Landscape Design
Patio of the Week
Yard of the Week: Inviting Space for Family, Friends and Wildlife
A landscape architect turns a Massachusetts yard into a contemporary outdoor retreat with native plants and gabion walls
A Somerville, Massachusetts, family’s existing backyard — basically an asphalt parking lot — wasn’t cutting it. The homeowners wanted to be able to relax with friends outside, encourage wildlife to visit their garden and create a welcoming, comfortable space for their growing family. “As the whole thing developed, they decided they wanted to have parties and have people over,” landscape architect Robert Gilmore says.
Working with Gilmore Landscape Architecture, the homeowners transformed their yard to include seating and dining areas, a new garage, bird- and butterfly-friendly plantings and improved outdoor drainage. The design team worked to reimagine the space so that it appealed to the young family’s style and wouldn’t require too much maintenance.
Working with Gilmore Landscape Architecture, the homeowners transformed their yard to include seating and dining areas, a new garage, bird- and butterfly-friendly plantings and improved outdoor drainage. The design team worked to reimagine the space so that it appealed to the young family’s style and wouldn’t require too much maintenance.
A deck for lounging anchors the far end of the yard. Built-in seating creates a custom L-shaped sofa that nicely frames the yard’s corner. The seat’s gently sloping back continues past the end of the bench to form the cover for floor-level cove lighting. The bench flips up for storage. A low shelf next to the bench can be used for resting drinks or placing a potted plant. Chokeberry (Aronia sp.) grows behind the seating area.
The team used balau for the deck and built-ins. “It’s a very dense tropical hardwood with a nice warm color,” Gilmore says. You can see how the wood ties in with the stones in the gabion walls and the metal Cor-Ten planter framing the deck.
The team used balau for the deck and built-ins. “It’s a very dense tropical hardwood with a nice warm color,” Gilmore says. You can see how the wood ties in with the stones in the gabion walls and the metal Cor-Ten planter framing the deck.
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A freestanding fountain chosen by the homeowners sits at one edge of the deck, nestled into a nook the team designed specficially for it. The cascading water adds a soothing sound to the space and blocks ambient noise from the bike path.
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Adding a garage was a key part of the project. While the homeowners had initially wanted to do a side-by-side two-car garage, the designers realized that the configuration would dominate the yard. Instead they used a tandem design, with one car fitting in front of the other.
Additionally, the homeowners wanted the garage to feel like it was part of the yard, designed so it could be used as a pavilion or entertaining space. “The structure was initially conceived as open-air, roof only, with the parking surface an integral part of the landscape,” Gilmore says. “As we worked through different site plan layout options with them, the carport became more and more of a four-season, fully enclosed building.”
With gabion walls along the front and barn doors that can slide completely open, the garage maintains a connection to the landscape, as the homeowners wanted. (The team brought on architect Sarah Walker to help finalize the garage’s design.)
Additionally, the homeowners wanted the garage to feel like it was part of the yard, designed so it could be used as a pavilion or entertaining space. “The structure was initially conceived as open-air, roof only, with the parking surface an integral part of the landscape,” Gilmore says. “As we worked through different site plan layout options with them, the carport became more and more of a four-season, fully enclosed building.”
With gabion walls along the front and barn doors that can slide completely open, the garage maintains a connection to the landscape, as the homeowners wanted. (The team brought on architect Sarah Walker to help finalize the garage’s design.)
The gabion walls are made of 4-inch-deep cages that contain 2- to 3-inch round river rocks. They sit on a brick ledge that juts out from the foundation below grade. “To resist outward pressure, the wire mesh cage is simply tied into the [garage’s] outer plywood sheathing with wires and screws,” Gilmore says.
The team replaced the yard’s asphalt driveway with pavers. The material itself isn’t porous, but small spaces between each paver allow water to drain into the ground.
The design team aimed to make the yard as free-draining as possible. “The more permeable surfaces the better, so you keep your stormwater on site,” Gilmore says.
The design team aimed to make the yard as free-draining as possible. “The more permeable surfaces the better, so you keep your stormwater on site,” Gilmore says.
As part of the landscape redesign, Gilmore also tackled major drainage issues in the yard. “The backyard happens to be the low point of this urban neighborhood, so lots of neighbors’ stormwater runoff would make its way to this backyard during heavy rains,” he says.
They discovered during excavation that the yard’s dry well, an underground structure that helps drain excess water, “had been completely clogged and made useless by the clay,” Gilmore says. “We excavated and removed all the clay soils about 6 feet away from the [dry well], unplugged all the drainage holes, backfilled with clean gravel, and wrapped in filter fabric to prevent soil from migrating into the gravel,” he says.
They also added two more dry wells in the yard to help keep everything well drained. Water-loving plants like redtwig dogwood (Cornus sericea) grow on top of the wells, “chosen in part to help suck up water,” Gilmore says. In general, many of the plants used in the project are water-loving and thrive in the naturally soggy site.
They discovered during excavation that the yard’s dry well, an underground structure that helps drain excess water, “had been completely clogged and made useless by the clay,” Gilmore says. “We excavated and removed all the clay soils about 6 feet away from the [dry well], unplugged all the drainage holes, backfilled with clean gravel, and wrapped in filter fabric to prevent soil from migrating into the gravel,” he says.
They also added two more dry wells in the yard to help keep everything well drained. Water-loving plants like redtwig dogwood (Cornus sericea) grow on top of the wells, “chosen in part to help suck up water,” Gilmore says. In general, many of the plants used in the project are water-loving and thrive in the naturally soggy site.
Plants play an important role in the yard’s design, with mostly native species chosen for their practical and ecological value. The plants help to welcome beneficial wildlife into the yard. “She wanted her backyard to be a stopping point for birds,” Gilmore says of one of the homeowners.
Some of the wildlife-attracting plants used include serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.), growing along the fence, which produces an edible berry that’s attractive to birds. “The tapestry of native plants beneath the serviceberry includes Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum), foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) and dwarf-crested iris (Iris cristata), intended to form a low-maintenance, natural-looking flowering forest floor to attract pollinators,” Gilmore says.
The native plant palette also helps cut down on maintenance and irrigation costs. “We had a line item for irrigation and told the homeowners halfway through that they could save $5,000 and not need the irrigation,” Gilmore says. “In putting all the right plants together, we create a little ecosystem that kind of takes care of itself.”
A small lawn, requested by one of the homeowners, sits in the center of the yard. It will give the family’s young child a place to play and helps connect the various small grade changes throughout the design.
Learn more about growing native plants
Some of the wildlife-attracting plants used include serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.), growing along the fence, which produces an edible berry that’s attractive to birds. “The tapestry of native plants beneath the serviceberry includes Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum), foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) and dwarf-crested iris (Iris cristata), intended to form a low-maintenance, natural-looking flowering forest floor to attract pollinators,” Gilmore says.
The native plant palette also helps cut down on maintenance and irrigation costs. “We had a line item for irrigation and told the homeowners halfway through that they could save $5,000 and not need the irrigation,” Gilmore says. “In putting all the right plants together, we create a little ecosystem that kind of takes care of itself.”
A small lawn, requested by one of the homeowners, sits in the center of the yard. It will give the family’s young child a place to play and helps connect the various small grade changes throughout the design.
Learn more about growing native plants
Another gabion wall forms a low retaining wall and seating area along the edge of the yard. The rocks filling these cages are slightly larger than those on the garage, and many of them were found in the yard during excavation. Traditionally used as retaining walls, gabion walls are considered cost-effective, long-lasting landscape features with great aesthetic and practical appeal.
Behind the retaining wall, a new rough spruce wood fence encircles the yard. As the wood ages, it will continue to patina to a soft gray color. The shadowbox design elevates the more rustic material.
Fence by Iannelli Custom Contracting
Behind the retaining wall, a new rough spruce wood fence encircles the yard. As the wood ages, it will continue to patina to a soft gray color. The shadowbox design elevates the more rustic material.
Fence by Iannelli Custom Contracting
A small dining area just off the house creates an intimate seating area for the homeowners. “She wanted a quieter space,” Gilmore says. “The lawn and deck kind of go together as a bigger open space.”
The patio is made of 2-by-2-foot bluestone pavers that have been individually set. Tan gravel adds warming contrast and ties in with the gabion walls in the yard.
The plants in front of the seating area will grow taller as they mature, creating more privacy and separation between the seating area and the rest of the yard.
The patio is made of 2-by-2-foot bluestone pavers that have been individually set. Tan gravel adds warming contrast and ties in with the gabion walls in the yard.
The plants in front of the seating area will grow taller as they mature, creating more privacy and separation between the seating area and the rest of the yard.
Subtle outdoor lighting helps illuminate the space at night. The team conducted lighting studies to help design the outdoor lighting, with an emphasis placed on illuminating the serviceberry trees in front of the fence.
In this site plan you can see how efficiently all of the yard’s elements fit together.
A row of bluestone pavers runs along the garage to the back of the yard and connects to the community bike and pedestrian path.
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A row of bluestone pavers runs along the garage to the back of the yard and connects to the community bike and pedestrian path.
More on Houzz
Tour more landscapes
Browse landscape photos
Find a local deck and patio specialist
Shop for your outdoor spaces
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with a young baby, who was born during construction
Location: Somerville, Massachusetts
Size: 2,000 square feet (186 square meters)
Landscape architect: Gilmore Landscape Architecture
Architect: Sarah Walker
General contractor: Harper Elm
The house on this property is three stories, with the homeowners occupying the bottom two floors and renting out the third. The home abuts a defunct railroad-turned-bike and pedestrian path, and the rear of the yard opens directly onto the path.
The homeowners leaned toward a contemporary design for the look of the yard. They had seen another project by Gilmore Landscape Architecture that featured gabion walls, or rock-filled steel baskets, which they wanted to incorporate. “That became something of a driver for the design,” Robert Gilmore says.
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