DESIGNER
Adele Medina O’Dowd, principal, willow landscape design
contact us | adele.odowd@gmail.com or 202.255.0728
references available upon request

GARDEN GOALS

California to East Coast transplants, the active nature-loving family who live in this house wanted to transform their large expanse of turf and trees only (blah) yard into a terrain worth exploring.  The 3 kids in this family are the kind who spend hours outside getting dirty and climbing everywhere so we wanted to keep them at it, or better yet, give them more to discover.  When the owner walked me around to the side yard and told me that, although she never spent time there it was her favorite part of the yard.  Why?  The quality of the light was wonderful despite the fact that there was hardly a shrub to be seen.  Just then, the sun cascaded down onto us through high up pine branches and we both knew what had to be done.  Identifying the Sassafras in the front was the first step to building a Piedmont forest environment of dappled light and quiet wonder.

SOLUTIONS

The lawn was drastically reduced by 50% (so the project was awarded a tax rebate by Montgomery County for “conservation landscaping”) and was replaced mainly by native trees and foliage, and woodland trails, lined with cedar rounds and “timbers” made of recycled plastic — which are great for kids to balance on.  In addition we were especially careful about siting the plants in the right micro-climates and addressing many storm water run-off issues.  In several spots around the yard, plantings were created to slow down and re-direct water toward acceptable areas.  At the front entrance to the house we designed a more tamed look and lavished it with refreshing Annabelle hydrangeas and Creeping Jenny.

BEFORE (Below) Too much grass!  You  can just see a bit of the inspirational Sassafras off to the left.

AFTER Now (below), the new Limber Pines (Pinus flexilis) and Dogwood are surrounded by Oakleaf Hydrangeas and evergreen Christmas ferns.  The pines will eventually get to be 40′ tall but add lustrous beauty to the once exposed corner even now.  The leaning Sassafras is much more at home now.

Several beautiful boulders were incorporated into the landscape specifically for the children to climb on and enjoy.

Toward the street corner, a sweep of Carex comens breezes across the recycled “timbers”. the Solomon Seal makes a sweet green highlight on the ground.

[above] The remaining lawn is now tamed and makes the perfect canvas for the shadows of the day that move across it.  The front entrance is now lush with happy Annabelle Hydrangeas and Creeping Jenny.  [below] This native Gray’s Sedge has a distinctive star-shaped flower that many would describe as medieval. I’d been wanting and waiting patiently for just the right people for whom to plant this amazing native. Here, it marks the edge of the wilderness before arriving in a tamed shady glade at the home’s entrance.

[above] Though several new canopy and understory trees were planted, one full sun spot was left as transitional forest edge meadow. We created a berm in this spot to emphasize the change in the landscape.  The meadow berm is spilling over with Achillea ‘Anthea’ (Yarrow, native), Carex comens ‘Bronze’ (Bronze Sedge, non-invassive) Carex grayi (Gray’s Sedge, native – my favorite plant of the project), Echinacea paradoxa (Yellow Coneflower, Protected in US), Panicum virgatum ‘Prairie Fire’ (Prairie Switchgrass, native), Persicaria microcephala ‘Red Dragon’ (non-invassive), all warm colors to soak in the sun. We’re hoping the butterflies will discover it as a new home.

[above before and after] In the backyard on the south side face of the house the Ac units were to naked to the sun until we protected them with a beautiful native Southern Magnolia and many Inkberries (Ilex glabra)

The atmosphere in this spot influenced the entire design. But before only the 2 trees and some on the property line existed there. Now as you walk towards the secret path, you pass a new Nyssa silvatica (Tupelo, native), Ilex opaca (American Holly, native), Inkberry, Clethra alnifolia (native), ferns and Plumbago making it a special trail entrance to the back yard.

The elegant purity of nature can now be appreciated here.  It brings out the kid in all of us as we get lost in time to enjoy it.

I went to a spectacular lecture today at the U. S. Arboretum.  I found out about it because I recently joined the Arboretum as a Friend for the mere pittance of a $35 contribution.  I encourage all my buddies out there to join and attend some programs with me.  This was the program I saw.  Below the announcement, I have written up some notes to share about some pretty exciting advancements in

Measuring Sustainability in the Garden

Dr. Steven Windhager

There is a great deal of talk about creating sustainable gardens, but how do we assess the level of sustainability in a garden? The SSI (Sustainable Sites Initiative) has been formed to provide guidelines and performance benchmarks for those who want to create and measure sustainable landscapes. The goal is to quantitatively asses the attributes of all types of sites in order to measure success in maintaining or improving the health of an ecosystem. Learn about the SSI, including what it is, why it is needed and how it affects public gardens and other landscapes.

Dr. Windhager is the director of the Landscape Restoration Program at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and serves on the Steering Committee and as Technical Advisor for the SSI. His expertise includes Sustainable Site Design, Ecological Restoration, and Urban Ecology.

Lecture Notes |

On average, 30 to 65% of a family’s daily potable water is used in landscaping (what a bummer to learn this!).  Strategic planting of 1 canopy tree can eventually conserve 25% of a home’s energy use.  We all need to think macro in order to make actual gains in living greenly.  Conservation is all well and good, but, we have the opportunity to reverse some of the detrimental impact we’ve had on our own environment in terms of climate change by designing “sustainable” landscapes, big and little.

To achieve true sustainability, we must satisfy 3 intersecting criteria: economic vitality, social acceptability, environmentally sound science.  In other words a yard needs to be affordable, look great and add up to a sum gain in energy use when you consider ALL factors in it’s creation and care.  He gave the example of a commercial property where a pond for storm water abatement is put behind a building and fenced off with ugly chain link.  While this pond may, at first, do it’s job, it’s been shown that it is soon ignored and then not maintained properly, falls into dis-repair and soon enough is no longer effective.

So it’s important to measure carefully and precisely.  That’s where the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center came in.  Maybe a decade ago, they wanted to become LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), but there they found there were no benchmarks for landscape design similar to those developed for architecture and building.  So they began working on guidelines for sustainable methods and benchmarks for performance in landscape design.  The Sustainable Sites Initiative, a system where “credits” are appointed for design that meets particular criteria (available at www.sustainablesites.org/.)  They encourage design that for example, uses very little or no potable water for irrigation (only gray water like captured A/C condensation) and keeps storm water from ever running off a site and much, much more.  They even give credit for plastic pot recycling programs.  This initiative also shows how to measure sum gains realistically.  Dr. Windhager spoke a lot about assessing the starting point of any site.  Is it a ‘Green”, “Grey” or “Brown Field”?  A Green Field describes a site that has no previous building on it.  A Grey Field is a site that has had building but is not contaminated with any toxic chemicals, and you can guess what a Brown Field is.

He also said that the costs of sustainable design are front loaded in the design phase, but can often be built for less.  He recommends that every project include a Soil Plan that addresses potential compaction, how it may be mitigated or how bulk density may be restored and to bring organic matter to acceptable or improved levels.

The guy was a wealth of knowledge in this realm and explained everything clearly.  If you ever get a chance to hear him speak, please do.  One of his most potent pieces of advice:  Never Ever Use PEET.  It traps too much carbon in the soil.  Enjoy.

We are delighted to share this article with you.  It’s published in Bethesda Magazine September / October 2009 issue called “Lawn-Free”.  We hope to work with more friends and neighbors soon.  Stay tuned for more episodes of the exciting adventures of willow landscape design.

Hooray. You hear it here first. My company name is changing with the company I keep. My new partner is Laura Will and together we are willow landscape design, as seen in Bethesda Magazine September/October issue that just came out today featuring our project in Laura DeBruce’s yard, page 220.

DESIGNER
Adele Medina O’Dowd, principal, dogwood*design, llc
contact me | adele@dogwooddesigner.com or 202.255.0728
references available upon request

GARDEN GOALS

This project in NW DC is not yet finished though like many, these clients wanted to accomplish it in phases.  For phase 1, the main ideas were to connect the hill to the house and establish a new order by clearing that invasive ivy and the overgrown azaleas, and by adding some “infrastructure” to support the visual and actual weight of the earth on the steep slope.  Adding to this issue, because of the steepness of the slope and it’s disconnection to the hill, the house appeared to be “floating”, overbearing and unfriendly.  We did not need to start from scratch with the entire front yard since many of the foundation plantings close to the updated Tudor house remain appropriate in size and will be fine to “build” upon.  But the hill itself was an unruly mess that could not be reckoned with, until it could be reconceived and reworked.

SOLUTIONS

Besides clearing the hill of ivy and other unattractive shrubs, I added low stacked stone walls working around an existing dogwood near the bottom of the front steps and an new crepe myrtle at the top right.  The walls  serve as terraces in which to plant.  I also recommended to the client that we add a couple of larger scale boulders on the hillside, espcieally near the stairs, but she elected not to do this.  We added several winter jasmine, cranberry viburnum and liriope (see images below) planted in November to get established before winter.  We also installed a large American Holly in the foundation planting bed to make the planting more dynamic next to the house.  In the next phase coming in spring, we’ll be adding low weeping yews (Taxus baccata Repandens), dwarf fothergilla, red stem dogwood, and oakleaf hydrangea.  In to the future and over time, the homeowner will do some planting herself, planting woodland perennials that I’ve chosen for her, such as Heuchera, Bleeding Hearts, Coreopsis, Tierella and Hakonechloa Grass.

BEFORE (Below) The front stairs had been newly built by another contractor — and are certainly attractive — but were not integrated, visually, with the house or the yard.

AFTER Now (below), the new low stacked stone “walls” visually marry the house to the hillside, taking advantage of relationship of the stone in walls and stairs to the (existing) stone entryway.  The new walls also provide horizontal lines in the view of the house, adding to the perception that the house is now better grounded.

Looking closely at the photo above.  You can also see a handrail, actually made of old plumbing pipe.  This is another change that desperately needs to be made.

Stay Tuned for the exciting conclusion.

This is the master plan for the front yard

Oh no!!!!! This calls for lots of exclamation points. Please don’t use these invasives. They ARE attractive, but the typical Zebra Grass (aka Chinese Silver Grass) is invasive in the Mid-Atlantic:
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Little Zebra’
Miscanthus sinensis Anderss
Miscanthus sinensis, the species

check it out…http://dnr.state.il.us/Stewardship/CD/midatlantic/misi.html

Other bad boys include:
Pennisetum alopecuroides
Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hamelm’

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alternative non-invasive grasses include:

Carex grayii and other sedges [native = bonus points]
has amazing medieval looking flowers

Molinia caerulea
Digging Dog Nursery has a good selection

Muhlenbergia capillaris

Panicum virgatum ‘Cloud Nine’ [native = bonus points]

Panicum virgatum ‘Prairie Fire’

IMG_2628.JPG, originally uploaded by dogwood*designer.

Design Ideas | Wrought Iron Italy

So last summer I was in Italy: Rome, Tuscany, Venice. And this trip was extremely inspirational, especially for wrought iron work I saw everywhere. Their wrought iron is so much more interesting than what we have here in good old USA, no surprise, and much of it was so modern even in the oldest cities. I suppose it has to be great to stand out there. The door above is one of my absolute favs! The design motif is the purest – circle. But take a look at what else was there, just waiting to be appreciated. It was a feast for the eyes, especially in Venizia where wrought iron was everywhere we turned on every bridge and door. I will be thinking about these patterns for a long time.

Design Ideas | Garden Rooms

Dunbarton Oaks, Washington DC:  There are so many beautiful “Garden Rooms” to experience at Dunbarton Oaks.  We are so lucky to be able to visit and barrow from this joyous place.  Even the surrounding park and Georgetown neighborhood have bountiful inspiration.  I visited on the most gorgeous October day with my two daughters who were so drawn into the garden rooms that I had a hard time keeping them together and going in the direction I wanted to go.  Each of us was attracted to different spaces and even though this is a formal garden, they played and galloped happily enjoying the colors, textures and especially the transitions.

ABOVE:  Garden entrance, I especially like the drainage swale at the bottom of the wall. Simple, attractive and effective.

ABOVE:  Here are two adjacent rooms dressed up in fall colors.  The one on the left is a couple steps down from the one on the right.  Taking this photo, my perspective was from a wonderful wrought iron balcony (see below) in a third room – the rose garden.  Each room in this big garden has a well-designed view to at least one and usually more adjacent rooms.  This is what created the sense of journey we felt as we explored.  The patio on the left, makes you feel as though you are surrounded by water, when really there is only a little still water which acts like a glassy floor under the pavilion (see Lucy playing in the “glass floor” two photos down).

ABOVE:  The fluid lines of the concrete patio edging make you feel as though you are inside of a fountain.

Every room in this garden has beautiful attention to walls, ceiling and especially the floor.

ABOVE:  This is Lily in the “Prunus Walk” hallway orchard.  Lining the path is epimedium for ground cover with warm brick edging the aggregate walkway.  The growing garden is to the right downhill and the vegetable garden to the left uphill, now in fall is filled with windflowers.

ABOVE: The famous pleeched American Hornbeams Caropinus caroliniana a.k.a. the “aerial hedge”.  The circular shape of this room couldn’t be made more apparent than by the shaping of these cool trees as walls.

ABOVE: As I mentioned, the floors in this garden are phenomenal.  I will use this idea for brickwork.  The landing above has a diamond pattern in it.

ABOVE:  “Pebble Garden” has THE most amazing floor, as you can plainly see.  The 4″ high raised bed is planted with sedum amoung other things. The walls in ths room are covered with lattice.  There is a beautiful espalied magnolia on one wall to the left and just beyond it a wonderful window with a view (below).  Lily and Lucy couldn’t resist laying themselves down smack in the middle of the stone design (Two photos down).

ABOVE:  Here is yet another charming path, very simple in design and materials which could be done at anyone’s house going around the corner to the back.

ABOVE: We took a little rest in a private “Star Garden” just next to the house.  We wanted to drink tea here.

ABOVE:  Then we couldn’t resist going back for a look over the veranda to this view of the swimming pool, the “Pebble Garden” is just beyond and then of course you can see some majestic trees and rolling hills beyond that.

ABOVE:  Here is one of my favorite rooms.  This room is called the “Beech Terrace” where you can also see down the rolling hills and pool.  But the simplicity of the ceiling here is fantastic.  One unbelievable Beech tree shelters us, Fagis grandifolia.  We can really appreciate it’s beauty this way.  If I lived closer, I think I would read in this part of the garden.  Its very quiet.  Apparently, the roots of this tree are covered in blooming bulbs in teh spring.  I can’t wait to see that.
BELOW:  The finale – The “Orangery”.  Many people start their tour in this room but I’m so glad this was our last sight.   Covering the walls is a Fig tree that has been here since before the Civil War.  YIKES!  I’m in awe.

小弟作品 – CMT6, originally uploaded by ‘navopaul.

This bright red steel beam “trellis” walkway is a beautiful addition to the urban landscape. The color works so well with other primary colors on the building behind and the lush green ground cover.

thanks, navopaul 小弟作品 – CMT6

Private Asian Patio | dogwood*design project
DESIGNER
Adele Medina O’Dowd, principal, dogwood*design, llc

contact me | adele@dogwooddesigner.com or 202.255.0728

references available upon request

GARDEN CHARACTER
What was once a cramped entryway and overgrown walk that served little purpose has now been transformed into a serene and inviting contemplative asian garden with duel functioning stairway with seating in this intimate space.  The owner wanted to make the most of her small patio as a place to hold parties and as a personal natural healing retreat to read and play with her little dog, but her tiny side patio had become overgrown with shrubs, scrub trees and bamboo.  On top of this, there was only one spot in which to sit that, oddly enough, was completely un-shaded and hot.  So we transformed the space by removing a rickety old narrow stair from the breezeway to the patio into a wider more welcoming transition stair and japanese style “floating bench”.  A new low deck also expanded this area and provided a place for the owners BBQ which had been crammed into the passageway, in the way of entering guests.  Using the BBQ and a pretty existing dogwood, we devided the space into two garden rooms, one for dining and one for relaxing or conversation.  We added a stunning ipa fence and gates to protect the owner’s dog.  We kept some of the bamboo, adding a metal barrier 24″ deep underground to contain it only in the spots we wanted it.  We also added an additional more anthracnose resitant dogwood and some beautiful japonese anenomies.  What is so wonderful about this project is the owner’s personality was so closely tied to the garden design.



BEFORE

AFTER