When designing a large, stone residence in Bethesda, architect Glenn Chen Fong was inspired by the formal aesthetic of Mediterranean manor houses. His clients wanted to create a landscape that would match this sensibility. Their wish list included stone retaining walls, formal gardens, a pool and pool house and ample space for annual color. “The landscape and the home’s exterior were of equal importance to the homeowner,” says McHale Landscape Design’s Julie Patronik, who designed the project. She collaborated with the architect, so both home and landscape could be completed simultaneously.

Visitors approach the stately abode through an imposing wrought-iron gate designed by Iron Masters Inc. A driveway of aggregate concrete embellished with pink granite cobbles curves up to the house—clad in the same Texas Gold limestone as the retaining walls surrounding the property. Turkish travertine walkways are flanked by manicured garden beds.

Large holly trees, cryptomeria and crape myrtle were planted beside existing mature poplars, and boxwood and Nellie Stevens holly provide the structural backbone of the landscape. Graceful swaths of pink and red Knockout roses and Anthony Waterer spirea combine with sweeping beds of annuals that provide rotations of seasonal color. Flowering specimen crape myrtle and Bloodgood Japanese maples offer additional color and interest, while a Chinese elm sun-dapples the walkway to the front door.

Award: Decade, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway. Landscape Design: Julie Patronik, McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Architecture: Glenn Chen Fong, AIA, PLLC, Arlington, Virginia.