The design for this rear 600-sf garden serves to intensify and make architectural the extremely sloped and treed condition of the yard that borders and overlooks a ravine park. Existing mature maples and ailanthus sit on and adjacent to the outdoor space, soaring over 75 feet in the air and creating a solid canopy of green. Our tripartite design plan incorporated stone patios at the top and bottom of the space, connected by a steel staircase and terminated by a large steel frame that both looks onto and frames the park beyond. The staircase appears to float through the sloped field of tall, native shade plantings and seven new trees. Flowering perennials soar over the vast green carpet.

The trees were chosen for the compelling bark – Paper Birch, Shagbark Hickory, Paperbark Maple, Flowering Dogwood and Redbud. As under-story trees, they are destined to replace the mature and soaring canopy above.