Suburban Residential Design

I designed this property in response to the client’s desire for a “dynamic outdoor space,” which I developed by utilizing the form of an exisiting major tree, the shape of the house, and the use of a path from the back entrance through the garden. I placed shade plants against the house and under the large maple tree, accommodating the low light levels, and added a bench along the path as an accent.

In this detailed zoom of the front yard, I created a walkway with a grade of 10” leading to the new patio. There is an issue of excess rain water and snow load, so I added a rain chain to the gutters that drips into a copper bowl. This bowl has a 4” pipe drilled into it which sits in a small gravel trench under a slab of bluestone, located between the path and patio. The pipe spills into a depressed rain garden bed which contains variegated iris’ that will suck up the excessive water. The rain garden is surrounded by smooth river stones to lead people into the area to explore this environmentally sound means of rain water control. The mixed bluestone path is bordered by a simple row of native grasses, softening the texture of the landscape.