Landscape Architect Articles

Two Gardens One Property01-01-04 | News

Two Gardens One Property

The Michael?EUR??,,????'???s Residence,
Raleigh, North Carolina

By Dan Sears, principal, Sears Design Group

Aside from providing shade, the trellises conceal small low-voltage spotlights aimed for ?EUR??,,????'??night bocci.?EUR??,,????'?? PHOTOS COURTESY OF BLAND LANDSCAPING

This is the story of two gardens on one property. The lot is small, just wide enough for the house, an eight-foot drive to the back, and a few feet for side yard plantings. The house, in effect, divides the property into two distinct gardens, one is the public side or street side; the other is the back garden.

Architecturally the home is white stucco of French Country style. It is sited on flat land on a quiet street in an older and well-established neighborhood. The property is what city planners term an ?EUR??,,????'??infill lot.?EUR??,,????'?? The lot was achieved by resubdividing larger existing home sites that yielded a 73-foot-by 120-foot property.

When we were retained for the project, only one-fourth of the backyard was ?EUR??,,????'??usable.?EUR??,,????'?? From the garage turnaround to the back property line existed a 10-15-foot slope overgrown in pines, thickets, and blackberries. It was riddled with easements. Its only access was from the side drive or from within the home.

Beds of annuals buffer the house. The garden design greatly enhanced the street presence of this home by making it much more mysterious from the street.

The owners, socially and professionally active parents of college-age kids, needed space outdoors in which to entertain and to relax and recreate. A bocci court was the only ?EUR??,,????'??must?EUR??,,????'?? on Mr. Michael?EUR??,,????'???s list. Mrs. Michaels?EUR??,,????'??? plans were more complex. She desired a garden ?EUR??,,????'??destination?EUR??,,????'?? away from the house, a potting shed and tool storage space, major perennial gardens and gardens that exhibit winter interest.

The Plan

In front there existed an auto court, small lawn and an entry terrace with a low wall separating it from the parked cars. The house was fully exposed to the street without buffers or shade. There was no intrigue, no wonderment, and no mystery about what was going on.

The plan called for four large crape myrtles near the street to create a perception of depth and to provide some shade. These also provide deep pink flowers summer to fall. The multi-stemmed trunks are up-lit at night from ground level.

Evergreen side borders and a streetside low needlepoint holly hedge were designed. These frame, buffer and hide most of what is happening at ground level from street-side viewers. Tree-form yaupon hollies were placed just outside the entry terrace walls to create a year-round vertical ?EUR??,,????'??gateway?EUR??,,????'?? element at the entrance, one that would not overgrow the scale of the house. Ivy was encouraged to cover the low walls.

The plan called for planting pockets within the steps. A mix of cherries and Japanese maples and evergreens are seen in the garden.

All remaining ground was made into a small, highly manicured lawn with beds of annuals. A surprise element is discovered when guests step out of the front door to leave. There, looking toward the street (but hidden from the street by the hedge) is a small water feature wrapped with annual color.

The front is much more mysterious from the street now. There is shade on this south-facing landscape and the seasonal color is intense against the dark evergreens. The street presence of this home is greatly enhanced by the garden design.

In back awaited the major challenge. Winter ended, bids were in hand, contractors were selected, the goal was to have a ?EUR??,,????'??late spring garden party?EUR??,,????'???bocci attire.?EUR??,,????'??

A surprise element is discovered when guests step out of the front door to leave. Looking toward the street but hidden from the street by the hedge, is a small water feature wrapped in annual color.

The look of the garden was to be English border garden within low, dry stacked stone walls. About the only thing in common with eastern North Carolina and England are last names and rainfall. Both England and North Carolina receive about 45-50 inches of rain a year. Unfortunately, we get ours in two-four storm rains, mostly in July and January, and just scattered in between?EUR??,,????'???not exactly the nearly daily showers of the English countryside. We should also note that the English raised beds and edged lawns show black friable dirt, while ours are red clay (this is one of the USA?EUR??,,????'???s brick industry centers).

Above and below: Roofed trellises and covered areas offer varying degrees of shade and protection from the rain.

The design of this sloping garden called for four terraced levels retained by a series of dry-stacked stone retaining walls. Stone steps were also incorporated, but note, there are no hard-surfaced walkways, as they are all grass. This was done so that the directness of paths is removed. One is encouraged to wander around the edges of the lawn, which is where the mixed flower and shrub borders begin.

Due to the limited size of the garden and the number and size of the major elements (bocci court, potting shed, etc.), creating a perception of depth was critical to the design. The steps down to the second level of the garden established a long centerline axis, then the axis was taken away by pathways that lead at right angles from the axis. Dwarf trees further along the axis and removal from view of the ground surface aided in creating a sense of depth in the garden.

The walls are softened with scotch roses, cascading habits, thrift, coreopsis and lamb?EUR??,,????'???s ear.

The destination garden element is the combination potting shed/storage room/dining/bocci viewing space and the bocci court trellises. The potting shed has roofed and trellis covered areas. This offers varying degrees of shade and protection from rain. The multipurpose tool room houses a small refrigerator, while the sink and the potting shelf serve as a wet bar. A fan under the roof offers cooling. This is a neat place for a drink or a meal or to pot plants.

In addition to adding shade on the bocci court at each end, the trellises also conceal small low voltage spotlights aimed for ?EUR??,,????'??night bocci.?EUR??,,????'?? These structures also create protection for the shade garden at the east end of the bocci court.

On the house side of the bocci court is a small flat lawn with a stone seat wall behind which is a perennial garden. From here one can see the three other levels of walls. These are softened by plants that overgrow the walls, like Scotch roses, with cascading habits, thrift, coreopsis, and lamb?EUR??,,????'???s ear. The plan called for planting pockets within the steps. These are more successful on paper than in real life, however, they do solicit the ?EUR??,,????'??who would have ever thought of doing it that way?EUR??,,????'?? comments.

The French Country-style house is sited on flat land on a quiet street in an older neighborhood. The property is what city planners term as an ?EUR??,,????'??infill lot.?EUR??,,????'?? The lot was achieved by resubdividing larger existing home sites that yielded a 73-foot-by-120-foot property.

With the exception of one Chinese elm used to hide a home on the adjacent property, most of the large plant materials are small trees or large shrubs. We chose these so as not to have the garden overgrow itself. This helped in creating a greater sense of depth, too. There is a mix of cherries and Japanese maples and evergreens.

The edges, or side buffers, of this garden are, in the main, mixed varieties of plant material. On the west, the neighbors had planted a Nellic Stevens holly ?EUR??,,????'??wall.?EUR??,,????'?? In front of this, we planted cherry trees, forsythia, viburnum, low hollies, grasses and perennials. The back ?EUR??,,????'??wall?EUR??,,????'?? of the garden features Leyland cypress for a very tall screen (remember that the residence is 10-15 feet above the garden, and the main floor is another 11 feet up). The Leylands are justified, in fact almost indispensable in this instance for wintertime screening. The eastern border is less rigid because there is wooded space on the adjoining property. The existing vegetation was supplemented with camellias, viburnum, hemlock, and hollies, a more loose and informal edge that visually extends beyond the property line.

Due to the canopy of the existing trees overreaching this property on the eastern boundary, the plan includes many shade plants and mountain plants (azaleas, rhododendron, picris, hemlock) nestled under the trellis and the neighbor?EUR??,,????'???s trees.

The uppermost garden at the house was treated simply. Turning radii on the owner?EUR??,,????'???s cars was documented. All garage access pavements were reduced to the minimum. Small lawns flank the pavements so ?EUR??,,????'??no damage done?EUR??,,????'?? if someone does drive off the edge. When the Leylands reach the desired height, the river birch will be removed thus to better reveal the back garden from the house. This upper garden includes border plantings, a gated pass to the neighbor, a rose climber arched ?EUR??,,????'??gateway?EUR??,,????'?? to the lower gardens, and a cherry under planted with ground covers outside the mater bedroom suite.

In general, many of the ground cover areas, all the annual beds, and many of the perennial beds are planted in bulbs that share the garden with the ?EUR??,,????'??permanent plants.?EUR??,,????'?? Tulips (which we treat as annuals) are in the pansies. Daffodils are in the more ?EUR??,,????'??naturalized?EUR??,,????'??beds, and Naked Ladies are in ground covers for a late summer/fall surprise.