Shortly after PLANT had completed a renovation and expansion of the Airdrie Residence, the owners asked us to redesign the rear garden, side edge, and new front entry landscapes. The owners wanted the large backyard area to provide a balance between openness and the intimacy of being surrounded by plants in a courtyard enclave. Globe thistles, hydrangeas, grasses, and other perennials selected to provide year-round visual interest ring the flagstone-strewn central lawn and extend to the corners. The new outdoor spaces include a deck and dining patio close to the house – bordering the new sunroom – and seating nooks at the back of the garden.
Architecture and landscape now connect seamlessly – and the curving plant beds continue from the backyard to the front. Curvilinear lines of planting wrap around the front garden corner to link the more formal, original main entrance with the new main entry. The landscape maintains a stately address for the original main entrance, while bestowing axial prominence on the new primary entrance. Shade-tolerant evergreen shrubs and grasses are key elements in the front garden's all-seasons palette of soft, contrasting textures.