At this gorgeous home in downtown Rochester, our clients wanted to implement a collaborative landscape design that best fit the style of their home. This project was installed in the late summer going into early fall, a great time for installations to occur due to the milder weather in the fall. Before the landscape installation, the house started as a new build English-style home. To start, we had a design consultation to discuss what the clients wanted from the final product and which plants they felt would pair well with their home and personality. The clients requested a custom paver patio, natural stone steps, and a walkway connecting the various hardscape features. To ensure that we had the same vision as the client, we created a 3D rendering to show the client what we expected to do with their landscape. Once they were as excited about the design as we were, we got started on the installation.
Our team’s design consisted of a hardscape installation that included transforming the existing poured concrete wall structure into a custom paver patio. Since the house was a new build, our team filled in the existing structure with compacted crushed concrete base material before installing a grey paver patio on the top. Our team also installed steps down from the front door to the driveway which complemented the pavers and added a landscape planting bed against the house for added color. The patio was not yet perfected; the team decided to add in knockout roses to contrast a pop of color with the greyish beige color of the paver steps and patio. The upper patio section of the landscape, completed with a stone firepit, was transformed into the perfect place for the clients to relax and enjoy the new additions to their home.
Of course, the only thing better than one patio is two patios, so our team got to work on a second paver patio and walkway just outside of the ground floor of the house. This small patio curves from an entrance to the house into a walkway leading to the middle of the landscape. At the end of the walkway are a boulder wall integrated with natural stone steps and then into a natural stone walkway on top of the grade. Since the ground naturally sloped upwards here, it was important to the design that the natural stone steps followed the slope of the ground until it levelled out with the front of the house. This part of the landscape design transformed a jarring shift in slope to a purposeful and natural incline made of natural steps. Lining the natural stone steps is a small boulder wall with climbing vinca vine wrapping between the stones to hold them in and add decorative green highlights. The natural stone color of both the boulder wall and the natural stone steps contrasts with the vibrant green of the vine, both complementing the modern style of the home.
For the remainder of the landscape, there were still many finishing touches to implement to complete a flawless landscape design. Our team added two large tri-color beeches on either side of the front staircase. These perfectly frame the stairway and house, adding symmetry and a pop of color leading to the patio. To add even more dimension, we organized boxwood shrubs symmetrically in a square pattern on each side of the entry way, surrounding the large tri-color beeches. Some other specific plants that the client requested included dogwood trees, red maple trees, juniper trees, lilac bushes, lilac trees, holly shrubs, and hydrangeas. The variety of plants chosen ensures that different colors and dimension are added to an otherwise underwhelming lawn. Different colors and leaf types also break up the greyness of the house and the tall foundation it was built on. The variety of plants used ensures that throughout the Spring and Summer, the house will always have a variation of color and stunning visual effects from all views of the house. The goal of this design is to create a visual that is eye-catching both from a street view and up close as the smaller details become more apparent.
The larger and smaller features of this landscape installation cohesively combine modern and natural aspects to create a beautiful front lawn. The landscape design was created to complement the colors of the house. Overall, the client was extremely happy with the final product, appreciating the uniqueness of the custom paver patios and control over which plants they wanted added to their landscape in addition to our recommendations. We were happy that we could bring our clients’ vision of their landscape to life and create a gorgeous design that will last for years.
