The formal rectangular lawn anchors the viewing garden, with colorful planting accents and the pergola as a focal point and sitting area.
Mid-sized traditional side yard full sun formal garden in Boston with natural stone pavers and with lawn edging.

PROJECT TYPE Two-story, single family residence totaling over 7,562sf on the Intercostal Waterway SCOPE Architecture LOCATION Boca Raton, Florida DESCRIPTION 6 Bedrooms / 6-1/2 Bathrooms plus Media Room with a courtyard entryway and covered Loggia Two-car Garage with separate one-car Garage and private Guest House Resort-style swimming pool and jacuzzi, covered patio with built-in bar and grille, and a private boat dock Mediterranean architecture with covered patios and terraces, central rotunda, and decorative copings & bandings

Front yard renovation, river rock beds, boulders, mulch beds, edging, plantings
Photo of a mid-sized front yard full sun formal garden in Denver with with lawn edging and river rock.

Residential home in Santa Cruz, CA This stunning front and backyard project was so much fun! The plethora of K&D's scope of work included: smooth finished concrete walls, multiple styles of horizontal redwood fencing, smooth finished concrete stepping stones, bands, steps & pathways, paver patio & driveway, artificial turf, TimberTech stairs & decks, TimberTech custom bench with storage, shower wall with bike washing station, custom concrete fountain, poured-in-place fire pit, pour-in-place half circle bench with sloped back rest, metal pergola, low voltage lighting, planting and irrigation! (*Adorable cat not included)

The problem this Memorial-Houston homeowner faced was that her sumptuous contemporary home, an austere series of interconnected cubes of various sizes constructed from white stucco, black steel and glass, did not have the proper landscaping frame. It was out of scale. Imagine Robert Motherwell's "Black on White" painting without the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston's generous expanse of white walls surrounding it. It would still be magnificent but somehow...off. Intuitively, the homeowner realized this issue and started interviewing landscape designers. After talking to about 15 different designers, she finally went with one, only to be disappointed with the results. From the across-the-street neighbor, she was then introduced to Exterior Worlds and she hired us to correct the newly-created problems and more fully realize her hopes for the grounds. "It's not unusual for us to come in and deal with a mess. Sometimes a homeowner gets overwhelmed with managing everything. Other times it is like this project where the design misses the mark. Regardless, it is really important to listen for what a prospect or client means and not just what they say," says Jeff Halper, owner of Exterior Worlds. Since the sheer size of the house is so dominating, Exterior Worlds' overall job was to bring the garden up to scale to match the house. Likewise, it was important to stretch the house into the landscape, thereby softening some of its severity. The concept we devised entailed creating an interplay between the landscape and the house by astute placement of the black-and-white colors of the house into the yard using different materials and textures. Strategic plantings of greenery increased the interest, density, height and function of the design. First we installed a pathway of crushed white marble around the perimeter of the house, the white of the path in homage to the house’s white facade. At various intervals, 3/8-inch steel-plated metal strips, painted black to echo the bones of the house, were embedded and crisscrossed in the pathway to turn it into a loose maze. Along this metal bunting, we planted succulents whose other-worldly shapes and mild coloration juxtaposed nicely against the hard-edged steel. These plantings included Gulf Coast muhly, a native grass that produces a pink-purple plume when it blooms in the fall. A side benefit to the use of these plants is that they are low maintenance and hardy in Houston’s summertime heat. Next we brought in trees for scale. Without them, the impressive architecture becomes imposing. We placed them along the front at either corner of the house. For the left side, we found a multi-trunk live oak in a field, transported it to the property and placed it in a custom-made square of the crushed marble at a slight distance from the house. On the right side where the house makes a 90-degree alcove, we planted a mature mesquite tree. To finish off the front entry, we fashioned the black steel into large squares and planted grass to create islands of green, or giant lawn stepping pads. We echoed this look in the back off the master suite by turning concrete pads of black-stained concrete into stepping pads. We kept the foundational plantings of Japanese yews which add green, earthy mass, something the stark architecture needs for further balance. We contoured Japanese boxwoods into small spheres to enhance the play between shapes and textures. In the large, white planters at the front entrance, we repeated the plantings of succulents and Gulf Coast muhly to reinforce symmetry. Then we built an additional planter in the back out of the black metal, filled it with the crushed white marble and planted a Texas vitex, another hardy choice that adds a touch of color with its purple blooms. To finish off the landscaping, we needed to address the ravine behind the house. We built a retaining wall to contain erosion. Aesthetically, we crafted it so that the wall has a sharp upper edge, a modern motif right where the landscape meets the land.

Photo of an expansive beach style backyard full sun garden for summer in Vancouver with with privacy feature, with a gate, with lawn edging, with path, a wood fence and concrete pavers.

Mid-sized modern backyard full sun xeriscape in Santa Barbara with gravel, a wood fence and with lawn edging for spring.

Giardino esterno
This is an example of a large country front yard full sun formal garden for winter in Florence with with lawn edging, brick pavers and a wood fence.

Photo of a mid-sized contemporary backyard full sun xeriscape for spring in Perth with with lawn edging and decking.

Inspiration for a mid-sized country backyard full sun garden in Denver with with lawn edging and a wood fence.

This unique pair of spaces serve as open green space and entertainment area for a complex of mixed-use buildings in Chicago. Formal garden incorporating colorful perennials, and new lawn provide respite for residents. On the opposite courtyard, a new large paver patio areas softened with plantings will offer an entertainment space.

Large and australian native contemporary backyard full sun xeriscape in Orange County with with lawn edging, concrete pavers and a vinyl fence for summer.

Patio space to rear
Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary backyard full sun formal garden for summer in Dublin with with lawn edging, concrete pavers and a metal fence.

Viewed from the large patio doors, the natural stone dining terrace gives way to a snaking sett path which defines two circular lawns, and creates exciting planting pockets either side.

Photos: Tony Vitale of Landscape Logic
Mid-sized modern backyard full sun xeriscape in San Diego with brick pavers, with lawn edging and a wood fence for summer.

Design ideas for a large backyard full sun xeriscape in Denver with with lawn edging, river rock and a wood fence.

Large contemporary backyard full sun formal garden in Other with a container garden, with flowerbed, a garden path, with lawn edging, with privacy feature, with raised garden bed, a retaining wall, with path and natural stone pavers for summer.

Large contemporary backyard full sun formal garden in Other with a container garden, with flowerbed, a garden path, with lawn edging, with privacy feature, with raised garden bed, a retaining wall, with path and natural stone pavers for summer.

Photo credit: Jeri Koegel
Mid-sized traditional backyard full sun formal garden in Orange County with concrete pavers and with lawn edging.