This was a great Alexandria landscape design project. Sometimes you roll up to a new potential client’s home and you see something that makes you say, “we’re totally working together.” That was the case with this project. As I drove slowly down the street, looking for the house number like a pizza delivery guy in a blizzard, the giant Cor-Ten steel dog in the front yard told me I was in the right place.
The client brief
The client’s goals for this Alexandria landscape design project were pretty straightforward:
all eyes on the dog – it’s the focal point
eliminate the grass in the front
deal with the grade change from the lawn to the sidewalk
new front walk
make it all blend with the awesome Craftsman home
After getting the signed design proposal I took measurements and a ton of photos and got started.
The design
Instead of the usual narrow front walk that most of the homes in the neighborhood have, I wanted this Alexandria landscape design to create a broad, welcoming entry. The wide front porch of the Craftsman home deserved it. So I designed a generous pad flush with the city sidewalk to funnel guests in to the walk. Pushing into the yard like this necessitated a small retaining wall; I opted for a stacked stone wall, both for aesthetic reasons and for budget.
The finished product
The end result was a design that the homeowner loves. Using liriope as a groundcover creates a low maintenance alternative to grass, and the plantings all complement the home. Westmoreland stone was used for the sidewalk, as I wanted a darker color that would look like it had been in place longer. Most importantly, the dog sculpture (by artist Dale Rogers, if you have to have one for your yard) is front and center in this Alexandria landscape design project. Plants + stone + steel dog = a great project. Who knew?
Case study: An Alexandria landscape design all about the dog
This was a great Alexandria landscape design project. Sometimes you roll up to a new potential client’s home and you see something that makes you say, “we’re totally working together.” That was the case with this project. As I drove slowly down the street, looking for the house number like a pizza delivery guy in a blizzard, the giant Cor-Ten steel dog in the front yard told me I was in the right place.
The client brief
The client’s goals for this Alexandria landscape design project were pretty straightforward:
After getting the signed design proposal I took measurements and a ton of photos and got started.
The design
Instead of the usual narrow front walk that most of the homes in the neighborhood have, I wanted this Alexandria landscape design to create a broad, welcoming entry. The wide front porch of the Craftsman home deserved it. So I designed a generous pad flush with the city sidewalk to funnel guests in to the walk. Pushing into the yard like this necessitated a small retaining wall; I opted for a stacked stone wall, both for aesthetic reasons and for budget.
The finished product
The end result was a design that the homeowner loves. Using liriope as a groundcover creates a low maintenance alternative to grass, and the plantings all complement the home. Westmoreland stone was used for the sidewalk, as I wanted a darker color that would look like it had been in place longer. Most importantly, the dog sculpture (by artist Dale Rogers, if you have to have one for your yard) is front and center in this Alexandria landscape design project. Plants + stone + steel dog = a great project. Who knew?
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