Bow to the House

​​

"​The garden must always bow to the house" is the old garden design mantra. ​Your house is a combination of mid-century modern in shape (low pitch roof, rectangular, etc.) And it is rustic in finishes (simulated board and batten siding for instance) Both styles dictate an informal garden (the clipped box hedges are too formal for instance). 

​

​If we use one of Frank's houses for comparison, a rich-toned reddish-brown color on the siding and a dark bronze for trim would be his color choices for the house. But this example doesn't show much in the way of landscaping except that it is natural with lots of trees. Not formal.

Frank Loyd is famous for using as many native plants​ as possible, digging up the existing plants on the foundations, and holding them in pots to reinstall after construction was complete. I'm keen to bring in as many natives as possible on this shady site in a wooded community.

test 01 ferns, paint, wildflowers, dogwood, woodpile

These two examples using ferns, shrubs, flowering trees etc. are good examples of gardens that "bow to the house" in a wooded lakeside setting.