Create a suburban oasis that reconnects humans with nature.
A Sanctuary for life in the midst of suburban sprawl.
- Set a new, attainable, and repeatable standard for ecological responsibility in this neighborhood while maintaining a clear sense of civility that avoids negative interactions with local authorities and citizens enamored with the current standards of suburban lawn culture.
- Evolve a productive landscape that builds resilience and independence from destructive consumer patterns and encourages the visitation of indigenous wildlife.
- Obtain multiple yields throughout the growing seasons and into winter. Working with the evolution of perennial plantings, incorporating annual plants that support the health of the homeowner and the succession of perennial guild plantings.
- Minimize maintenance requirements through function-stacking tactics that leverage plants’ inherent traits to deliver productive yields, fertility, and low-impact workflows.
The Result: A productive, low-maintenance, and visually pleasing environment that invites its inhabitants, wildlife, company, and passers by to enjoy.
Key Implementations and Aspects of our Design
Decicated Production Areas
Kitchen Gardens- Located at the point of use within reach of the barbecue and the house kitchen.
Raised bed vegetable garden- Focused on high yields for preserving favorite annual vegetables
Forest Edge Patterned Privacy Hedge- Fruit and nut canopy, underplanted with various productive, lower-level shrub, herb, and vegetable varieties (7 layers of production and potential yields)
Privacy Features
Edible Hedges- Provide a sense of seclusion in a densely populated area
A place for solitude- a dedicated garden for beauty and individual meditation
Edible property lines- Where seclusion is less desirable, encouraging social interaction
Social Spaces- That provide protection from the summer heat, and comfortable social interaction, with convenient use of tools to facilitate the entertainment of guests and family
Functionalaty
Weather-buffered barbecue- Specifically during winter months, which will allow some protection from wind and cold.
Functional Working Spaces- Create aesthetically pleasing multifunctional point-of-use workspaces to make gardening and yard maintenance easier
Water sequestration- Slow, Sink, and Store. Design a concealed passive system to hold water on site as long as possible. The essence of life.
Stacking Worthy Functions on the Lawnmower
Making every square foot count: By giving purpose to cultural expectations, we dedicate every square foot of mown space to multifunctional use and embrace alternatives to the monocultural turfgrass status quo. We can eliminate the use of common, environmentally unfriendly products and limit the use of other imported energy sources associated with modern lawn and garden practices.
Easy-care mown spaces- Mown spaces are important in a suburban family and larger social environment. This design aims to address social needs while minimizing the embodied energy of modern lawn care.
The Importance of “Curb Appeal.”
Front yard landscaping – Enshrining environmental responsibility and a “Face to the World” that promotes a shift toward gentler lawn culture, norms, and social connectivity.
Featuring a visually less busy aesthetic that frames the home in a manner that is pleasing and welcoming to both the homeowner and the neighborhood. A yard that holds a thread of suburban lawn culture for understandability, i.e., more mown area, showcase gardens, and hardscape features readily recognisable to the passerby. In our design, these gardens are to be interplanted with native plants for wildlife, human edibility/medicine, and aesthetic purposes.
Hardscape and lawn decorations arranged to enable water sequestration complement the house’s aesthetic. As well as encouraging social interactions through a Little Free Library.
