All About Why

In our final posting on this project, I wanted to look at some of the details that went into it and explain the reasons why I made these choices.

The client requested an elegant, Newport look for the pool and landscaping.  Unfortunately, most of the beautiful plants that will grow in Rhode Island wouldn't last one season in Florida!  So finding plant varieties that give a similar feel was the goal.  I tend to favor "green garden" designs (not a lot of flowering plants), so this concept was exciting to me!

The client wanted black planters.  Love these!  They are vinyl, with a well-designed self-watering system.  The black adds a lot of elegance, and opened the door for other design elements.  A mixture of tall and short plants, with some annuals, and a small nod to color by using 2 varieties of coleus.

 

The plant beds outside the pool decking were filled with a low growing juniper that will become the ground cover, podocarpus that will be trained as a hedge in the background, and variegated liriope to add a different texture and add a little "sunshine" into the green selections.



Podocarpus were also used along the fence line.  These will be trained as tall, thin hedges to separate the pool area from the driveway, and add privacy.

On this side of the pool, white crepe myrtle were selected for height and summer color.  White is always an elegant choice for a garden, and in fact, the only flower color that will show up in the dark!  The trunks of the crepe myrtle also add a lot of visual interest to the plant beds.

To flank the fireplace and trellis backing up the jacuzzi, I selected Juniper chinensis for the deep green color and soft, cedar feel.  In front of these we used a low, standard gardenia (the client's favorite!) to continue the white flowers, and completed the bed with the low juniper and variegated liriope as elsewhere.

Two espaliered Magnolia "Little Gem" plants will be trained to cover the trellis.

A full-skirted magnolia repeats the theme, and adds a dark, glossy foliage to this corner.  It will also hide the odd transition between fences!

One of the Magnolias graced us with a bloom right after planting!

Confederate jasmine will be carefully trained to follow the lines of this trellis, and the low juniper continue as ground cover.

The light columns were painted black to match the fence, trellis and planters.  After reviewing thousands of choices (literally!), this fixture was selected for its color, scale, overall design, and the fact that it had frosted glass as the shade.  It has a built-in LED light, and should last forever!

The fact that the planting spaces were small left no room for arbitrary choices here.  When grown in, this garden should give a full, soft, (and softly lit), surrounding to the hard surfaces of the pool and the fireplace.