During the early 1900s, Glen Echo, MD was established as a getaway community for the financial titans of the era. Later, artists moved into the charming cabins and imbued the neighborhood with the bohemian quality it is known for today. A new generation retains the artsy vibe even as the properties have been updated for modern living. 

For this home, the owners wished to impart their garden with the cragginess of nearby Carder Rock Park. Big chunks of mossy granite were placed within the space to evoke sitting on the cliffs. More boulders of varying sizes and shapes were carefully selected to serve as seating around the fire pit. To make the most of the concentric curved lot with the street on one side and an alley on the other, the plan for the new garden provides linear sightlines from the house. A folding glass wall brings the outside into the house and vice versa. Irregular placement of the pavers and lawn joints also blur the transition from patio to lawn to create a sense of contiguous flow rather than an edge.

At the lowest elevation of the garden, a mulch path gives the kids a more adventuresome weave through the planting bed of ferns and native perennials to arrive at the fire pit. In contrast, but with the same destination, orderly rectangles of stone traverse the length of the garden. Several feet below the pavers, the ground is filled with gravel and pipes to provide effective and hidden drainage. A Japanese Maple anchors the corner opposite the fire pit, while a Fuyu Persimmon tree has pride of place in the center of the trail-like bed. Enclosing this very personal garden is a unique fence detailed with horizontal boards of varying widths and a big gate that opens to the alley.

Landscape Architect: Richardson & Associates Landscape Architecture, Architect: Broadhurst Architects, General Contractor: Mcfarland Woods, Landscape Contractor: Chick Landscaping, Photographer: J. Trevor Sykes