After an extensive renovation, this home was ready for landscaping. In addition, the homeowners wanted to add a walkway to lead guests from the parking area to the (hidden) front door.
The concept
+ Eliminate the erosion problems by adding underground drainage structures that channel water through the project area.
+ Add a paved walkway and steps that link the parking area to the front door.
+ Replace gravel patio off the front door with stone paving.
+ Surround the walkway and the patio with abundant perennials and shrubs. The plants need to thrive in fast-draining, shallow soil, with occasional visits from deer. Plants along the base of the house should be able to tolerate snow dump in the winter (from the roof).
+ Line the walkway with planters that can be used for annuals.
Construction and project management: Church Hill Landscapes in Charlotte, VT
Key features
+ A purple bluestone walkway—with matching steps—leads to a small patio off the front door.
+ The surrounding gardens create a meadow of flowering perennials and shrubs, such as hydrangeas and boxwood. A compact crabapple marks the edge of the patio.
+ Steel planters await annual flowers.
+ At the base of the house, a gravel drip zone absorbs roof runoff; underground drainage structures throughout the project area move runoff away—and link it to existing drainage areas in the landscape.
Steel planters are ready for potting soil and summer annuals.
A spring-blooming crabapple frames the top of the patio.
