Stylish Shed Sits in a Woodland Garden Made to Slow Runoff

Photos by John Cole Photography

Shed at a Glance
Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Size: 100 square feet (9.3 square meters); 10 feet tall (3 meters) by 10 feet wide by 10 feet long
Architects: Amy Gardner and Brittany Williams of Gardner Architects, who designed the shed and oversaw the stormwater-management measures taken during the home renovation
Landscape Architect: Holt Jordan of Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architecture, who designed the planting master plan and oversaw stormwater-management measures regarding the shed
Structural Engineer: Christopher Cobb of 1200 Architectural Engineers
General Contractor: Alan Kanner of Added Dimensions

The shed design was part of a larger master plan for managing rainwater — with some measures put into place during a recent renovation of the main house (which the architects had completed) — and for creating a habitat for local wildlife outside of a home in Bethesda, Maryland.

The goal for the shed was that it would become a catch-all for garden hoses, tools, a wheelbarrow and bicycles while still presenting a stylish exterior that would complement the home. The house had been built without a garage or other typical storage areas and needed a spot to store these household items.

Master plan by Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architecture

When deciding where to place the shed, the homeowner did not want to remove any of the property’s mature trees. That, paired with the site’s shape and tricky zoning requirements, left a small, relatively flat area close to the house as the only option for the shed’s location.

You can see in the landscape master plan completed by Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architecture how close the shed sits to the home (about 10 feet), given the property’s relatively large size (0.34 acres). “We took advantage of this challenge and used the shed, its terrace and steps to create a foreground space for the house, as well as connecting to paths to the rear yard,” says Amy Gardner of Gardner Architects, who designed the shed.

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Details and Installation

The team aimed to make the installation as respectful to the ecology of the site as possible. “The biggest challenges involved dealing with adjacent trees’ root spread,” Gardner says. They hired an arborist to use an AirSpade to expose tree roots, making it easier for the general contractors to see and avoid them during construction.

The new shed sits on a concrete slab-on-grade foundation, with turned down edges that transition to a courtyard of bluestone pavers. A new 2-foot-tall retaining wall made of concrete block runs along the back of the shed and holds the hillside in place.

The architects pulled inspiration from the main house when choosing the shed exterior’s materials. The main siding for the shed is select tight-knot board-and-batten siding. The sliding doors are made from cedar boards set horizontally with a custom stain to match the ipe wood used on the house. The doors, set on metal tracks, overlap slightly when closed.

Neither the walls nor the roof are insulated. Power runs to the shed to power an overhead light and an outlet for charging tools.

Here you can appreciate how thoughtful design details — the line of the roof, the building materials and the orientation of boards — create a relationship between the shed and the main house.

Native Garden and Stormwater Management

The team had to be mindful as to how water would run off the roof and hardscape, especially given that it’s on a sloped lot in an area that receives frequent rainfall. “We tried to slow down any water and let it absorb into the plantings that we planted between the shed and the house,” landscape architect Holt Jordan says.

The beds surrounding the patio aren’t technically rain gardens, which are designed with plants that thrive in wet, boggy conditions and can absorb deluges. “This is something that we didn’t want to pursue due to the existing tree roots, possibly compromising the trees’ health and even structural stability,” Jordan says.

Instead, the installation team dug out a large stone border with a French drain around the shed to collect and absorb runoff from the shed’s roof. Water runoff from the main house is directed into dry wells, which allow water to return to the earth. Mulched planting beds with healthy, uncompacted soil help absorb excess water from rainfall.

Jordan selected primarily native plants that could thrive in the seasonally wet conditions typical of the area. Plants include redbuds (Cercis spp.), dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), native hydrangeas, native deciduous azaleas (Rhododendron spp.), viburnum, Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), sumac and serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), among others.

How to Find the Right Native Plants for Your Yard

In addition to adding new plantings, Jordan’s team is also working to rid the property of invasive plants, such as Tatarian honeysuckle, barberries, Chinese wisteria, English ivy and pachysandra.

The team’s ecological approach also extends to maintenance of the woodland — populated with tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), American holly (Ilex opaca), red oaks (Quercus rubra), white oaks (Quercus alba), hickory (Carya spp.) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia). “Site maintenance is also a component of a natural habitat,” Jordan says. “We have left tree snags onsite to attract insects and the birds attracted to them. Not clearing the underbrush and leaf litter provides environments for a multitude of insects to overwinter.”

The homeowners enjoy watching the many squirrels, deer and foxes that visit the garden. They report also seeing a number of woodpeckers, eastern towhee, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, Carolina chickadee, Carolina wren, cedar waxwing, blue jay, Swainson’s thrush and American robin.

Next up for this nature-centered landscape is adding a pollinator garden to the sunny area at the south end of the property, which the owners plan on planting this spring.