Forget the myth that exceptional outdoor spaces demand complex designs. Carex Design Group just wrapped up a residential landscape design in Loudon, Tenn.’s Tellico Village neighborhood that exemplifies how elegant simplicity can deliver truly stunning results.
Being new to Tennessee, the homeowners on this project wanted to enjoy more of their outdoor space. The existing woodlands in their backyard is quintessential East Tennessee, but they needed an area to sit and enjoy the view.
Our landscape designer Chloe Mowry typically kick-starts her design process by choosing a color palette, but this project needed a different focus. To keep the patio top of mind as the main request from the client, Chloe started by selecting the hardscaping materials to inspire the rest of her design.
The winning selections included Unilock’s Beacon Hill Flagstone in Birch for the main patio paver and the Hollandstone in Mochoa for the contrasting border. The colors in these pavers not only mirrored the vibe of the existing brick siding, but the mocha selection also pulled in the variety of brown hues from the adjacent woodlands, creating continuity.
The yard slopes slightly away from the house toward the wooded area at the back of the property so Chloe designed a small retaining wall to support the edge of the patio, which allowed for a larger level patio space. For the retaining wall, Chloe selected the Unilock Brussels Dimensional block in Sierra topped off by the Brussels Fullnose Coping in the same color.
Chloe also incorporated raised planters on two corners of the patio to add visual interest and soften the edges of the hardscaping.
The planters feature fragrant Gardenia to provide year-round foliage and a subtle sweet smell for those using the patio.
For a cohesive design between the backyard and front yard, Chloe repeated the symmetry from the planters on the back patio with the planting beds in the front.
Throughout the design, Chloe focused on plants with distinctive foliage such as Nellie R. Stevens Holly, North Pole Arborvitae and Gold Cone Juniper. In addition, she chose complimentary bloom colors with Candystripe Phlox and Paint the Town Fucschia Dianthus (pictured below), among others.
In addition to dividing the manicured area of the lawn and the wooded area by incorporating a swale of river slicks at the edge of the property, Chloe also enhanced the groundcover in the wooded area by spreading a flowering shade seed mix.
She noted that using seed mixes is exciting because it’s hard to predict the final outcome. The plants get to arrange themselves however works best for the existing environment, which is a fun surprise. For this project, we used a wildflower seed blend “Mix 181” from Roundstone Native Seed.
Carex Design Group also handled the project management for this residential landscape design, which was built by our partners at Knoxville Leaf and Lawn. Peek at the finished project below …
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When you’re ready for help with your residential landscape design, fill out our contact form or call us at 865-765-5550 to chat with Chloe or one of our other talent landscape architects or landscape designers.