South End Bluestone Patio

Boston, MA

 

Phase 1 of the redesign of this South End patio took a cramped overgrown space with a brick herringbone patio and opened it up creating a clean contemporary space. This was accomplished by reducing and reorganizing the planting beds and laying a bluestone patio. We used large rectangular pavers set in a running bond pattern that begins at the homeowners back door running lengthwise out to visually elongate the space.

 

 

You can see the transformation from the before picture, stay tuned for the update once the plantings go in this spring!

BLUESTONE PATIO

Arlington, MA

The installation of this small patio in Arlington, MA was a bit more complex than it may seem at first.  The client wanted a small seating area outside of the existing french doors into their sitting room.  Originally just one bluestone step led to the lawn which was actually graded toward the house.  In order to make the space usable we built a 6’x10′ bluestone patio that extends the living area outside.  In order to create a patio of that size we dug into the slope near the house and built a small fieldstone wall along the back side. The use of fieldstone not only limits the number of materials for cohesion but ties into the fieldstone foundation of the step and the existing fieldstone walls that border the property.  Along the front of the patio we regraded the lawn another eight feet to create a subtle slope.

The small seating area that we created is just enough space for the homeowners to sit out and enjoy their gardens.

This is what the space looked like before we started.

PHASE 1

Mid-Century Modern, Newton, MA 

Phase one of the Mid-Century Modern landscape focused on the steep grade in the center of the backyard and the gardens along the rear perimeter of the property.  A six foot berm in the middle of the backyard that was littered with field stone and found itself the interim home of any plant that didn’t fit elsewhere was redesigned to accent the clean lines of the mid-century modern house.  The berm was graded into subtle steps, each being planted with a row of single variety grass.  The rows of grass alternate between a straight green and a slightly more blue variety that will create a subtle stripe effect.  The existing garden along the rear perimeter of the property was redesigned to maintain the wildness so as to maintain the continuity with the adjacent properties while creating enough organization to show intent.  Large overgrown shrubs were removed and replaced with specimen plants and perennials were transplanted and grouped for better visual impact from the house.  Stay tuned in coming seasons as the Master Plan progresses!Master Plan

MASTER PLAN

Mid-Century Modern, Newton, MA 

The Master Plan for the Mid-Century Modern house was designed to coordinate with the clean lines of the architecture of the house.  Instead of trying to reinterpret the mid-century garden we applied contemporary techniques that would work well with the mid-century aesthetic in order to create a landscape that would be elegant, comfortable and usable.  Some of the key elements of the design are the linear stepped grass slope that was completed in Phase 1, a row of Paper Bark Birch trees that will line the east fence and the simple Hakonechloa bed with three Nyssa sylvatica along the house that will create an interesting juxtaposition of clean lines and the sculptural form of the native wetland tree.

RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE

South Boston, MA

This project was to redesign the landscape for a small residential property in South Boston, MA.  We were contracted by the children of the homeowner to create a low maintenance and budget friendly design for their mother so that she could enjoy the outdoor space without having to spend much time maintaining it.  We removed all of the sod on site and constructed a large permeable patio surrounded by garden beds in the back yard.  Along the front of the house we removed the Privet hedge that was being shaded out by the Zalcova street tree and pruned the Peegee Hydrangea tree.

One of the clients key concerns was to uncover her Virgin Mary sculpture that had been hidden by overgrown shrubs.

URBAN HORTICULTURE DESIGN OFFICE

Our office!  We will add images of our gardens soon…

Ready for Halloween!

 

FRONT GARDEN

Watertown, MA

For this garden in Watertown, MA we have worked with the home owners for a couple of years giving advice and coming in to plant, transplant and help reorganize their gardens.

HOTEL

South Boston, MA

Ficus lyrata were used int he hotel lobby, the large bright green leaves complimenting the bright, graphic elements used throughout the lobby.

Jade trees were used on the interior pool deck to be both calming and funky.