living — 2010 — Bluemont, Virginia

Piedmont Retreat

Asolare, a Greek word for the leisurely passage of time without purpose, is an apt name for a country retreat.

Nestled at the base of the Shenandoah foothills in Virginia, the 178-acre site was used for agriculture until the current owners purchased it for the creation of a country retreat. The irregularly shaped property included wooded tracts entangled with invasive species and agricultural fields delineated with dry-stacked stone walls in various states of disrepair. 

The landscape architect used stewardship principles and sustainable design techniques to enhance the land and to anchor a new, contemporary home in the Virginia Piedmont landscape. The result is a place of restoration that offers connection with elements of nature: fields, forest, water, and views of the endless sky.

 

MACKENZIE-C+Q-RosenfeldHouse-4

Photos by Allen Russ

Rosenfeld Rendered Site Plan_property_175
Rosenfeld Meadow Edge Planting 4-26-2010

Landscape Master Plan

Residential Site Plan

design sketches

Design Sketches  - Stone Wall, Gate, Firepit

A carefully considered palette of materials and color create a symbiosis with the natural surrounding.

Landscape Photograph Washington DC

Constructed from stone boulders found on-site, the entry gate establishes the aesthetic of the property and reveals the essence of the site.

06 Retouched

Lined with mesic plants, the rill is constructed from site-collected fieldstone and discharges into a bioswale.

Ecological Information

ARPhoto_131027_17__MG_2767_FS

Protection of all existing trees along ½ mile of driveway through forested area

ARPhoto_131027_08_FS

85 trees planted at the home site, 42 canopy trees and 43 understory (About ½ acre new canopy coverage at the home site). 

ARPhoto_131027_11_FS

400 new trees planted on site, mostly enhancing forest edge ecotone (190 @ 2” cal or greater and 210 whips).

MACKENZIE-C+Q-RosenfeldHouse-17

5000 sf new ornamental/residential garden beds, primarily (almost exclusively) native species

MACKENZIE-C+Q-RosenfeldHouse-2

3 acres new native species meadows & 1 new pond utilizing natural groundwater flow

05 Retouched b

Stormwater runoff from house managed through designed landscape features/embraced as part of garden design and discharged into meadow swale

Plant Palette

[tree]
Quercus phellos
Willow Oak

Piedmont Retreat Plant_02
Piedmont Retreat Plant_03

[tree]
Amelanchie x grandiflora
Serviceberry

[Perennial]
Agastache 'Blue Fortune'
Giant Hyssop

Piedmont Retreat Plant_04
Piedmont Retreat Plant_05

[Perennial]
Panicum virgatum 'Haense Herms' 
Switch Grass

[Perennial]
Rudbeckia 'Herbstsonne'
Black-eyed Susan 

Piedmont Retreat Plant_01
Piedmont Retreat Plant_07

[Perennial]
Sedum spp.
Sedum

Type

Living, Being

Collaborators

Architect: Cunningham Quill

Landscape contractors: Quarry Aquatics, Ruppert Nurseries

Awards

2011 Merit Award, American Society of Landscape Architects, Maryland Chapter

2011 Merit Award, American Society of Landscape Architects, Virginia Chapter                         

                         

Time Span

2007 - 2010

Location

Bluemont, Virginia

Have a project in mind?

609 H Street NE
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 543-1286
info@moodyarchitecture.com

1318 H Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 543-1286
info@moodyarchitecture.com

Moody Graham Landscape Architecture
Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.

Moody Graham Landscape Architecture
Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.