In an Introduction to Landscape Design class that I took through the New York Botanical Garden, I created a concept plan for an alternative suburban front yard. The client's requirements were that he wanted to reconfigure the front entry, screen noise from neighbors, and optimize views from his kitchen window.
My solution was to screen the front entry rather than reconfigure the existing house. I did this by adding a wooden arbor with climbing vines that extended to frame the view of a japanese maple. This vocabulary was extended on the other side of the house to form a porch with views of a new lily pond. I extended this vision to include a future shade garden and screened in porch at the back.
As with my other designs, I focused on habitat creation by creating a lily pond for frogs and birds, meadow grass for shelter and food, and a Brancusi sculpture with the sound of moving water to entertain the owner.
