, Conn., and provides design, management and implementation services that connect people with their natural surroundings. Principal and founder Tara Vincenta brings 30 years of experience in designing diverse landscapes, including environmental and regional planning studies, multi-family housing, corporate institutional and private residential work.

Country Estate, New Canaan, Conn.

The landscape program for this grand-shingle style home in New Canaan, Conn., defines the homeowner's experience from the entry gates and courtyard to the entertaining areas and gardens within. Large elegant bluestone steps lead to the home's main entrance from the parking courtyard, defined by low stone walls flanked by simple plantings of boxwood, white hydrangea and clipped flowering pear trees. A formal herb garden off the kitchen creates a transition to the rear yard outdoor living and entertaining area. A lower level includes an al fresco dining terrace, service bar and firepit gathering area on one end of the house. This connects to a more formal entertaining terrace where a water feature, doubling as a spa, becomes a focal point from the home's living room. Wide steps lead to a lawn area where the family's children play, and transitions to a pool area that takes advantage of sweeping views of the entire property.

 

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Country Farmhouse, Wilton, Conn.

The design of this outdoor living space centered around a beloved, existing large sugar maple. The client wanted to create an entertaining space with a seamless connection to the home's interior without sacrificing their celebrated tree, which provides a leafy canopy, a sense of age and a strong arm for an old fashioned wooden swing. The health of the tree was monitored and maintained throughout construction, as elevations were established for the large permeable native stone terrace.

An upper bluestone terrace leads to the main gathering space around the maple. A new pergola provides a transition from the interior, with a roofed section providing protection from inclement weather, extending the seasonal use of the outdoor area. The dining terrace opens onto a lower level gathering space featuring a fire pit, a stone seat wall and outdoor furnishings.

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Wilson Point Residence, Norwalk, Conn.

The master plan for this shoreline home on Long Island Sound required private, elegant outdoor spaces. An evergreen hedge creates privacy, while preserving a perfect line of sight to the water. Earthen berms with richly textured and flowering seasonal plants shield the headlights from a nearby road. Boxwood and ornamental grasses by the pool defer to the natural surroundings. The granite terrace extends the feeling of the interior limestone. An antique compass rose on the floor of the gazebo references the owner's maritime interests.