• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • The Magazine
    • The Peachy Team
    • 2025
      • Spring 2025 (Båstad, Sweden)
    • 2024
      • Spring 2024 (Jacksonville)
      • Summer 2024 (Boston)
      • Fall 2024 (Aspen)
      • Holiday 2024
    • 2023
      • Spring 2023 (Anniversary Issue)
      • Summer 2023 (Turks & Caicos)
      • Fall 2023 (Charlotte)
      • Holiday 2023
    • 2022
      • Spring 2022 (Nantucket)
      • Summer 2022 (Austin)
      • Fall 2022 (Asheville)
      • Holiday 2022
    • 2021
      • Spring 2021 (Charlotte interiors)
      • Summer 2021 (St. Louis)
      • Fall 2021 (Palm Beach)
      • Holiday 2021
    • 2020
      • Spring 2020 (Richmond)
      • Summer 2020 (Greenville, SC)
      • Fall 2020 (The Hamptons)
      • Holiday 2020
    • 2019
      • Spring 2019 (Santa Fe)
      • Summer 2019 (Charlotte Garden Issue)
      • Fall 2019 (Cape Cod)
      • Holiday 2019
    • 2018
      • Spring 2018 (Boston)
      • Summer 2018 (Ponte Vedra)
      • Fall 2018 (Anniversary Issue)
      • Holiday 2018
    • 2017
      • Spring 2017 (Birmingham)
      • Summer 2017 (San Francisco)
      • Fall 2017 (Jackson Hole)
      • Holiday 2017
    • 2016
      • Spring 2016 (Savannah)
      • Summer 2016 (Los Angeles)
      • Fall 2016 (NC Mountains)
      • Holiday 2016
    • 2015
      • February March 2015 (Nashville)
      • May June 2015 (Washington, D.C.)
      • July August 2015 (New Orleans)
      • September October 2015 (Austin)
      • Holiday 2015
    • 2014
      • January February 2014 (Park City)
      • March 2014 (Chicago)
      • April May 2014 (Charlotte)
      • June July 2014 (Charleston)
      • August September 2014 (Santa Barbara)
      • October November 2014 (Atlanta)
      • Holiday 2014
    • 2013
      • September 2013 (Charlotte)
      • October November 2013 (Dallas)
      • Holiday 2013 (New York)
  • Style
  • Beauty
  • Entertaining
  • Interiors
  • Gardens
  • Wellness
  • Insiders’ Guides

Peachy the Magazine

You are here: Home / Gardens / Elegant Simplicity

May 28, 2015

Elegant Simplicity

WRITTEN BY Blair Farris
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Scott Smith Photography
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Gregg Bleam
ARCHITECT: Richard Williams Architects

Creating privacy and elegance on a blank lot in a commuter suburb of DC is not an easy thing to do, but Landscape Architect Gregg Bleam designed a modern garden that fits easily into the historic fabric of the Garrett Park neighborhood. Bleam developed the plan in conjunction with the architect’s house design. The architect, Richard Williams, was open to this approach, and the result is a seamless connection between house and garden.

The goal was to create a home that fit within the Montgomery County, MD, neighborhood context, offering a more open lawn with trees in the front yard, but also providing privacy from adjoining neighbors and featuring a contemporary minimalist garden.

Simple yet stylish, minimalist gardens take their cue from de-cluttered houses, offering a thoughtfully designed space that works for today’s busy lifestyles. Minimalist gardens feature a bold but simple design that is usually low maintenance. Minimalism in the garden starts with boundaries. Limiting the number of hardscaping materials and maintaining a limited plant palette is essential to achieve a modern, clean look.

In Garrett Park, Bleam and Williams truly had a blank slate with which to work, as the previous residence had burned to the ground. Bleam used plant material in a manner that creates planes, garden rooms and overlapping outdoor spaces. The entry threshold is defined by a double row of redbuds flanking blue stone steppers. To reinforce the public-to-private transition, layers of ground cover were used at the front of the lot. The walkway leads to the front terrace and entry where the steps, made of stacked pavers, echo the stepping stones.

A six-inch deep reflecting pool is integral to the design. In fact, the architect redesigned the entry sequence to highlight the pool. “When you enter the house,” explains Bleam, “you see the reflecting pool with the equisetum planting on axis and the shadblow serviceberry grove beyond. An ipe bench echoes the ipe bridge which crosses the pool in the foreground.” This axis creates a dramatic view through the house day and night, connecting the home to the garden and providing a beautiful focal point.

The L-shaped hornbeam hedge on the south side of the property provides privacy and a vertical element or wall to the garden. Serviceberries planted in quincunx formation at the rear of the property “define the primary garden space and create a backdrop for the specimen Jade Magnolia,” which blooms a stunning white before it has leaves. An ipe bench marks the edge of the grove and provides a place for relaxing.

Looking out the kitchen window and across the driveway, perennial and herb gardens are defined by small, clipped hornbeam hedges. The paths and serviceberry grove feature stone dust, which creates contrast for the shadows and emphasizes the branching and architecture of the trees.

The integrated design provides an ideal gathering place for the residents and their adult children. The seamless connection between the house and the garden offers a sense of balance and reciprocity. The designers clearly succeeded in creating strong lines and a clear purpose, beautifully executed and detailed in this DC-area minimalist garden.

Gardens Leave a Comment

Previous Post: « Cheekwood Botanical Garden’s Newest Exhibition, Jaume Plensa: Human Landscape
Next Post: Father’s Day Gift Guide »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Instagram icon   Facebook icon   Pinterest icon   LikeToKnow.It icon

Subscribe to Peachy

Sign up for your free subscription to Peachy the Magazine.

Kirsten Dexter Spring 2025 Ad
Capizzi Fall 2024 Ad
Cake For Dinner Spring 2025 Ad
Road to Resolution Ad
Ellen Kelly Homes Spring 2025 ad
Wendy Bilas Ad

Contact Us

Questions? Comments? Interested in partnering with us? We would love to hear from you.

Privacy Policy and Disclaimers

Footer


A special thanks to our fabulous partners:
Kirsten Dexter Fine Jewelry logo     Capizzi MD logo     Road to Resolution logo       Ellen Kelly Helen Adams Realty logo       Cake For Dinner logo     Lisa Cashion SparkWell logo     Wendy Bilas Fine Art logo

© 2025 Peachy the Magazine · Wordpress theme by Design By Bloom