MAY/JUNE 2010
Informal plantings can be the best solution for a very formal landscape: They soften the straight lines of pool, patio, deck and retaining walls, and lend a casual air to a backyard geared for the enjoyment of family and friends.
For designer Joseph Hafner of Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., combining formal and casual was the key to landscaping a sweeping Potomac property, where a pool and patio created the elegant yet welcoming look he wanted. The main design scheme, says Hafner, was “to create a feeling of under-story and sanctuary down by the pool,” while maintaining views of the landscape from the deck off the rear of the residence. The major roadblock to the design was an existing septic system, which dictated that the pool be built atop special support piers screwed into bedrock 25 feet below grade. Hafner connected the house to the lower landscape with stone retaining walls, planting beds and wide steps to the pool and patio area, which is a generous 2,400-plus square feet.
A planting of evergreen Japanese cedars on one side of the property maintains privacy by the pool so it can be used well into fall, and plants were selected for deer resistance and interest throughout the year. The blooms begin in spring with the heavy scent of Virginia sweetspire, which gives way to summer-flowering hydrangeas, crape myrtle, black-eyed Susans and other colorful shrubs and perennials. An array of ornamental grasses extends the blooming season well into autumn.
Washington, DC-based Jane Berger is publisher of GardenDesignOnline.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Joseph Hafner, Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Bob Narod, Herndon, Virginia.
**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.
MAY/JUNE 2010
A grand allée of willow oaks lines the entrance to this 25-acre Potomac, Maryland, property, a perfect welcoming touch to both a stately residence and an ordered landscape that’s home to polo ponies as well as a large family. Jay Graham, FASLA, and Kevin Campion, ASLA, of Graham Landscape Architecture, were brought in by DC-based architect David Jones to design a landscape that would complement the grand Georgian-style residence, which includes a wing with an indoor swimming pool, staff apartments and a garage.
According to Campion, because the family spends a lot of time outside, the garden “was laid out as a series of outdoor spaces.” Adjacent to the indoor swimming pool there’s a winter garden with evergreens and river birch trees. In front of the house, an herb garden is tucked into a nook outside the kitchen, and at the rear, bluestone terraces span the width of the home between the garage and the pergola that leads to the pool garden. The landscape also includes an English perennial border; a spacious lawn large enough for weddings; and two long allées of flowering crape myrtles with overlooks at the ends, providing views of the pastures and dressage ring.
Graham says he “looks at what the architect is doing,” and tries “to extend it out into the landscape.” In this case, he adds, “The garden is formal in a casual way. The organization gives it some clarity and there’s a relaxed feeling almost everywhere.”
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Jay Graham, FASLA, and Kevin Campion, ASLA, Graham Landscape Architecture, Annapolis, Maryland. LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE: Hugh Latham, Grown to be Wild Nursery, Brandywine, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Victoria Cooper, Chevy Chase, 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.
When landscape architect Scott Brinitzer encountered this new Bethesda, Maryland, house, it sat alone high upon a hill, isolated from its surroundings. The homeowners wanted an entry sequence so that visitors wouldn’t have to walk up the driveway, in addition to a pool and an outdoor “room” in back.
To marry the house to its surroundings, Brinitzer designed a series of retaining walls that step down gracefully from the house to street level, creating broad terraces, with a walkway through them, that allow room for handsome plantings. To the left of the entry-level terrace, a magnificent Southern magnolia nestles in a bed of white azaleas. To the right, three serviceberries obscure the view of the house while still allowing visitors to see through to the front door.
Patterned after the architectural lines of the residence, the area behind the house includes a stucco fireplace, swimming pool and patio. Little Girl magnolias form an intimate canopy around the swimming pool and patio, and soften the effect of the 100-foot-tall tulip poplars that were already present on the property. A raised bed screens the garden beyond the pool, accessible through the small dining terrace. Brinitzer explains that the design moves people through the landscape in such a way that it cannot be seen all at once. “It makes the site more interesting,” he says, “and gives people the illusion of discovery in the garden.”
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Scott Brinitzer, Brinitzer Design Associates, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: Gibson Builders, Washington, DC. POOL DESIGN & INSTALLATION: Alpine Pool, Annandale, Virginia. PHOTOGRAPHY: Roger Foley, Arlington, Virginia.
read more
**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.
MAY/JUNE 2010
When landscape architect Scott Brinitzer encountered this new Bethesda, Maryland, house, it sat alone high upon a hill, isolated from its surroundings. The homeowners wanted an entry sequence so that visitors wouldn’t have to walk up the driveway, in addition to a pool and an outdoor “room” in back.
To marry the house to its surroundings, Brinitzer designed a series of retaining walls that step down gracefully from the house to street level, creating broad terraces, with a walkway through them, that allow room for handsome plantings. To the left of the entry-level terrace, a magnificent Southern magnolia nestles in a bed of white azaleas. To the right, three serviceberries obscure the view of the house while still allowing visitors to see through to the front door.
Patterned after the architectural lines of the residence, the area behind the house includes a stucco fireplace, swimming pool and patio. Little Girl magnolias form an intimate canopy around the swimming pool and patio, and soften the effect of the 100-foot-tall tulip poplars that were already present on the property. A raised bed screens the garden beyond the pool, accessible through the small dining terrace. Brinitzer explains that the design moves people through the landscape in such a way that it cannot be seen all at once. “It makes the site more interesting,” he says, “and gives people the illusion of discovery in the garden.”
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Scott Brinitzer, Brinitzer Design Associates, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: Gibson Builders, Washington, DC. POOL DESIGN & INSTALLATION: Alpine Pool, Annandale, Virginia. PHOTOGRAPHY: Roger Foley, Arlington, Virginia.
read more
**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.
MAY/JUNE 2010
Informal plantings can be the best solution for a very formal landscape: They soften the straight lines of pool, patio, deck and retaining walls, and lend a casual air to a backyard geared for the enjoyment of family and friends.
For designer Joseph Hafner of Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., combining formal and casual was the key to landscaping a sweeping Potomac property, where a pool and patio created the elegant yet welcoming look he wanted. The main design scheme, says Hafner, was “to create a feeling of under-story and sanctuary down by the pool,” while maintaining views of the landscape from the deck off the rear of the residence. The major roadblock to the design was an existing septic system, which dictated that the pool be built atop special support piers screwed into bedrock 25 feet below grade. Hafner connected the house to the lower landscape with stone retaining walls, planting beds and wide steps to the pool and patio area, which is a generous 2,400-plus square feet.
A planting of evergreen Japanese cedars on one side of the property maintains privacy by the pool so it can be used well into fall, and plants were selected for deer resistance and interest throughout the year. The blooms begin in spring with the heavy scent of Virginia sweetspire, which gives way to summer-flowering hydrangeas, crape myrtle, black-eyed Susans and other colorful shrubs and perennials. An array of ornamental grasses extends the blooming season well into autumn.
Washington, DC-based Jane Berger is publisher of GardenDesignOnline.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Joseph Hafner, Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Bob Narod, Herndon, Virginia.
**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.
MAY/JUNE 2010
Informal plantings can be the best solution for a very formal landscape: They soften the straight lines of pool, patio, deck and retaining walls, and lend a casual air to a backyard geared for the enjoyment of family and friends.
For designer Joseph Hafner of Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., combining formal and casual was the key to landscaping a sweeping Potomac property, where a pool and patio created the elegant yet welcoming look he wanted. The main design scheme, says Hafner, was “to create a feeling of under-story and sanctuary down by the pool,” while maintaining views of the landscape from the deck off the rear of the residence. The major roadblock to the design was an existing septic system, which dictated that the pool be built atop special support piers screwed into bedrock 25 feet below grade. Hafner connected the house to the lower landscape with stone retaining walls, planting beds and wide steps to the pool and patio area, which is a generous 2,400-plus square feet.
A planting of evergreen Japanese cedars on one side of the property maintains privacy by the pool so it can be used well into fall, and plants were selected for deer resistance and interest throughout the year. The blooms begin in spring with the heavy scent of Virginia sweetspire, which gives way to summer-flowering hydrangeas, crape myrtle, black-eyed Susans and other colorful shrubs and perennials. An array of ornamental grasses extends the blooming season well into autumn.
Washington, DC-based Jane Berger is publisher of GardenDesignOnline.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Joseph Hafner, Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Bob Narod, Herndon, Virginia.
**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.
MAY/JUNE 2010
A grand allée of willow oaks lines the entrance to this 25-acre Potomac, Maryland, property, a perfect welcoming touch to both a stately residence and an ordered landscape that’s home to polo ponies as well as a large family. Jay Graham, FASLA, and Kevin Campion, ASLA, of Graham Landscape Architecture, were brought in by DC-based architect David Jones to design a landscape that would complement the grand Georgian-style residence, which includes a wing with an indoor swimming pool, staff apartments and a garage.
According to Campion, because the family spends a lot of time outside, the garden “was laid out as a series of outdoor spaces.” Adjacent to the indoor swimming pool there’s a winter garden with evergreens and river birch trees. In front of the house, an herb garden is tucked into a nook outside the kitchen, and at the rear, bluestone terraces span the width of the home between the garage and the pergola that leads to the pool garden. The landscape also includes an English perennial border; a spacious lawn large enough for weddings; and two long allées of flowering crape myrtles with overlooks at the ends, providing views of the pastures and dressage ring.
Graham says he “looks at what the architect is doing,” and tries “to extend it out into the landscape.” In this case, he adds, “The garden is formal in a casual way. The organization gives it some clarity and there’s a relaxed feeling almost everywhere.”
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Jay Graham, FASLA, and Kevin Campion, ASLA, Graham Landscape Architecture, Annapolis, Maryland. LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE: Hugh Latham, Grown to be Wild Nursery, Brandywine, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Victoria Cooper, Chevy Chase, 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.
MAY/JUNE 2010
When landscape architect Scott Brinitzer encountered this new Bethesda, Maryland, house, it sat alone high upon a hill, isolated from its surroundings. The homeowners wanted an entry sequence so that visitors wouldn’t have to walk up the driveway, in addition to a pool and an outdoor “room” in back.
To marry the house to its surroundings, Brinitzer designed a series of retaining walls that step down gracefully from the house to street level, creating broad terraces, with a walkway through them, that allow room for handsome plantings. To the left of the entry-level terrace, a magnificent Southern magnolia nestles in a bed of white azaleas. To the right, three serviceberries obscure the view of the house while still allowing visitors to see through to the front door.
Patterned after the architectural lines of the residence, the area behind the house includes a stucco fireplace, swimming pool and patio. Little Girl magnolias form an intimate canopy around the swimming pool and patio, and soften the effect of the 100-foot-tall tulip poplars that were already present on the property. A raised bed screens the garden beyond the pool, accessible through the small dining terrace. Brinitzer explains that the design moves people through the landscape in such a way that it cannot be seen all at once. “It makes the site more interesting,” he says, “and gives people the illusion of discovery in the garden.”
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Scott Brinitzer, Brinitzer Design Associates, Washington, DC. CONTRACTOR: Gibson Builders, Washington, DC. POOL DESIGN & INSTALLATION: Alpine Pool, Annandale, Virginia. PHOTOGRAPHY: Roger Foley, Arlington, Virginia.
read more
**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.
MAY/JUNE 2010
A grand allée of willow oaks lines the entrance to this 25-acre Potomac, Maryland, property, a perfect welcoming touch to both a stately residence and an ordered landscape that’s home to polo ponies as well as a large family. Jay Graham, FASLA, and Kevin Campion, ASLA, of Graham Landscape Architecture, were brought in by DC-based architect David Jones to design a landscape that would complement the grand Georgian-style residence, which includes a wing with an indoor swimming pool, staff apartments and a garage.
According to Campion, because the family spends a lot of time outside, the garden “was laid out as a series of outdoor spaces.” Adjacent to the indoor swimming pool there’s a winter garden with evergreens and river birch trees. In front of the house, an herb garden is tucked into a nook outside the kitchen, and at the rear, bluestone terraces span the width of the home between the garage and the pergola that leads to the pool garden. The landscape also includes an English perennial border; a spacious lawn large enough for weddings; and two long allées of flowering crape myrtles with overlooks at the ends, providing views of the pastures and dressage ring.
Graham says he “looks at what the architect is doing,” and tries “to extend it out into the landscape.” In this case, he adds, “The garden is formal in a casual way. The organization gives it some clarity and there’s a relaxed feeling almost everywhere.”
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Jay Graham, FASLA, and Kevin Campion, ASLA, Graham Landscape Architecture, Annapolis, Maryland. LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE: Hugh Latham, Grown to be Wild Nursery, Brandywine, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Victoria Cooper, Chevy Chase, 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.
MARCH/APRIL 2010
Sometimes, a facelift is just the thing. This was the case with a three-plus-acre property on a creek that flows into the South River in Annapolis. Once an old fisherman’s shack, the house was updated to a family residence. When the homeowner was ready for a landscape makeover, she brought in Oehme van Sweden Landscape Architects and Walnut Hill Landscape Company to implement their design.
The project focused on the front of the property, which had a meandering driveway and typical suburban plantings. Oehme’s Eric Groft and Robert Hruby relocated the drive to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic and designed a “meet and greet” terrace at the front door. Drifts of Knockout roses, ornamental grasses, daylilies, Russian sage and Winter Hazel contrast with the home’s white-painted façade, providing color and interest year-round.
According to Mike Prokopchak of Walnut Hill, one priority was to preserve
a huge silver maple in the center of the new circular drive. Now, says Prokopchak, the combination of old trees, colorful new plantings and paving gives the property
“an old farmhouse feel.”
AWARD: Grand, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Robert Hruby and Eric Groft, Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, Washington, DC. LANDSCAPE INSTALLATION: Mike Prokopchak, Matt Prokopchak, and Ronda Prokopchak, Walnut Hill Landscape Company, Annapolis, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Jay Stearns, Gambrills, Maryland.
Jane Berger is the publisher of GardenDesignOnline.com.
**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.
MARCH/APRIL 2010
An elaborate, natural-looking pool is the main landscape feature of this wooded, nearly six-acre property in Chantilly, Virginia. Landscape architect Chad Talton of Surrounds Landscape Architecture + Construction, Inc., was tasked with providing a spacious entertaining area and a pool big enough to swim laps. The property was largely flat, but it contained a woodland area with rock outcroppings, which Talton used to sculpt the landscape into a multi-level outdoor living space. Boulders ranging from two to ten tons were craned into place, and a berm on one side of the pool creates a waterfall.
A sizeable terrace provides ample space for entertaining and connects to another terrace with a natural stone fireplace. There was not quite enough space for a standard-length lap pool (75 feet), so a swimming jet was installed on one side of the pool along with a spa area. The main challenge, says Talton, was to “keep it natural, to match the environment of a woodland, rural setting.”
The patios are made of pavers, while the pool decking and paths are Pennsylvania bluestone. Japanese maples, evergreens, ornamental grasses, geraniums, Catmint and other perennials offer color and interest throughout the year.
AWARD: Grand, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build). LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Chad Talton; PROJECT MANAGER: John Peer, Surrounds Landscape Architecture + Construction, Inc., Sterling, Virginia. POOL INSTALLATION: Town & Country Pools, Inc., Springfield, Virginia.
**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.
MARCH/APRIL 2010
When a retired Bethesda couple decided to modernize and enlarge their weekend house in Easton, Maryland, for full-time living, they encountered an unusual problem. Although the property sat along the picturesque banks of the Miles River, the views from the back of the home looked directly into the neighbor’s residence and yard.
The couple turned to landscape architect Richard Sweeney of McHale Landscape Design, Inc., who presented them with a novel solution to the problem: Alter the existing landscape just enough to direct the eye to the west and its beautiful riverside sunsets. An old, oval-shaped swimming pool was redesigned as a rectangle and placed at a 45-degree angle from the house. The mortared flagstone patio was removed, and a new one of the same material was dry-laid in a random rectangular pattern to lend the outdoor living area a more casual air and complement the contemporary-style addition at the back of the house. Down by the river, Sweeney installed a fire pit along with native species that filter runoff water before it empties into the river. Plantings include Coreopsis and annual yellow petunias, chosen to fit the color scheme of a daughter’s wedding that was held near the water. Now, when sitting on the terrace, the homeowners look out over the pool to a rolling lawn dotted with stately trees, and the river beyond.
AWARD: Grand, Total Residential Contracting. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Steven McHale; LANDSCAPE DESIGN : Richard Sweeney, McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, 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.
MARCH/APRIL 2010
An elaborate, natural-looking pool is the main landscape feature of this wooded, nearly six-acre property in Chantilly, Virginia. Landscape architect Chad Talton of Surrounds Landscape Architecture + Construction, Inc., was tasked with providing a spacious entertaining area and a pool big enough to swim laps. The property was largely flat, but it contained a woodland area with rock outcroppings, which Talton used to sculpt the landscape into a multi-level outdoor living space. Boulders ranging from two to ten tons were craned into place, and a berm on one side of the pool creates a waterfall.
A sizeable terrace provides ample space for entertaining and connects to another terrace with a natural stone fireplace. There was not quite enough space for a standard-length lap pool (75 feet), so a swimming jet was installed on one side of the pool along with a spa area. The main challenge, says Talton, was to “keep it natural, to match the environment of a woodland, rural setting.”
The patios are made of pavers, while the pool decking and paths are Pennsylvania bluestone. Japanese maples, evergreens, ornamental grasses, geraniums, Catmint and other perennials offer color and interest throughout the year.
AWARD: Grand, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build). LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Chad Talton; PROJECT MANAGER: John Peer, Surrounds Landscape Architecture + Construction, Inc., Sterling, Virginia. POOL INSTALLATION: Town & Country Pools, Inc., Springfield, Virginia.
**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.
MARCH/APRIL 2010
Sometimes, a facelift is just the thing. This was the case with a three-plus-acre property on a creek that flows into the South River in Annapolis. Once an old fisherman’s shack, the house was updated to a family residence. When the homeowner was ready for a landscape makeover, she brought in Oehme van Sweden Landscape Architects and Walnut Hill Landscape Company to implement their design.
The project focused on the front of the property, which had a meandering driveway and typical suburban plantings. Oehme’s Eric Groft and Robert Hruby relocated the drive to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic and designed a “meet and greet” terrace at the front door. Drifts of Knockout roses, ornamental grasses, daylilies, Russian sage and Winter Hazel contrast with the home’s white-painted façade, providing color and interest year-round.
According to Mike Prokopchak of Walnut Hill, one priority was to preserve
a huge silver maple in the center of the new circular drive. Now, says Prokopchak, the combination of old trees, colorful new plantings and paving gives the property
“an old farmhouse feel.”
AWARD: Grand, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Robert Hruby and Eric Groft, Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, Washington, DC. LANDSCAPE INSTALLATION: Mike Prokopchak, Matt Prokopchak, and Ronda Prokopchak, Walnut Hill Landscape Company, Annapolis, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Jay Stearns, Gambrills, Maryland.
Jane Berger is the publisher of GardenDesignOnline.com.
**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.
MARCH/APRIL 2010
When a retired Bethesda couple decided to modernize and enlarge their weekend house in Easton, Maryland, for full-time living, they encountered an unusual problem. Although the property sat along the picturesque banks of the Miles River, the views from the back of the home looked directly into the neighbor’s residence and yard.
The couple turned to landscape architect Richard Sweeney of McHale Landscape Design, Inc., who presented them with a novel solution to the problem: Alter the existing landscape just enough to direct the eye to the west and its beautiful riverside sunsets. An old, oval-shaped swimming pool was redesigned as a rectangle and placed at a 45-degree angle from the house. The mortared flagstone patio was removed, and a new one of the same material was dry-laid in a random rectangular pattern to lend the outdoor living area a more casual air and complement the contemporary-style addition at the back of the house. Down by the river, Sweeney installed a fire pit along with native species that filter runoff water before it empties into the river. Plantings include Coreopsis and annual yellow petunias, chosen to fit the color scheme of a daughter’s wedding that was held near the water. Now, when sitting on the terrace, the homeowners look out over the pool to a rolling lawn dotted with stately trees, and the river beyond.
AWARD: Grand, Total Residential Contracting. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Steven McHale; LANDSCAPE DESIGN : Richard Sweeney, McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, 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.
Tucked into Washington, DC’s urban neighborhood of Cleveland Park is a lush garden oasis. It includes an English-style border overflowing with roses, Lady’s Mantle, Catmint, peonies, and Iris; a magnificent old weeping cherry tree; a swimming pool reminiscent of a New England pond; and beyond it all, a glimpse of the National Cathedral. Designed by landscape architects Scott Fritz and Leslie Gignoux and installed and maintained by Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., the long, narrow lot echoes the homeowner’s favorite vacation spot in Maine. “She wanted it very natural,” says Fritz, “like a Maine landscape.”
At the rear of the lot, a former garage on higher ground is now a writing studio with its own secluded garden. From here, a series of small, cascading ponds flows into the pool. A natural stone path connects the stone terrace at the back of the house to the pool, while another path under the weeping cherry leads to the studio, past colorful plantings and huge rocks that provide picturesque seating. According to Fine Earth’s Joel Hafner, each boulder was strategically placed by the architects in collaboration with the client. Fine Earth took care during construction to preserve the weeping cherry, as well as a weeping Katsura tree up near the house.
AWARD: Distinction, Residential Maintenance. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Scott Fritz and Leslie Gignoux, Fritz & Gignoux Landscape Architects, Washington, DC. LANDSCAPE INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE: Joel Hafner, Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, 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.
