Broadmoor Relaxation Garden

Design problem

1. Improve street appeal and make the front yard feel more welcoming and colorful.

2. Create a backyard ‘Maximalist’ Garden with an exotic hardy tropical feel.

3. Create spaces for extended family and grandchildren to play and relax all year round.

4. Design the garden for excellent viewing from interior living spaces that draw people outside and create a seamless relationship of interior and exterior living.
   

Design Solution

1. Front yard: Create a colorful planting plan with emphasis on the front door utilizing containers to direct guests.

2. Backyard: Designate two connected patio rooms adjoining the inside living areas to create seamless living spaces. Use a pergola with a louvered roof, lighting and shades to create an outdoor living room for all seasons on one side.

3. Create focal points for each patio, using large custom steel containers to bring the eye out into the garden and to act as ‘low walls’ , separating and defining areas.

4. Create three pathways from the house patios to the lawn: a wide inground ‘boardwalk’, a wide stone path and a hidden children’s stone path.

5. Use a meadow of ornamental grasses to separate the ‘ house patio rooms’ from the ‘lawn room’. This also creates an opportunity to teach kids about pollinators.

6. Create a large lawn space for grandchildren to play on connected to multiple pathways in and around adjoining garden rooms.

7. Create a lower circular stone patio to act as a pass through and to be the main viewing garden from the principal bedroom.

8. Create a hidden ‘tropical garden room’ using recycled stones found in the landscape.

9. Create a side yard ADA ramped path for access to the house with summer blooming plants to be viewed from the kitchen sink.

10. Use big foliage plants and showy perennials to create an exotic vacation get away vibe. Use ornamental grasses and a succession of blooming perennials to create a beach feel, with movement, texture and color throughout the spring, summer and fall.