A five-acre field captured the owners’ imagination for working with the land, keeping bees, and living more simply in their retirement. Richardson & Associates joined the project team early, which permitted site planning to emerge in tandem with the finely detailed new house by Thomson Cooke Architects.

From its hilltop vantage, the house is sited to enhance the arrival sequence and frame vistas across the property. A forest of apex hardwood species thrive along the perimeter while the small orchard and kitchen garden define the spaces closer to the house. The gravel entry drive lined with Freeman maples (Acer x freemanii), reinforces the rustic formality of the home and gardens.

The rear garden is a sequence of terraces and plantings; a reflecting pool offers sound from the sunken patio courtyard. Traditionally planted with boxwood and ferns, the patio is enclosed by a stone wall that steps up to the perennial garden. An outdoor pavilion rises beyond the formal terrace and is set among a native array of grasses and flowering shrubs, which blends into the woodland edge. Entirely new, the composition of house and landscape offers a sense of place and fulfills the lifestyle desired by the owners.