For a family of four in historic Chevy Chase, Maryland, dining al fresco beneath a flourishing crape myrtle tree has brought far more than the delight of homegrown tomatoes and melons from their new kitchen garden. Sharing meals on a simple gravel terrace, laid last summer amid lemony limelight hydrangeas and pink climbing roses, has instilled them with a sense of well-being.

After dining for years on the side porch of their classic Shingle Style residence, the owner says that the newfound perspective of sitting at yard level delivers “a completely different experience. Being in the garden instead of overlooking it, you feel your blood pressure decompress.”

The 1905 property is landmarked, prohibiting alterations to the home’s dignified, verdant front lawn. Past the garden gate, however, the rear yard and its existing pool offered plenty of opportunity to fashion a secret garden.

Simple changes were directed by landscape architect Jennifer Horn, who knew the .63-acre site from a long relationship with the client. This time around, the couple’s two daughters had outgrown their play lawn. Replacing it with a well-mannered vegetable and herb potager answered the owner’s yearning to be more engaged with nature. The dining circle—furnished by interior designer Lauren Liess, who also did the interiors—emerged as the perfect low-key setting for outdoor meals.

“We didn’t want it to feel too formal, fancy or perfect,” says Horn. “We were aiming for a rambling, unrehearsed garden with a California Wine Country feel.”

An arched trellis announces raised beds neatly configured and aligned with the porch. Alongside the pool, rosemary plants border a bocce court laid with crushed oyster shells. A Walpole shed will support climbing roses. All around, peonies join forces with native perennials including anise hyssop, Physostegia and foamflower in a spring-to-autumn profusion of color.

“It’s gorgeous,” says the owner, clearly pleased with the results. “When I step outside today, it feels like I’ve just taken a deep breath.”