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Pro Spotlight: Design a Landscape That Enhances Your Life
A landscape designer in Rochester shares ways to get a beautiful landscape that’s perfect for you
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Who: Ryan Youngblood of R. Youngblood & Co.
Where: Rochester, Michigan
In his own words: “When you intersect function and beauty, the design becomes magical.”
Your landscape is more than just patios, paths and plants. Landscape designer Ryan Youngblood believes that your garden’s design should also appeal to your emotions. “My goal is to create gardens and landscapes that enrich your life,” he says.
Where: Rochester, Michigan
In his own words: “When you intersect function and beauty, the design becomes magical.”
Your landscape is more than just patios, paths and plants. Landscape designer Ryan Youngblood believes that your garden’s design should also appeal to your emotions. “My goal is to create gardens and landscapes that enrich your life,” he says.
A love of plants. Youngblood always had a passion for plants and design. After earning a degree in horticulture, he opened his eponymous landscape design-build firm in 1997, which allowed him to do what he loves. “We started small and just evolved,” he says.
Asking the right questions. Youngblood starts every design with a clean slate. He explores how the homeowners plan to use the space and questions them about which styles they love. He also asks about the feelings and experience they want to have in the garden. “These are the key items to know before starting any design,” he says.
Looking for ways to enhance your own landscape? Youngblood shares some tips below.
Looking for ways to enhance your own landscape? Youngblood shares some tips below.
1. Focus First on Function
Start with the features you want in each area. Then plan the design around those needs. “Every space must first function well for how you want to use it,” Youngblood says.
The owners of this home at Cass Lake had specific requests for the design of their sloping backyard. “They wanted dining on the upper level close to the kitchen, a fire pit for evening hours at the mid level and a swimming pool in the lower level,” Youngblood says. He set about creating a design that incorporated the functions the homeowners wanted while tying them all together. He connected the clearly delineated spaces with wide steps for gracious transitions and used clear railings on the uppermost level to preserve the views of the yard and the lakefront location.
See more of this project
Start with the features you want in each area. Then plan the design around those needs. “Every space must first function well for how you want to use it,” Youngblood says.
The owners of this home at Cass Lake had specific requests for the design of their sloping backyard. “They wanted dining on the upper level close to the kitchen, a fire pit for evening hours at the mid level and a swimming pool in the lower level,” Youngblood says. He set about creating a design that incorporated the functions the homeowners wanted while tying them all together. He connected the clearly delineated spaces with wide steps for gracious transitions and used clear railings on the uppermost level to preserve the views of the yard and the lakefront location.
See more of this project
2. Create an Experience
Decide on an overall theme for your landscape. “A garden should be like the main character in the storyline of a movie, with ties into emotion and experience,” Youngblood says.
A Metamora homeowner who loves filling her home with fresh flowers asked Youngblood to create the English-style cutting garden of her dreams. “Our theme was ‘A Tea Party in the Garden,’” Youngblood says. He created an elegant space filled with beds of color and texture, paths designed for strolling and a classic garden gate. “It’s the natural setting for a tea party at any time,” Youngblood says.
See more of this project
Decide on an overall theme for your landscape. “A garden should be like the main character in the storyline of a movie, with ties into emotion and experience,” Youngblood says.
A Metamora homeowner who loves filling her home with fresh flowers asked Youngblood to create the English-style cutting garden of her dreams. “Our theme was ‘A Tea Party in the Garden,’” Youngblood says. He created an elegant space filled with beds of color and texture, paths designed for strolling and a classic garden gate. “It’s the natural setting for a tea party at any time,” Youngblood says.
See more of this project
3. Connect With Your Home
Play off your home’s architecture for a look that seamlessly extends its style and feel. “I ‘listen’ to the architecture of the home for the design,” Youngblood says.
The formal parterre gardens at this traditional home in Rochester are both expected and fitting for the property. “There’s a connectivity between the architecture, interior design and exterior design,” Youngblood says. The cohesion of the spaces also encourages visitors to move into the landscape itself. “A landscape is for more than just looking out at it,” Youngblood says.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Ryan Youngblood and examples of his work, visit R. Youngblood & Co.’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
Play off your home’s architecture for a look that seamlessly extends its style and feel. “I ‘listen’ to the architecture of the home for the design,” Youngblood says.
The formal parterre gardens at this traditional home in Rochester are both expected and fitting for the property. “There’s a connectivity between the architecture, interior design and exterior design,” Youngblood says. The cohesion of the spaces also encourages visitors to move into the landscape itself. “A landscape is for more than just looking out at it,” Youngblood says.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Ryan Youngblood and examples of his work, visit R. Youngblood & Co.’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
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