Landscape designers use hardscape materials and plantings to create human-scale spaces under the sky, as these Detroit Home Design Award winners reveal
Michael J. Dul & Associates, Birmingham, who designed both landscapes pictured here, gave dramatic French flair to an in-town residence on a small lot. The symmetry of the architecture is carried throughout with a bluestone walkway, stone planters, and plantings. Dry-laid limestone planters are compatible with the masonry stone on the home. Simple boxwood specimen plants are pruned into geometric spheres and sit in a soft bed of thyme. An ornamental iron gate, which defines the entry courtyard, incorporates a gas lantern and mailbox. // Photograph by Gene Meadows.(LEFT) Mature trees, loose perimeter plantings, and refined foundation plantings soften the setting for a sophisticated home that’s surrounded by expansive lawns. At the rear of the house, a masonry garden wall defines an intimate patio space. Ornamental grasses and flowering shrubs and trees merge that area with the outdoors and soften the contemporary architecture. // Photograph by Gene Meadows. (RIGHT) Tuzinowski Landscape Co. created a sophisticated, grand setting with large-scale plantings. A 16-tree linden allée and hundreds of boxwood planted in large natural groups and trimmed hedges lend shape. // Photograph by George Dzahristos.(LEFT) Working within a difficult site, Aguafina Gardens International of Sylvan Lake used a Corten steel wall intersected by massive boulders and steps to give shape to the landscape. Plantings include masses of perennials and mature specimen trees. // Photograph by George Dzahristos. (RIGHT) In a modern setting, Aguafina Gardens International used Corten steel for its raw aesthetic and the need for a material with a very thin profile in order to maximize limited space. // Photograph by George Dzahristos.(LEFT) Designing in a mature, wooded site, Clarkston-based Zaremba & Co. created a sequence of intimate spaces suitable for entertaining and relaxation. Boxwood hedge-lined pathways lead through a formal gate flanked by weathered-brick columns. // Photograph by George Dzahristos. (RIGHT) A wooden pergola adds drama to the pool-deck entrance. // Photograph courtesy of Tuzinowski Landscape Company.
