Luxury Fully Shaded Garden Ideas and Designs
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Exterior Worlds Landscaping & DesignThis shade arbor, located in The Woodlands, TX north of Houston, spans the entire length of the back yard. It combines a number of elements with custom structures that were constructed to emulate specific aspects of a Zen garden. The homeowner wanted a low-maintenance garden whose beauty could withstand the tough seasonal weather that strikes the area at various times of the year. He also desired a mood-altering aesthetic that would relax the senses and calm the mind. Most importantly, he wanted this meditative environment completely shielded from the outside world so he could find serenity in total privacy.
The most unique design element in this entire project is the roof of the shade arbor itself. It features a “negative space” leaf pattern that was designed in a software suite and cut out of the metal with a water jet cutter. Each form in the pattern is loosely suggestive of either a leaf, or a cluster of leaves.
These small, negative spaces cut from the metal are the source of the structure’ powerful visual and emotional impact. During the day, sunlight shines down and highlights columns, furniture, plantings, and gravel with a blend of dappling and shade that make you feel like you are sitting under the branches of a tree.
At night, the effects are even more brilliant. Skillfully concealed lights mounted on the trusses reflect off the steel in places, while in other places they penetrate the negative spaces, cascading brilliant patterns of ambient light down on vegetation, hardscape, and water alike.
The shade arbor shelters two gravel patios that are almost identical in space. The patio closest to the living room features a mini outdoor dining room, replete with tables and chairs. The patio is ornamented with a blend of ornamental grass, a small human figurine sculpture, and mid-level impact ground cover.
Gravel was chosen as the preferred hardscape material because of its Zen-like connotations. It is also remarkably soft to walk on, helping to set the mood for a relaxed afternoon in the dappled shade of gently filtered sunlight.
The second patio, spaced 15 feet away from the first, resides adjacent to the home at the opposite end of the shade arbor. Like its twin, it is also ornamented with ground cover borders, ornamental grasses, and a large urn identical to the first. Seating here is even more private and contemplative. Instead of a table and chairs, there is a large decorative concrete bench cut in the shape of a giant four-leaf clover.
Spanning the distance between these two patios, a bluestone walkway connects the two spaces. Along the way, its borders are punctuated in places by low-level ornamental grasses, a large flowering bush, another sculpture in the form of human faces, and foxtail ferns that spring up from a spread of river rock that punctuates the ends of the walkway.
The meditative quality of the shade arbor is reinforced by two special features. The first of these is a disappearing fountain that flows from the top of a large vertical stone embedded like a monolith in the other edges of the river rock. The drains and pumps to this fountain are carefully concealed underneath the covering of smooth stones, and the sound of the water is only barely perceptible, as if it is trying to force you to let go of your thoughts to hear it.
A large piece of core-10 steel, which is deliberately intended to rust quickly, rises up like an arced wall from behind the fountain stone. The dark color of the metal helps the casual viewer catch just a glimpse of light reflecting off the slow trickle of water that runs down the side of the stone into the river rock bed.
To complete the quiet moment that the shade arbor is intended to invoke, a thick wall of cypress trees rises up on all sides of the yard, completely shutting out the disturbances of the world with a comforting wall of living greenery that comforts the thoughts and emotions.
Hursthouse Landscape Architects and ContractorsAfter reconfiguring the drive, our team re-aligned the secondary walk toward the family parking area. Massed woody plants, perennials, and groundcover downplay the secondary entry from visitors, and are repeated around the property to create a consistent planting plan.
Krugel Cobbles, Inc.Water feature creates a soothing space by smaller patio, summer flowers in full bloom create the background.
Miriam's River House Designs, LLCThis stained glass and natural crystal metaphysical window has a story to tell to those who are seeking cosmic wisdom.
Photo credits: Dan Drobnick
Smalls LandscapingNatural stone steps were used where grade changes occur in the paths and up to the hot tub. The hot tub is a stainless steel unit which is seated on a poured concrete pad and surrounded by drain stone base material and covered with flagstone.
Exterior Worlds Landscaping & DesignA family in West University contacted us to design a contemporary Houston landscape for them. They live on a double lot, which is large for that neighborhood. They had built a custom home on the property, and they wanted a unique indoor-outdoor living experience that integrated a modern pool into the aesthetic of their home interior.
This was made possible by the design of the home itself. The living room can be fully opened to the yard by sliding glass doors. The pool we built is actually a lap swimming pool that measures a full 65 feet in length. Not only is this pool unique in size and design, but it is also unique in how it ties into the home. The patio literally connects the living room to the edge of the water. There is no coping, so you can literally walk across the patio into the water and start your swim in the heated, lighted interior of the pool.
Even for guests who do not swim, the proximity of the water to the living room makes the entire pool-patio layout part of the exterior design. This is a common theme in modern pool design.
The patio is also notable because it is constructed from stones that fit so tightly together the joints seem to disappear. Although the linear edges of the stones are faintly visible, the surface is one contiguous whole whose linear seamlessness supports both the linearity of the home and the lengthwise expanse of the pool.
While the patio design is strictly linear to tie the form of the home to that of the pool, our modern pool is decorated with a running bond pattern of tile work. Running bond is a design pattern that uses staggered stone, brick, or tile layouts to create something of a linear puzzle board effect that captures the eye. We created this pattern to compliment the brick work of the home exterior wall, thus aesthetically tying fine details of the pool to home architecture.
At the opposite end of the pool, we built a fountain into the side of the home's perimeter wall. The fountain head is actually square, mirroring the bricks in the wall. Unlike a typical fountain, the water here pours out in a horizontal plane which even more reinforces the theme of the quadrilateral geometry and linear movement of the modern pool.
We decorated the front of the home with a custom garden consisting of small ground cover plant species. We had to be very cautious around the trees due to West U’s strict tree preservation policies. In order to avoid damaging tree roots, we had to avoid digging too deep into the earth.
The species used in this garden—Japanese Ardesia, foxtail ferns, and dwarf mondo not only avoid disturbing tree roots, but they are low-growth by nature and highly shade resistant. We also built a gravel driveway that provides natural water drainage and preserves the root zone for trees. Concrete pads cross the driveway to give the homeowners a sure-footing for walking to and from their vehicles.
Urban Oasis Landscape DesignA raised Ipe bed is tall enough so that you don't have to bend down and big enough to grow a big variety of vegetables all year round.
Ocean Road LandscapingThis landscape garden won the 2014 Landscape Victoria Awards for “Plants In the Landscape”. With its natural Stingy Bark twisted trees, the design highlights and enhances these beautiful sculptural trees. The plants are the landscape, attracting wildlife and frogs, with evidence of children climbing and playing in this space. The use of north facing sun has been harnessed in the court yard close to the house, offering a completely different micro-climate, and protection from the southerly breeze.
This landscape garden was in the Open Gardens Australia for a special twilight event in January 2014 & 2015. With features such as decking, stonewalls and plantings that are drought hardy and indigenous. Monies raised from these garden openings were donated to the Anglesea CFA.
Plants in Landscape Award –Landscape Victoria Judge, Bryan Rankin- Lifetime Member said…
“WOW! This is an exceptional garden. The plants in this garden are the landscape. The existing trees have been made features in the overall landscape, and new plantings have been done to compliment and further highlight the existing trees.
The use of native plants in a structured manner has worked really well, and the retention of an undisturbed strip of indigenous vegetation has been sensitively incorporated into the landscape.
It was also great to see that this was a space that was explored and utilised by the whole family.”
Extra information
Design by Sinatra Murphy and Peter Shaw
Photos by Caitlin Mills and Simone Shaw
Miriam's River House Designs, LLCThe entire pavilion was constructed from Ipe Wood. The roof has reclaimed slate as an overlay. Copper was used for all trimming. All the glass throughout the structure is hand made speciality glass. There are twelve custom made skylights.
Photo credits: Dan Drobnick
Luxury Fully Shaded Garden Ideas and Designs
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