APLD Members ~ Member of the Month

view the featured member archive

The Vintage Garden
by Daniel Lowery, APLD

Years of networking with architects yielded the lead that connected me with the clients that allowed me to design and build the "Vintage Garden". [Lesson Number One: The seeds of marketing sometimes take years to germinate. Sow them often.] Mucci Trucksess Architecture's introduction also allowed me time to see the property while the home was under restoration and construction. The project included a period restoration of the existing house and a two-story addition (kitchen/den/bath/master bedroom) in the rear. This collaboration enabled me to honor the architect and the architecture. It is always my goal to have the garden and the garden architecture appear as though it was designed as part of the whole project. My hardscape design contributions were timely and flowed along with the main construction.

A challenge for me was the dichotomy of having clients with financial means and at the same time having simple taste and giving strong direction that I should not create a garden that will bring them any undue attention. Another challenge was that the clients were not particularly garden-oriented and believed that window treatments in key garden viewing windows would most likely be kept closed. Their lives do revolve around their two young children and their one request was space for their daughter to use sidewalk chalk. A key design strategy was to engage conversations between children and parents and believe that the children would introduce "life in the garden" to their parents. [Lesson Two: Serve the client's need before one's ego.]

Important to the design of the front garden was reflecting the style of the Victorian façade with reproduction urns powder-coated the same color as the trim and echoing the circular shape of the turret with the lawn and low Ilex hedge. Another detail easily overlooked, and exciting to discover is the original terra cotta pavers that were used as an edge for the new walk. Pavers that were broken decades ago were reset along with whole ones to give the added impression of age. "Old-fashioned" plants like Ulmus glabra 'Camperdownii',[a Camperdown Elm posing as a play tent for the children], Abelia grandiflora, scores of ferns and lungwort were planted. Cascades of narcissus naturalized down the slope and under the immense cedars refer to gardens that were in vogue a century ago when the house was originally built.

The garden architecture included fences, gates, trellises and a carport all linked together with a distinctive "plaid" of cedar 1x4's and 1x2's. Considerably striking are the continuation of architect Joseph Mucci's brackets from the eaves onto the fence/trellis design and culminating in the "Double Mucci Bracket" over the main gate! [Lesson Three: If there are strong architectural features in the house, reference their style and scale in the garden architecture.]

In this day and age when water features are a standard, coupled with the Victorian's fascination of ponds, my clients said absolutely NOT. No water, no pumps, no fish, just NO. [Enter the FAUX WATER FEATURE.] Centrally located on axis with the new den's double french doors is a tiled "rill" flowing over a concrete retaining wall into a tiled "pool" all set flush within the new terrace's surface. The tiles made in Vermont look a hundred years old. Their verdis gris color is repeated in the glazes of all of the large planters all cued from the copper downspouts and copper detailing on the house and garden architecture.

Although it took nearly a year, a bronze hand railing leading down the front steps to the city sidewalk, executed by local artist Ron Klein was the last major detail to be installed. It's design followed the vintage hardware on the front door and was simplified and edited to the client's taste.

Cared for and maintained by my staff and I for the last three years, this "Vintage Garden" has brought us pure pleasure. And I'm happy to say that some of the curtains have never been drawn.

Daniel M. Lowery, APLD has more than 20 years of experience in the field of landscape design. The last fifteen years has been directing his design-build firm Queen Anne Gardens. He studied Ornamental Horticulture at Michigan State University and Landscape Architectural Technology at Lansing Community College. After moving to Seattle, he worked ten years for a civil engineering firm before starting his own business. He enjoys giving lectures and workshops on landscape design. Daniel became APLD certified in 2002. His website is www.queenannegardens.com

Certified Members seeking to be profiled should send before and after photos with SHORT design intent statement to:

Bethany Dennis
APLD Communications Manager
Email: communications@apld.org
Phone: 717-238-9780

* PHOTOS SHOULD BE CLEAR COLOR PRINTS OR JPEG COMPRESSED FILES