Let There Be…

And so shall it be written. Grass was laid upon the Earth for the good of all mankind.

All grass is not bad. In fact, some grass is necessary to achieve the desired design intent. Some grass can be sculptural. Other grass can preserve and support a fabulous view. It allows a borrowed view to take center stage without competition to impede the sight line. Some grass is functional as in the case of tennis courts and putting greens.

Sculptural grass has form. Working with positive and negative space, the grass becomes the yin to the yang. The image below has deep beds filled with colorful perennials. The grass is a purposeful addition, a break between beds of blooms.

It can be sensuously curving or rigidly geometric. The shape of the negative space is equally important as the intricate design is seen from many windows of the two residences, both above and below.

The image at left is the finished design from above. This is what they see from the front door and bedrooms above; at least before the gardener fills the urn with annuals and trims the barberry.

The image above is seen from the porch off the veranda of the home. It repeats shapes on both levels and the curves soften the rectilinear Georgian home. The design pays homage to the arches found in the windows.

The grass can border a paved path which is actually a gentle wheelchair route, or be a wide path as shown below.

This grass is also a truck maintenance route. In both cases, the paths provide for wheeled access.

The terrain is gently terraced with different ground covers; Buffalo juniper, Impatiens,  Vinca, and new sod. As a new installation, the Vinca and junipers need time to grow.

The grass can support the view, by subtly fading into the background. The Niagara River, below, and the six white churches above are worthy of this deference. Only two weeping mulberries and a scrub tree set for removal interrupt this view. The small fountain was replaced with a larger model and a set of stairs navigate the new terraces. The mulberries remained.

Both of these images were predesign, but the photos illustrate my point, none the less. The top property, the grass was terraced for entertaining, and the next area was paved with flagstone for a dance floor. Both properties were deigned with function weighing heavily in the directive. My analysis photos are always taken for the view so I can get a sense of place and what I want to preserve.

The grass can set off a wildly colorful bed of perennials and wind its way sinuously though the landscape like above.

These two views would not be the same interrupted with beds of flowers. The mood would be quite different. Grass is beautiful viewed from the front windows, shown above, and makes a carpet for many specimen trees. A mowing nightmare, but that is the trade-off for a park-like property.

Both above and below, the grass is a terrace. Gentle curves make mowing a breeze. The terrace below became a dance floor, as this was a predesign shot. The grass terrace was also very lovely.

The grass below forms an interesting shape along the drives of concrete, brick and asphalt, in the next three images.The first image is prior to the layered perennial beds.

Above, Iceberg roses line the drive, as does English Ivy. In this image below, the grass borders the asphalt drive. You can see some burning, but as the trees mature, shading will help out a bit.

The three examples below are from my files and not designs I have done. They show interesting patterns of hard surface materials very dependant on the grass as a partner.

There is no doubt we are talking a lot of grass. A lot of chemicals. A lot of mowing. But a lot of beauty as well.

I always must end with a bit of humor. So I will show you a schematic for a small courtyard area designed for a gastroenterologist. This is a portion of the entire, traditional design. Believe it or not, I was asked to design a grass area in the shape of….

This is not the working drawing but what does this look like to you? This is a design seen from the upstairs office of the doctor. I have to admit, I was very hesitant because one thing I learned in architecture school, is DO NOT make representative forms. Always abstract, hint and suggest, do not be literal. I tried that here, but the client gets what the client wants, period. Kidney shapes are a common form in landscape design, but this has to be a new one. And it is not a kidney, but close.

The client actually wanted the paving as the form, but took my advice and allowed the grass to create the shape. This way I could three dimensionally mask the form somewhat with the green plants, surrounding it with beds, and at ground level, it does read as such.  Still not telling you guys, but I think you might know already. All it needs is an ulcer.