From their serene new fireside patio, the owners of a stately, two-acre parcel in Alexandria can enjoy the complexity of the masterplan that infused their landscape with a multitude of opportunities to host both intimate gatherings and much bigger crowds.

The owners—a business executive and his wife—called on Joseph Richardson of Richardson & Associates Landscape Architecture in 2021. By last summer, he and a team of collaborators had transformed the largely undeveloped property into a resort-like retreat for the family. “They were thinking long-term,” says Richardson. “And I saw the potential immediately.”

The plan situated the locus for intimate fireside chats on a hexagonal patio shaded by Natchez crape myrtles, while also accommodating the clients’ desire for grand tented events on a 4,600-square-foot great lawn. Masses of boxwood, oakleaf hydrangea, pink roses, purple allium and catmint installed by the project’s landscape contractor, McHale Landscape Design, buffer the activities.

Bluestone terraces, pathways and loose pavers provide smooth access across the property. The lively environment is screened with a dense mix of southern magnolia, river birch, Cryptomeria, dogwood, redbud, willow oak, hemlock and arborvitae.

A chic, new pool house designed by GTM Architects serves an existing, but completely rebuilt pool for swim parties. Walls of glass open on two sides to sheltered terraces, one facing the pool, the other overlooking “her” lighted tennis court. “His” pickleball court is tucked just out of the sightline, a few steps down from the pool house.

For the pool house interior, Sandra Meyer of Ella Scott Design combined maple, stone and black leather finishes under a rattan pendant from Coup Studio. On the patio, RH chairs and tables from Four Hands mingle with the clients’ existing pool loungers.

The completed landscape offers a picturesque setting for the couple and their two daughters to host al fresco events In fact, the great lawn recently held an inaugural party for hundreds. Says Richardson, “There’s no better feeling than designing something and seeing people use it.”