Client:

 

Dale & Suzanne Bixby ~ Dexter, Michigan

Thanks, Pete.  It’s a beautiful design and piece of work.

~ Entire home landscape renovation

Tim & Lisa ~ Ann Arbor, Michigan

Features

 

  • Sandstone Steppers
  • Stone Manipulation
  • Four Season Landscape Planting
  • Erosion Control Planting
  • Ornamental Trees
  • Transplanting
  • Bulk Material Installation w/ Hardwood Mulch
  • Landscape Lighting
  • Irrigation
  • Lawn

Job Description:

The Bixby’s contacted us at the builder’s show several years ago to discuss landscaping for their new home. Many times a new construction landscape offers a lot of freedom and flexibility with the design, but with this project there were some challenges to overcome. One of the first things we discovered when we were creating the design was that the well was located right in the middle of the only place we could install the patio. With the limitations of the deck location and significant slopes on either side of the house and away from the house, we had to come up with something creative to do around the well cap.

As with many difficult site conditions, the solution is often a combination of several design adjustments. Our solution involved two different aspects. The first was to excavate a significant amount of soil out of the slope to create a wider space for the patio. With soil as we removed from the slope, the well was still inside the desired patio location. The solution involved creating a garden space that would become part of the patio. We cut out a bed inside the patio which accommodated the well and the plantings used to disguise the well head. We always love the look of a planting space that becomes part of the patio space.

Other features included a full home foundation planting with four season, low maintenance plantings. One of the most interesting features of this project was the Brussels Dimensional wall space that was created within the same lines of the large boulder retaining wall to create a unique outcropping style retaining wall. Sandstone slabs were used to navigate the significant slope from the driveway to the lower walkout area. A last minute addition created a walkway at the top of the step system to complete the walkway to the great new living space down below. Irrigation and hydroseeding completed the project just in time for summer.

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