Winner of the Silver Excellence in Landscape Design Award, 2008, from the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association
Baker Creative replaced an existing brick walkway, as well as a concrete and brick patio, to ensure safe passage between the house, exterior office (converted carriage house) and driveway and more effectively integrate the transition area between these spaces, which the homeowners found disjointed and jarring — particularly disquieting since one is a graphic designer and fully appreciates proper balance and integration. We unified the spaces and maintained brick within the design, as it is a historic feature on this property that dates to the 1700s. And we regraded and added a drywell to address drainage issues.
A millstone provides the centerpiece of the walkway to maintain the historic look and unify with existing millstones throughout the landscape. Below the surface, we cut the millstone to varying depths to accommodate an old root system — saving both the plant material and the integrity of the path. We also used flagstone ranging in depth for the same purpose. Brick reflects the red of the exterior doors on the home and office, allows reuse of some existing materials, and is a consistent edge element between the walkway and patio. Flagstone lends the classic feel appropriate to the era of the property and offers a mix of colors to bring out the rusts and browns and unify with other stone in the landscape and with the existing wooden fence and arbors as well as the teak planters we added. Custom-built teak planters use the warmth of wood to soften the patio edges and integrate with the existing wooden fence and arbors. And the area is planted with less aggressive perennials and dwarf varieties of specimen shrubs, each dominating at a different point in the year, to provide 12-month interest and help ensure ease of maintenance. In the words of the homeowner: “The new patio and walkway absolutely transformed the feeling of our home and feels larger and safer. We now spend more time outside.”
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