This project came to us earlier than most. The home had not yet been fully constructed and this afforded us some unique opportunities with the site. While much of the lot had already been cleared, we were able to save much of the mature woodland edge bordering the street and surrounding property. With the home being angled to maximize exposure for solar panels, it provided us with the opportunity for a long sweeping entry walkway to the front of the home. This sweeping entryway merges seamlessly with the garage apron and ultimately flows into the walkway leading to their stunning backyard.
The clients expressed their adoration for the Azores and reminisced on the many different places they have stayed and experienced throughout their many trips. From those memories of meandering paths through illuminated trees and the vibrant pops of color from surrounding plant material, we crafted this stunning resort style backyard. We layered these memories into this incredible space where they can host their many friends and family. From the tucked away tennis court, to the intimate pergola patios, even the reflection of the cabana on the pool surface, we captured those fragments of their Azore vacations and compiled them all into a new spectacular property for their everyday enjoyment.
While we were able to save many of the bordering trees, much of the lot had been cleared in anticipation of a sprawling lawn space. With the clients onboard, we were able to minimize the lawn area and revegetate much of the site using a blend of native and ornamental plantings, including over 20,000 square feet of wildflower meadows. These meadows were used as a buffer area between the lawn areas and the encompassing natural woodland forest. Embedded into these wildflower meadows was also our drainage solution. With a large area of impervious surface it was crucial to redirect the water away from the home, cabana and patio areas and into our drainage swale. The downspouts and pitch of the hardscape areas directed all the water behind the cabana and into a dry river bed filled with crushed stone and river rock to slow the flow of water. The swale then directed any runoff around the rear corner of the tennis court and into our swaled wildflower meadow. To slow the flow of water and retain the water onsite we created a series of earthen check-dams planted with wildflowers. We even included a “green lawn” footbridge spanning the swale to allow secondary access to the tennis court.