Longview Garden
Longview garden began with some stellar elements. A beautiful period house situated on a large property adjacent to a gorgeous and immaculately maintained golf course set the parameters for the landscape design. These properties are highly sought after, as they include access to the golf course from home. The most important element? Clients firmly committed to a beautiful landscape. They were interested in a landscape which would dramatically and formally feature the borrowed landscape. Every design element frames and compliments the far view. A large terrace and striking fountain garden provide a great space for entertaining and outdoor living. The crisp geometry created by a series of boxwood parterres are softened by perennial gardens. The overall landscape is a decidedly modern take on more traditional forms.
Home and Away
This garden is located in the Ford Homes Historic District in West Dearborn. The residential community was developed in 1919 by Henry Ford to provide housing for the workers of the Henry Ford & Son tractor plant. The garden at this typical suburban lot is chock-full of shrubs and perennials that line the perimeter of the property. The massing and staging of the plantings enclose the rear yard and provide a private get-away for the owners and their two children. Like many gardens, this one has developed over time with the owner adding and subtracting planting beds over the years to create the lush and dense borders. A stepping-stone path connects the rear yard to a pocket-sized deck at the side of the house which is surrounded by an overflowing container garden of annuals.
The LEL Garden
Cool, calm and utterly contemporary adequately describes the architecture of this remarkable urban home. White parged concrete walls enclose the garden. The landscape, installed some 15 years ago, was designed to compliment that architecture in a very edited and respectful way. The mature columnar beech, little leaf lindens, and gold locusts, so perfectly maintained, are reason enough to visit. Gravel plays a prominent role in the design scheme of things. The gardens are much about sculpture, silence, and utter reserve. This landscape is strikingly atmospheric-do not miss it. The container plantings are all about interpreting a sure and emphatically contemporary point of view.
The SSB Garden
This small urban garden is notable in that every garden element has been created personally by the gardener in charge. A handmade wood fence and pergola makes the back yard private and inviting. A hand crafted concrete fountain and basin provides a relaxing focal point for the garden. Every square inch of this property is proof positive that small landscapes can be beautiful and satisfying. Our relationship to this gardener? He supervises all of the landscape installations for Deborah Silver and Co. His expertise in design, installation and maintenance is much in evidence in his garden.
A Normandy Tudor
Tudor style ordinarily refers to an English style of architecture. However there are those French style tudor homes patterned after French country manor homes native to the Normandy region in France. This vintage Normandy tudor is set on a substantial property. A breathtakingly beautiful pool and pool house is a major architectural feature. The landscape and gardens are mature, the design of which is entirely in keeping with the architecture of the house. There are some unexpected features and surprises; the gardener is a well known interior designer with a very distinctive point of view. We plant her pots, containers and urns, the design of which is very much a collaboration.
Pookie's Place
This mid-seventies modern house is a classic Irv Tobocman-no one in our city doubts he is indeed a legend in his own time. But I am more interested in the committment my clients have made to respecting that history, while going on to make their signature mark. They updated the house, redid the pool and pool garden, and have gone on to - and have taken great care to - greatly update the landscape. Both the home and landscape clearly reflects the aesthetic of my clients. Very structured and green in the public spaces, the pool garden is lush with tropical plants and flowers. A small, secret and serene garden has a distinctly Oriental flavor.
Corgi Run
Landscape designer Deborah Silver will put her landscape and garden on tour, along with selected gardens of her design or influence, in her 4th annual Garden Cruise, the proceeds of which benefits the Greening of Detroit. Her landscape, now 16 years old, provides an insight into her design process, much of which is very friendly to her beloved corgis. Sited on an one and a half lots in an old neighborhood in Pontiac, this garden features her design aesthetic, developed over many years. New this year—a totally different annual scheme, new pots, a new perennial garden, and a revision of the fountain garden. The property features several changes of grade. That idea is further explored via the use of overscaled steel edging. The shell tower and reliquary will again be available for viewing. This very small property features maturing trees and stands of plants, as well as a fresh take on seasonal plantings.
Updated 6-15-11