Expansive Formal Garden Ideas and Designs
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David R. Lamb, Landscape ArchitectThis propery is situated on the south side of Centre Island at the edge of an oak and ash woodlands. orignally, it was three properties having one house and various out buildings. topographically, it more or less continually sloped to the water. Our task was to creat a series of terraces that were to house various functions such as the main house and forecourt, cottage, boat house and utility barns.
The immediate landscape around the main house was largely masonry terraces and flower gardens. The outer landscape was comprised of heavily planted trails and intimate open spaces for the client to preamble through. As the site was largely an oak and ash woods infested with Norway maple and japanese honey suckle we essentially started with tall trees and open ground. Our planting intent was to introduce a variety of understory tree and a heavy shrub and herbaceous layer with an emphisis on planting native material. As a result the feel of the property is one of graciousness with a challenge to explore.
Greey PickettThe landscape of this home honors the formality of Spanish Colonial / Santa Barbara Style early homes in the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix. By re-grading the lot and allowing for terraced opportunities, we featured a variety of hardscape stone, brick, and decorative tiles that reinforce the eclectic Spanish Colonial feel. Cantera and La Negra volcanic stone, brick, natural field stone, and handcrafted Spanish decorative tiles are used to establish interest throughout the property.
A front courtyard patio includes a hand painted tile fountain and sitting area near the outdoor fire place. This patio features formal Boxwood hedges, Hibiscus, and a rose garden set in pea gravel.
The living room of the home opens to an outdoor living area which is raised three feet above the pool. This allowed for opportunity to feature handcrafted Spanish tiles and raised planters. The side courtyard, with stepping stones and Dichondra grass, surrounds a focal Crape Myrtle tree.
One focal point of the back patio is a 24-foot hand-hammered wrought iron trellis, anchored with a stone wall water feature. We added a pizza oven and barbecue, bistro lights, and hanging flower baskets to complete the intimate outdoor dining space.
Project Details:
Landscape Architect: Greey|Pickett
Architect: Higgins Architects
Landscape Contractor: Premier Environments
Photography: Sam Rosenbaum
Exterior Worlds Landscaping & DesignWe were contacted by the owner of a Houston, Texas home who asked us to design a series of gardens and landscaping features that would compliment and expand the Mediterranean theme of his house into the surrounding landscape. This house sat on a very large lot of several acres in a secluded Memorial Drive neighborhood located near the 610 Loop. The home featured a symmetrical, linear appearance in spite of its two-story build, and our client wanted a landscape and garden design that would follow these same principles of self-contained regularity and subtle linear motion.
Creating a Mediterranean theme in a Houston, Texas garden and landscape is a bit more complex that it might appear at face value. The southern coast of Europe—particularly in Italy and Greece—is a mountainous area where homes and gardens are built on steep angles and sharp vertical rises. Gardens and fields are often built in terraces that climb the mountains due to the limited planting area and rough, rocky terrain. Limestone is the predominant rock type in Italy and Greece and has become iconic of this part of the world in our collective consciousness. Mediterranean homes and gardens are historically famous for their white stucco walls, olive groves, and carefully sculptured greenery embedded in a rugged limestone backdrop.
The challenge lay in taking an essentially three-dimensional landscaping style and transfering it to a Houston property. As we all know, this part of Texas is very flat, so a hillside garden is out of the question in the literal sense. However, using a combination of symmetrical forms and linear progressions, along with some innovative garden materials, we were able to mimic several aspects of seaside European terrain.
The key to doing this was to establish a combination of circular forms and linear patterns in the multiple garden elements we designed. French and Italian gardens place a heavy emphasis on order and symmetry, and both tend to utilize right angles to establish form. We planted a variety of low level growth around the house and rear swimming pool patio to emphasize its walls and corners. We then added three keynote forms to the landscape to create a Houston equivalent of a Mediterranean garden.
The first of these forms was a knot garden centered on the front door, located just in front of the home’s motorcourt. We planted boxwoods in three circular rows that looked like terraces on a hillside. In the center of the knot garden we planted Loropatalum, punctuated with a lone Crinum lily as the center piece. The rich purple of the Loropatalum draws catches the eye, and the vertical dimension added by the lily draws it upward to the front entrance of the house.
Moving then to one side of the house, we transformed a substantial portion of the yard into a parterre garden that centered on a large glass room that extended from the west wing of the house. This garden was populated by low-growth rose bushes whose amenability to constant trimming makes them an ideal plant material for parterre gardens, and whose colorful blooms a made them stand out from multiple vantage points throughout this Houston neighborhood. The garden borders were made from of boxwood hedges, and the central pathways were made using European limestone gravel that mimics the color of the limestone cliffs of the Aegean and Adriatic Seas. We then completed the design by adding dwarf yaupon, a small shrub that bears a curious resemblance to clouds, all along the borders of the gravel walkways. This helped create the impression that the garden was located on a hilltop near the sea, and that the clouds were rolling across the shoreline.
One of the most appealing attributes of this Houston, Texas property is its superb location. The back of the yard borders a 50-foot ravine carved out of the earth by a major tributary of Buffalo Bayou. This seemed to us a natural destination spot for garden guests to visit after strolling around the west wing of the home to the pool. To encourage them to do so, we planted an alley of crepe myrtles leading from the pool area all the way back to the woods along the ravine. We then built a walkway out of limestone aggregate blocks that started at the parterre garden, ran alongside the house to the pool, then ran straight out through the alley of trees to the scenic overlook of the forest and stream below. For more the 20 years Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's fine neighborhoods.
Pro-Land Landscape Construction Inc.With a lengthy list of ideas about how to transform their backyard, the clients were excited to see what we could do. Existing features on site needed to be updated and in-cooperated within the design. The view from each angle of the property was already outstanding and we didn't want the design to feel out of place. We had to make the grade changes work to our advantage, each separate space had to have a purpose. The client wanted to use the property for charity events, so a large flat turf area was constructed at the back of the property, perfect for setting up tables, chairs and a stage if needed. It also created the perfect look out point into the back of the property, dropping off into a ravine. A lot of focus throughout the project was the plant selection. With a large amount of garden beds, we wanted to maintain a clean and formal look, while still offering seasonal interest. We did this by edging the beds with boxwoods, adding white hydrangeas throughout the beds for constant colour, and subtle pops of purple and yellow. This along with the already breathtaking natural backdrop of the space, is more than enough to make this project stand out.
Photographer: Jason Hartog Photography
Interlocking Concrete Pavement InstituteClay brick pavers were chosen and installed in a running bond pattern for the walkways. The front walk leads guests to the front door through a stunning perennial garden. The large circular design in the front walk creates a great focal point. A clay brick walk leads guests through a post and beam arbor into the backyard entertaining space. This space includes a post and beam pergola with three posts, circular seating bench and wood burning fire pit that creates an intimate space. Clay brick accents were incorporated in the grill island and large wood burning fireplace and columns. Fire features were integrated into the columns on each side of the fireplace and seat walls.
Contractor/Installer: GoldGlo Landscapes LLC
Product Manufacturer: Glen Grey Brick
Project Designer: GoldGlo Landscapes LLC
Torrey Pines Landscape Co., IncThis is an example of an expansive traditional side formal partial sun garden for spring in San Diego with a garden path and natural stone paving.
MGS ArchitecturePhotography by Matthew Momberger
Photo of an expansive modern back formal full sun garden for summer in Los Angeles with a retaining wall and gravel.
Photo of an expansive modern back formal full sun garden for summer in Los Angeles with a retaining wall and gravel.
Llama ArchitectsA once over grown area, boggy part of the curtilage of this replacement dwelling development. Implementing extensive drainage, tree planting and dry stone walling, the walled garden is now maturing into a beautiful private garden area of this soon to be stunning home development. With sunken dry stone walled private seating area, Box hedging, pleached Hornbeam, oak cleft gates, dry stone walling and wild life loving planting and views over rolling hills and countryside, this garden is a beautiful addition to this developments Landscape Architecture design.
Everett Garden Designs©Melissa Clark Photography. All rights reserved.
Inspiration for an expansive nautical courtyard formal full sun garden for summer in DC Metro with a garden path and brick paving.
Inspiration for an expansive nautical courtyard formal full sun garden for summer in DC Metro with a garden path and brick paving.
Acres WildRomantic Country Garden, Surrey, UK
Inspiration for an expansive classic back formal partial sun garden for summer in Sussex with a garden path.
Inspiration for an expansive classic back formal partial sun garden for summer in Sussex with a garden path.
GreenSmartDecorAdd a bit of green to your outdoor area with Greensmart Decor. With artificial leaf panels, we've eliminated the maintenance and water consumption upkeep for real foliage. Our high-quality, weather resistant panels are the perfect privacy solution for your backyard, patio, deck or balcony.
Krent Wieland Design, Inc.Expansive classic front formal full sun garden for spring in Miami with a garden path and natural stone paving.
Grow LandscapesDuy Tran Photography
Design ideas for an expansive traditional front formal partial sun garden for spring in DC Metro with concrete paving.
Design ideas for an expansive traditional front formal partial sun garden for spring in DC Metro with concrete paving.
Archer ServicesThree tiers of flower beds have been crafted from stone and stone pavers to create a magical look and feel. A multitude of textures and colors fill the beds, inviting butterflies and passersby to stop and enjoy.
Leyva & Wilde, Inc.This is an example of an expansive traditional courtyard formal full sun garden for summer in Orange County with a water feature and brick paving.
Mufson Landscape, Pool & DesignInstallation of fountain and landscape in formal courtyard
This is an example of an expansive mediterranean courtyard formal garden in New York with a water feature.
This is an example of an expansive mediterranean courtyard formal garden in New York with a water feature.
Mr GreenLandSpaces
Design ideas for an expansive classic sloped formal full sun garden for spring in New York with a garden path and brick paving.
Design ideas for an expansive classic sloped formal full sun garden for spring in New York with a garden path and brick paving.
Garten- und Landschaftsbau Jansen und ArensVillengarten in Bergisch- Gladbach
Entwurf: Studio ASH
Expansive classic back formal partial sun garden for summer in Cologne.
Expansive classic back formal partial sun garden for summer in Cologne.
Novotny Landscaping LLCSally Michalko
Design ideas for an expansive rustic sloped formal full sun garden in Milwaukee with a retaining wall and natural stone paving.
Design ideas for an expansive rustic sloped formal full sun garden in Milwaukee with a retaining wall and natural stone paving.
Expansive Formal Garden Ideas and Designs
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