In Northwest DC, where lots are often small and houses large, landscape designers learn how to pack an ambitious agenda into a diminutive space. Case in point: The owners of a grand, traditional home, newly built on less than a quarter acre, envisioned a backyard oasis complete with a swimming pool, a multi-level patio and a play lawn of artificial turf.

“The lot was wide but shallow,” relates Matt Gryskevich of Wheat’s Landscape, the firm tapped for the job. “We were able to situate the pool off to one side and fit the play area beside it.”

Due to the sideways slope of the yard, extensive terracing and stairs were required for accessibility between the pool area and turf, which lies at a lower level. “We wanted to bring the outside in, so we connected the pool to an existing patio beside the house,” Gryskevich says. Retaining walls of white-painted brick match the house. Perimeter plantings of magnolia, hornbeam and arborvitae create privacy and make the lot feel bigger than it is.

Wheat’s also beautified the front yard. “The clients wanted the house to fit into the neighborhood as if it had always been there,” notes Gryskevich. “We used mature plant material such as hydrangea and boxwood to get that effect.” A line of crape myrtles “brings down the scale of the house,” he adds. And a bluestone path leads to the front door.

Award: Honorable Mention for Complete Landscape (Design Build). Landscape & Contracting: Josh Dean, landscape architect; Matthew Gryskevich, design director; Pedro Ferreira, project manager; Wheat’s Landscape. Architecture: Anne Decker Architects.