Home & Design
Swimming Pool - Landscape
Swimming Pool - Landscape

A picturesque pool scape is paved in stones that appear to have been there forever.

Lawn - Garden
Lawn - Garden

Fieldstone risers lead down to a soccer field.

Pond - Koi pond
Pond - Koi pond

Banks of azaleas and hydrangeas envelop the koi pond.

Bench - Garden furniture
Bench - Garden furniture

Adjoining the tennis court, a stone bench provides opportunities for viewing.

Rainforest - Valdivian temperate rain forest
Rainforest - Valdivian temperate rain forest

A hammock provides a restful retreat from which to enjoy nature.

An Unexpected Pleasure

A landscape by Guy Williams creates soothing vistas, secluded gathering spots--and moments of surprise

An Unexpected Pleasure MAY/JUNE 2012

The owners of a 19th-century farmhouse and adjacent 1920s main house wanted to unify the two disparate structures. They turned to the surrounding landscape to create the bond they wanted, hiring Guy Williams of DCA Landscape Architects to bring it all together.


“They requested an Old World European feeling throughout,” Williams says. He seamlessly united the properties that span eight acres, lending texture and depth to the landscape by reorganizing existing trees and shrubs and controlling the views. Park-like lawns meld together with croquet and soccer fields, all connected by rustic stone paths and cobblestone-edged drives.

 

A new clay tennis court looks decades old in its lush green setting. Spectators can watch a game from under a unique handmade pergola, smothered with clematis and climbing roses, that was crafted using pegs instead of nails. There is also a break in the wall where a decorative wrought-iron gate allows a secluded view of the game from a bench set under the trees. Ivy planted in arches cut into a high stone wall softens the lines of the court, while a row of bleached hornbeams keeps it hidden from other parts of the garden.

Large trees surround the pool with a tapestry of leafy texture. Details such as an uneven flagstone deck, overflowing planters and wrought-iron gates in the stone wall make it feel part of a larger, established garden.
Surprising, secluded spots await discovery. A teak bench set amid coneflowers becomes a private place for morning coffee. Surrounded by a bank of transplanted azaleas, a hammock slung between two trees offers a shady respite. “There’s a sense of magic in coming upon these little discoveries,” Williams says. 

 

Karen A. Watkins is a writer in Bethesda, Maryland. Roger Foley is an award-winning landscape photographer in Arlington, Virginia. 

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: GUY WILLIAMS, DCA Landscape Architects, Washington, DC.
LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR: Chapel Valley Landscape Company, Woodbine, Maryland.

 


**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home designs and landscape design ideas.  Wonderful visuals of inspired décor and lush landscapes are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design ideas, and outdoor spaces to life.

 

 

 

 

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HOME&DESIGN, published bi-monthly by Homestyles Media Inc., is the premier magazine of architecture and fine interiors for the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia region.

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