This historic residence—located in the Belmont-Hillsboro Neighborhood in Nashville, TN—features a variety of native plants as well as gravel pathways with brick edging and a small vegetable garden in the backyard. As the client is originally from Chicago, the concept was to recreate the feel of the Lurie Garden. This historic renovation project was a collaboration with Marcus DiPietro Architect and Hudson Builders.

Photos by Ruth DiPietro

Photo by Philip Shippey

Photo by Philip Shippey

Photo by Philip Shippey

The goal of this landscape design was to scale the front yard and the house itself and to appropriately incorporate the house into the context of the historic neighborhood. An existing maple tree from the front yard was also removed in order to prevent it from becoming overgrown for the space and to allow more daylight to reach new plantings. The new plantings attract pollinators as well as provide seasonal interest.

This sketch shows the central, square, gravel path in the front yard with proposed plantings enclosing the space. A minimalistic yet tasteful urn was placed in the middle.

For this private residence, Shippey Landscape Architecture designed a planting plan that enhanced the curb appeal of the home while also giving the homeowner a cozy landscape with year-round interest.

Smaller-scale plants were located directly adjacent to the patio to add a greater level of detail for the seating area.

Muhly Grass was planted beside the patio to provide interest during the autumn with its pink inflorescence and to provide textual variety to the site’s plantings.

The homeowner for this project approached Shippey Landscape Architecture to solve erosion control issues along both sides of their existing driveway. Dry creek beds were integrated into the design to reinforce and manage existing channelized flows of stormwater. ‘Winter King’ Hawthorns were planted to bring additional seasonal interest to the project.

Native grasses and perennials were utilized to stabilize the slopes directly adjacent to the driveway. Grasses—such as the Little Bluestem seen in the foreground of the bottom photo—work to prevent erosion through their extensive root systems.

The client for this private residence desired to screen the building seen in this image to create more privacy and to block out the bright lights of the building at night.

The client wanted to create a tree-form hedge to provide the needed privacy screening and to give the backyard a distinct formal look. Through collaboration with the client and careful specimen selection, Foster Hollies were chosen as the best plant for the job. Over time, the hollies will grow together to form a continuous, evergreen hedge. 

The client desired to create a fire pit and patio space in their steeply sloped, wooded backyard.

This fire pit area includes: a native stone fire pit, stone dust patio, stone retaining wall, cobble edging stone, and woodland plantings. There is also a shallow swale directly behind the wall that directs stormwater away from the fire pit area.

The client originally wanted to use gravel for the patio in order to keep costs low. However, it was recommended that stone dust be used instead. The stone dust served as an even more cost-effective, yet attractive alternative that met the desired outcome of the client. Also, stone dust is a more suitable material for the placement of patio furniture and for ease of walking. The cobbles were set slightly above the grade of the patio to prevent erosion and drifting of the stone dust.

The homeowner for this project wanted to create a more welcoming entry for their home. The location receives a substantial amount of hot, afternoon sun and the soil was compacted and rocky.

The improved landscape for this entryway includes: a low stone retaining wall, groundcover roses, a holly hedge, and perennials. The materials that were chosen make for a low-maintenance yet beautiful first impression for the residence.

A plan rendering for the backyard of a private residence. The design includes a fire pit, recreational lawns, mulched walking paths, and raised vegetable beds.