Boneval

living — 2022 — Virginia

Palisades Residence

“The new house with its small garden must go to work for us, solving our problems while it also pleases our eyes and emotional psychological needs.”
- Thomas Church, Gardens are for People

The Gardener’s Garden is a place of delight born from the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Embraced by a framework of stone, brick, and corten steel, this garden was designed to be a playground of plants and a place of respite, rebirth and renewal.

The existing architecture of the house provided initial clues for the project. The wall stone in the garden was selected to match stone found on the facade of the house, and is quarried five miles from the project site. Stone banding reinforces the wall geometry and provides additional interest to the perspective view. The exquisite craftsmanship by the construction team on these structural elements expresses itself and then disappears during the cycles of the seasons, as spring bulbs appear, perennials rise, roses bloom, colors fade, and the evergreen backdrops regain importance.

Photos by Allen Russ

ARPhoto_MG_211001_MichaelKruger_RAW_proofs2

2022-PASLA_The-Gardeners-Garden-Award-Submission_Page_022-1

Existing Conditions + Site Plan

Poor drainage, an aging wood wall susceptible to deterioration, inadequate access to the service garage, and an overall lack of focus within the garden were challenges that needed to be solved by the new design. The gradual slope of the garden provided an opportunity to create an infrastructure of vertical layers more visible to the eye from the house. By establishing this physical framework for the garden, an entertaining space adjacent to the house is defined.

Landscape Architecture Photographs – Washington DC, Maryland, MD, Virginia, VA

The rich selection of plants provides the start of a garden that is meant to be constantly in flux. Pockets of soil are tucked into unlikely places to offer additional moments of texture and exploration for both guests and for the clients who are avid gardeners. The garden was to be French-inspired, prominently sited on the central axis of the house.

A granite ramp from the service entrance is designed to facilitate access with wheelbarrows and other small equipment to aid the maintenance tasks of the garden.

A sculpture by Donald Baechler offers a focal point and is situated to hold the middle distance and the strong east-west axis from the house to the upper garden greenhouse and garage access.

By encouraging interaction with plants at various garden levels, maximizing their visibility from the home and entertaining spaces, and providing outdoor places to sit within a dynamic orchestration of planting, sculpture, and stonework, the design utilizes proven strategies to improve the health and wellbeing of its owners.