Needham, MA
Play Ball!
This client wanted it all; A landscape renovation a new sports court, putting green, new screened porch, patio/kitchen, water feature, and lots of plantings for year round interest.
The owner wanted to enjoy the benefits of a personal play area within their own property. Yu can hoop it up like the pros with a sports court in your own back yard. Complete with tennis, basketball… Even flood the court in the winter for ice skating and ice hockey. Pull the kids off the hard concrete of the playground and let them enjoy play right at home on a safe forgiving and fun looking surface.
The Challenge
In order to be able to implement a new 50 x 100 foot full sports court and desired putting green, a full evaluation of the back property had to be done. We carefully analyzed the removal of existing large trees, and pruning… to allow for light and room to fit the court and to protect the court from old trees that could fall.
Heavy equipment needed to be brought in to grade and prepare the area for the court, as well as, to extend the back yard about twenty feet with new fill so that the area could gradually slope down to the side property without the worry of the court being too close to the edge of the slope. Large boulders were used along with fill to retain the edge of the lawn and composted loam was brought in to prep the beds for planting.
Solution (Phase I)
We tried to plan and design this landscape design and make it unique incorporating the court with plantings in order to soften its large size making it a focal point instead of a large structure in the back yard. We kept the center of the long side of the court on both side open and flanked the fence on the lawn side with Pyramidal Pears to add affect and drama. The oversized doorways allows for easy visibility of the court and planting beds along the back fence from the house, new sunroom, and future patio area. It also softens what could be a severe wall between the court and lawn…
Mass plantings around the fence soften the hard surface of the court and fence. Here we concentrated on garden texture and pattern rather than too much bright color. While Pears stand sentinel on the lawn (southwest) side of the garden, beautiful hornbeams set along the entire length of the planting beds on the shorter sides of the court will provide both privacy and interest. Boxwoods, Rhododendrons, and Spruces, and many other varieties of dwarf evergreens will give structure and interest to the garden all year long. Bright pink peonies and lots of daffodils were planted for spring color followed by daylilies, sedums, and astilbes for continued interest thru summer and fall. Swathes of hostas, coral bells, and sedges unfold and drape the edges of beds as the season progresses.
We needed to move the children’s playhouse to another location and anchored it in the corner of the property to add a sense of fun and whimsy. The children have outgrown the playhouse and now it is used to store court and lawn equipment. The enchanting effect of this playhouse is achieved with a simple painting to match the main house dressed up with painted detail and plantings to tie in with the rest of the garden.
The island garden is filled with a mixture of evergreens, rhododendrons, and spring flowering azaleas, lots of perennials and bulbs. The Master Plan includes a water feature and completion of the garden scheduled to be implemented in the future.
Future (Phase II)
The addition of a new sunroom off of the back of the house, outdoor patio/kitchen, water feature in the island garden are all part of the completed Master Plan scheduled for implementation in 2009. One step at a time.