Follow the Landscape Design Clues of your House

"Your house is the center of your garden.  The moment you fully understand the implications of that statement, designing your garden will become a more manageable and rewarding task." -- Gordon Hayward, in his acclaimed landscaping book - Your House, Your Garden:  A Foolproof Approach to Garden Design."  Photo of Hydrangea Paniculata courtesy of Plants-Unlimited.com.    

Most of the clues for creating an inviting landscape on your property arise from the property itself.   According to Gordon Hayward, my landscape design hero, "The doors of your house dictate starting points for paths... each window is... a vantage point from which to look into your garden... the shapes, proportions and materials of your house give rise to the shapes, lines, proportions, and even materials of your gardens.  Those initial design decisions - even the shape of your property and the relationship of your house to the street -can result in a coherent, overall landscape plan that seamlessly links house to garden."

My crude sketch of the rear patio design for THE CONCORD GREEN HEALTHY HOME.  It heeds Hayward's advice to follow the contours of the house and property lines, which are both shaped like an L.

Install Day # 2 of the rear patio.   
Anthony Bonanno Masonry's talented crew is hard at work.

The completed patio is a lovely mix of Boston City Hall brick, salvaged from another jobsite, framed in bluestone to create a sense of connected outdoor rooms that will be landscaped and furnished accordingly.  The bluestone stepping stones make travel to recycling bins and the driveway a nice little walk.

 The front walkway is also of local bluestone - wide at the welcoming front porch stairs and narrowing towards the sidewalk - but still a generous 5' width for walking alongside a companion.

The bluestone selection took its cue from the color of the gray metal roof of the home.

I'm imagining adding Hydrangea Limelight somewhere in the landscape.  Photo courtesy of Proven Winners via Weston Nurseries, which hosts an incredible website dense with New England gardening references and resources.

More Hayward Garden Design eye candy, courtesy of Zimbio...