It all began with a tree that was embedded into the previous brick patio in the backyard. The roots of the tree began to quickly buckle and pull apart the patio so we knew that was where we needed to start. We felt the patio was too big for its own good and lacked the privacy we wanted. We began with the idea of a screened-in porch off half the patio but then it quickly evolved into a four-seasons sunroom. This allowed us to create a “courtyard” style back patio giving us the privacy we desired. 

Can you describe the process of planning and designing the new landscape? The process was pretty simple because we knew the colors and vibe that we wanted. We wanted the landscaping to be very clean, modern with subtle pops of color. I loved the idea of Birch trees lining the yard to give the property dimension. Especially at night, when the landscape lighting comes on, it really draws your eyes down the property towards the farm.

The biggest change was the placement of the lower patio. When it was first designed, it was positioned much closer to the sunroom. Moving the lower patio closer to the end of the property line elongated the lawn and pulled you closer to the farm. 

How did you choose the elements, such as plants, hardscaping, and outdoor amenities? We used design inspiration from social media such as Instagram and Pinterest to create a landscape board for Amy and her team to work off on. A large part of the plants we chose were based off of the time of year. We have a summer home in Cape Cod so we wanted to make sure that along with the greenery, there were pops of color in the springtime and fall that we could enjoy. The gas fire pit and lower wood burning fire pit were also important elements since we knew that a majority of the time that we would be enjoying the property would be in the cooler months. 

The new backyard has really brought our family outside more and into nature. The next step is to buy a playset for the kids to use adjacent to the lower patio. One large change we made recently is the purchase of a large wood-burning Canadian cedar hot tub from Alumitubs that we have positioned on the lower patio. We moved the wood-burning fire pit and chairs to our side patio off the play space. We wanted to further capitalize on the outdoor space that we could use during the winter months. 

Live in your property for a few years before you do a large project to see how you use the outdoor space before you commit to a project. I think it is also important to hire a landscape design company and do your research when choosing a company to execute the vision. It made the entire process more enjoyable and less stressful knowing we had a great team behind us.