This charming and architecturally distinctive house was in search of a landscape; this much my client knew. A member of the design community herself, she had spent a lot of time renovating the interior. She was ready to renovate the outdoor spaces. A designer always needs to pay careful attention to the architecture; this is a given. But this house had certain unique and compelling features.
The Spanish style of this house came with a beautiful and intact tile roof, and old concrete stucco painted white. The brick terrace was in considerable disrepair, but the brick itself was old and good. The remains of a previous landscape seemed neither here nor there. Some poorly performing rhododendrons and azaleas struggled in the blazing sun and no doubt highly alkaline soil. Add to this a noticeable slope from the house to the center of the rear yard, and more importantly, my client’s interest in strong clean modern lines; I had plenty to think about. Small urban properties make their own demands. Not the least of these is that every gesture needs to be right. Small spaces are unforgiving of mistakes, or leftover unresolved areas. The mistakes made in small spaces seem to be so much larger than those made in big spaces. No room for error, as they say.
So we piled up the good brick, and ripped out all the ailing plants. In the meantime I was looking for a graceful expression that also felt strong and simple. I had my answer in the wall.
I was completely enamored of the white stucco wall that completely enclosed the rear yard. Completely overrun with trumpet vine, and various other weedy plants, that wall was still so architecturally strong and interesting I could not help but make it central to the design. My client carefully and completely repaired all the shaling stucco, and repainted it-the transformation to the entire space was striking.
This old wall was certainly deserving of attention. Infilled in 2 spots with old iron grilles, it was completely unique and unusual in its design. Surely the hand of a particular person, I have never seen a wall designed like this. While walls make beautiful landscape features, whatever their height or material; I had considerable excitement about this wall. Though quite old, it had strong and unusual lines that could be interpreted in a number of ways.
Cleaning out a space takes plenty of time, as does proper grading. I planned to enlarge the existing terrace to fill the entire space off the rear door and French doors. As the original U-shaped brick terrace had a unfriendly slope to it, I decided to create a step off, into the yard. The best move: a new stucco wall, built at seat height, to set the terrace apart from the rear yard space, that could also provide casual seating for guests. This new wall would integrate the new landscape into the old; it seemed natural to repeat that stucco feature.
The happy result are two distinct and level spaces. The terrace and a rectangular grass space friendly to the dogs, and in distinct contrast to the terrace surfaces.
To come, a U-shape of columnar carpinus, mulched in gravel, which would answer the brick shape on the terrace; the center of the terrace we did in gravel.
A terrace entirely of brick would have overwhelmed the space. Sometimes switching materials can make a big space read read in a more friendly way. No home needs a parking lot for a terrace, even though a big terrace is great for furniture, dining and entertaining. We are at a good stage here. Two rectangles at right angles to each other are ready for the finishing touches.
Come August in Michigan, the garden ought to be the perfect place for a party. This garden was spectacularly ready. The occasion of this party-a very special once in a lifetime event. My client was determined to pull out all the stops for her husband/gardener .
The maintenance of this garden is a regular thing, but everyone knew in advance we have a date to work towards. I did the cut flowers; my client orchestrated all the rest.
Every gardener knows what non-stop work a garden demands, but there are rewards from that work. It was breathtaking that afternoon. I delivered the flowers, and while setting them in place I had a chance to take the time to look, and enjoy. The grass cutting crew, the maintenance crew, the landscape projects started and completed over the years-the list of people involved in getting this landscape to this particular night is a long one.
Add to the top of that list, my client, and how she graciously dressed the garden for this party, and went on to entertain a number of guests. Though this is a very formal garden to begin with, it was even more so for this event. Every corner of the garden, dressed up, and awaiting company.
The roses and Oriental lilies were arranged in florist’s oasis on top of the vases, so as not to interfere with conversation at the table. They seemed to float above the tables; it was a very romantic look.
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I doubt I will ever entertain like this in my garden, but that does not mean I do not entertain. I have more dinner guests the month of August than any other month of the year. I take a lot of pleasure in sharing my garden. Thank heavens, Buck handles the menu, and the cooking. I do the garden.
I think I am especially fond of this garden as I know how much my clients love and respect it. They are stewards of their property, in the most serious way. But this night was about the fun and the pleasure of having a garden; they more than deserved it.
My last visit to the landscape at the Cranbrook Academy of Art was to deliver the flowers and decoration for a wedding and reception there in August of 2007. I had for several years prior donated the summer planting around the Orpheus fountain; this was a job I loved doing. This area adjacent to the stairs had been dirt and more dirt for some years; my client and I split the cost of a planting of a group of Limelight hydrangeas. I am happy to see they seem to be doing fine. 
The Art Museum is under extensive renovation, so this year, the garden areas are sodded over. The fountain is closed. 
I try to tread lightly with the landscape where a sculpture is concerned. How easy it is to cross over the line trying to compliment a sculpture, and end up confusing the visual issues. Though I knew it would be closed, I was not prepared for how closed. But seeing it in its gardenless state, no water in the fountain, no sound and sparkle, had its good side. Its always a good idea to consider whether an area is all the better for your not touching it. The simple word for this is “editing”; some days I am better at this than others. Where flowers are concerned, I have a very tough time. 
Planting white flowers is a good way to proceed cautiously. Interestingly enough, I was told the traditonal summer planting here involved a short red salvia. I had no problem ditching the red flower thing, but I thought a tall planting would compliment the sculpture and water better. I mitigated the risk with the white palette.
Another year I added an upright white datura, and white sonata cosmos to the mix. The white petunias did a better job of softening the lawn line.
Yet another year, I added some verbena bonariensis, some nicotiana langsdorfii, and some grey cirrus dusty miller to the predominantly white mix. I do so like the cloud effect of the verbena flowers. 
White gardens are however, unforgiving of a lack of maintenance. Dead white flower heads do have a distinctively brown-dead appearance. For this reason, I rarely plant white geraniums unless I am sure there is a maintenance fanatic waiting in the wings-and even then, a heavy rain will spoil the blooms in such a dramatic way. I knew the planting would not be the end of my involvement here.
I wrote a few days ago regarding my excitement about the delivery of a container load of hazel wood hurdles from Belgium; the order we placed in May finally arrived. Wattles and hurdles are panels, woven from the coppice wood of willow and hazel wood. I personally favor the heft and longevity of the hazel wood; it is vastly more durable and substantial than willow. Coppicing is the practice of cutting trees or shrubs to the quick, with the intent of harvesting the branches for fuel, or fencing. The shrub or tree regrows, only to have its branches harvested again. Woven hurdles keep the livestock out of the vegetable garden. They border herb and vegetable gardens. They provide privacy without being utterly opaque. They work wherever they are needed. Woven hurdles are a fence material friendly to a garden or landscape of any point of view.
I have a client who has become a friend; he supports Michigan industry in a big way and was so pleased these stripped cedar fence poles we bought are Michigan grown. Though I ordered 5″ diameter poles, 10 feet long, they looked like telephone poles when they got delivered from a supplier in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. As I relentlessly speak to issues of proportion, I was worried I had gone over the edge by an inch. I was wringing my hands, until the fence went up. I should not have worried. The size of the pole was perfect for the heft and texture of the fence. The bare cedar poles are a good contrast to the woven hazel wood, which has all of its bark intact.
There is no substitute for the time when the talk ends, and the making begins. We set a pole down 24″ or so below grade, and set a panel up next to it. These panels are made by hand, and vary in width somewhat. One pole, one panel, and so on. This one step at a time construction ensures that the space between two poles is fitted to a specific panel. Steve toe-nail screwed the panels to the center of each post; this is a sturdy construction. What I like even better? This fence has no back or front; the panels are the same back and front. How friendly is this to neighboring properties? This fence looks good to both sides.
I have a client who plans to screen his hot tub with this fencing. It was the subject of intense debate today-will these hurdles screen a man who is happily skinny dipping? I vote yes-unless the neighbor plans to be close enough to see through the hurdle branches. The neighbor with his nose pressed to the fence-that is the subject of another essay, is it not? The fence is also friendly to vines that need to grip to climb. Clematis grown on this fence is especially lovely. We are careful to install the fence slightly above the existing grade of the ground. Wood in constant contact with soil will deteriorate much more quickly than wood that is able to shed water.
The fence is good looking with contemporary steel ornament, traditional terra cotta pots, a funky birdbath made from recycled materials, or a formal lead cistern fountain. This is by way of saying this fence looks good with almost anything. As to its longevity, imagine how long it takes a dead tree to fall and deteriorate. Branches and twigs are not good materials for the compost pile, as they break down so slowly. We have stocked this fencing for 8 years now. I have yet to have someone tell me it had disintegrated. Wood fences do age though-that is part of their charm.