b. forman backyard

I just finished working on a project for my good friend Brett. These are some photos of his backyard before we started the project, in progress, and after all the planting was finished. After a year or so of discussions and weighing options we decided on a low-maintenance planting scheme with use of natural flagstone and gravel pathways. Brett works full-time as a graphic designer, and is not the type of person who gets pleasure out of pulling weeds in his backyard on his weekends, though he does appreciate the aesthetic value of having a visually pleasing landscape.

The backyard he had inherited consisted of some poorly laid out minimalist design features: a lumpy rectangular lawn, an awkwardly placed fire pit, and a few stray plantings. The yard was sparse, which made my work as designer so much easier. I can't emphasize this enough. Working with a blank canvas is a garden designer's dream, because the majority of backyards are not (blank).

When Brett decided that he didn't want to put the effort and time into leveling the earth and re-laying his sod in order to get a proper croquet playing surface he scrapped the lawn altogether and elected for a more low-maintenance, sustainable-minded design. To rid himself of lawn he used the now well-documented newspaper mulch weed suppression method to suffocate that sod into submission.

This is where I stepped in. From Brett's living room there are large floor-to-ceiling windows which I am very jealous of because it allows the garden to be visually integrated into his home.

To capitalize on this feature I wanted to add plants that would have strong structural qualities and also lend movement to the space which will soften very linear and rectangular shape and allow the garden to feel more organic and fluid. Ornamental grasses with strong architectural qualities will assist in adding three important features: continuity, structure/foundation, and softness/foil . Tall structural grasses provide foundational elements, and yet aren't oppressive and overly bulky. They provide rhythm to the garden and their soft earthy colors make a great backdrop for the more showy displays of flowering perennials. This Grasses/perennial style of design is compelling for many reasons. By choosing the right species/cultivars one can create a gorgeous composition with quite elaborate (if desired) plantings and still have a garden that isn't nearly as demanding as traditional "english" style gardens we are so used to seeing in gardening magazines. Brett's garden will need initial light weeding, but the most maintenance will come from cutting back perennials and grasses in the late winter. I'd say once a year cutting back isn't too laborious, and the best thing is that these plants won't require much water after the initial year or two of establishment.