Asian influence meets modern creekside charm in this modern home’s MCM landscaping.
“Our client requested that she have very little lawn,” says landscape designer James Drzewiecki. To break up space, he planted a central garden in the sun and surrounded it with flowering shrubs and perennials.
Merging Mid Century Modern and Asian styles in landscaping is not a stretch. “We find that Asian elements work extremely well with mid-century architecture,” says James Drzewiecki, CPLD, landscape designer at Ginkgo Leaf Studio Landscape Design. Bringing order to an overgrown Wisconsin bluff and adding a front-yard garden encouraged the owners of this home to spend more time outside year-round. While the goal was to add Asian flavor to the yard, new outdoor spaces and special features tie the styles together functionally.
“Our client had some Asian art pieces and she was interested in carrying that vibe out to the landscape,” James says. To open up the home’s covered entry, the walk was redesigned with eye-catching angled stone panels. A small water feature with a hidden basin below grade holds the water and the pump to make the water move. “We did suggest details within the design, such as the Wabi basin, dry creek bed with bridge and the arbor gate,” James says. With a deck on the side of the house that overlooks the bluff and creek below, a gate added style. “It’s a fenced area so we took the opportunity to give it a new fence and gate with an Asian-influenced arbor over it,” James says.
Out With the Lawn
With permission to remove as much of the front lawn as needed, the landscape team decided to use the space for a defined vegetable garden. “Our client is very into vegetable gardening, but the only full-sun location on her property is to the left of the driveway,” James says. A dry creek bed lined with slate chips and aqua-blue granite boulders separates the garden visually from the driveway. “Rather than have the garden stand alone in the front yard, we surrounded it with flowering shrubs and perennials. A limestone slab bridge crosses the creek and leads directly into the garden,” James says. The garden is surrounded with plants that would fit an Asian garden setting.
“While this home is also in a subdivision, the placement on a bluff overlooking a creek gives it a more rustic flavor that we ran with when designing the landscape.”
After thinning overgrown and invasive weeds at the bottom of the steps, wildflowers now line the exterior of the clearing. “The client’s home is on a bluff overlooking a real creek and originally had reclaimed railroad ties and gravel steps leading down the hillside,” James explains. Steps were rotting with time and the path needed some safety upgrades. Native limestone outcropping steps were designed to replace the railroad ties for a more natural look, with soft lighting along the path. The fire pit itself is constructed of radial cut limestone with a spark screen. “We went with circles for the geometry, as angles would have felt out of place in the clearing,” James says.
Spreading MCM Love
With a long list of Mid Century Modern landscape and design projects complete, Ginkgo Leaf Studio is spreading the MCM love throughout Wisconsin. “In this case, the angled roofline was the inspiration for the overall geometry of the design. Bold, simple geometry for hardscapes like patios and walkways is something we focus on,” James says. Features, lighting and materials emphasize the natural beauty. The client’s preferences determine plants and color palette, but a good place to aim is continuous color through the seasons. “With our background in architecture and art, we always look to highlight and incorporate the style and unique details of each mid-
century home we work with,” James says.
Connect Your Home and Landscape
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER JAMES DRZEWIECKI SHARES HIS BEST TIPS FOR CREATING FLOW BETWEEN YOUR INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SPACES.
Whether you’re looking for full cohesion or a few hints of your home’s style extending out to your landscape, there are plenty of ways to connect them. Start planning for spaces you feel at home in with these five tips from Ginkgo Leaf Studio:
• Look for opportunities to match house materials with features, such as by matching gate lights to house lights. “We designed a new stone column and address fence, carefully matching the stone colors and how the mortar was applied,” James says.
• “Beyond details on the home, we like to use linear groupings of plants in our designs to emphasize the lines of the home and/or the hardscapes and plant bed lines within the landscape,” James says. Look for the prominent lines of your home and emphasize them.
• Start with obvious items, like the centerlines on doors and windows and even simply the corners of the home, James advises. After that, dig deeper into the details of the house, like built-in planters, unique windows or material changes on the façade, he says, and pay attention to the views you like most and make those spaces even more appealing.
• Choose hardy plants and make sure there are enough evergreens in the design to provide something green in the fall and winter months. “Boxwoods and Birds Nest Spruce are our staple
evergreens,” James says. Favorite flowers are easy to identify, but have you considered a favorite shrub? Evergreen and often fragrant shrubs also make great windbreaks.
• “Ornamental grasses and even upright perennials can provide structure and visual interest after the plants have lost their foliage,” James points out. Plan for the seasons. Where do you want shade in the summer? Imagine linear groupings of plants covered in that fresh blanket of snow.
Inspired by this Wisconsin home’s MCM landscaping? Don’t miss other fantastic MCM landscaping projects and landscaping wisdom from James A Wisconsin Yard Gets a Dream Modern Makeover, A Holistic Milwaukee Mid Century Landscape and Top Tips for Planning a Mid Century Garden.
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