My first commission at Balsam Mountain Preserve, and the perfect illustration for the success of an ecosystem approach to landscape design. Commissioned after construction has commenced to heal construction grading design completed by the architect (top). Primary concern was access directly to the motor court that owners were unable to visualize due to earth yet to be moved.
This simple design was created utilizing boulders to retain earth slope and integrate a timeless outdoor fireplace (center right) and stepped access to the adjacent drive (center left). Using a palette of woody and herbaceous plants native to both Rich Cove plant community and rock outcrops, the landscape architect specified plants that would reseed themselves over time and inhabit a boulder wall as if it were a rock outcrop.
Six years after installation, we have success. Owners remark how successful the project is and how more than 10 years after installation, the walls look as if they were part of the site before a home was built. Pictures bottom center and right and center left and lower left are matched photos from September of 2006 (bottom right and left-1 ½ years after installation in 2004) and bottom center and center left right taken June, 2010.