Despite having a brand new home built to spec, our clients experienced frequent flooding and wanted to solve their drainage issues before they moved out of state for work.

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THE BRIEF:

• Solve the drainage issue

• Increase curb appeal to make their home look clean and ready for selling

• Very low maintenance

• Lots of nectar plants and grasses for a soft modern feel

• Consideration for very slow draining soil

 

THE FUNCTION

 

Our clients hired another landscape company who added a dry creek bed and they still had flooding when they hired us. We did a rain study and discovered that the location where water was entering was the old driveway, now impermeable, and chose that location (to the right of the front yard) for a rain garden. To increase the site's usefulness as a habitat year-round, the site includes a large variety of native plant species offering nectar and blooms throughout the year for visiting bees, wasps, and butterflies.  We amended the soil throughout to help it drain better, and we tidied up the site by adding gray paths, and raised corten steel planting beds, which are easy to maintain and suit the home.

 

THE LOOK

 

The corten steel will turn a subtle copper color over time, suiting the metallic look of the home.  For a cohesive, modern look and that suited the home's minimal aesthetic, we kept the planting simple, mirroring the two tones of gray of the home and used 2 metallic looking tones of maroon and rose gold throughout, alongside shades of green. ​​

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