News & Events
2.4.2010
Mariani Landscape Wins Gold Award From Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA)
Small space garden in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood creates urban oasis
Mariani Landscape recently received a gold award from ILCA at the organization’s 2010 Annual Awards Night on March 12. The award-winning landscape features a small space garden oasis in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. Landscape designer Jill Burson and project manager Josh McCarn accepted the award.
An Urban Oasis
A parkway with a high volume of traffic, a minimally sized and fenced front yard, and a small rear yard area – approximately 911 square feet – offered limited space to create an ‘oasis’ retreat requested by the homeowner. As an exceptionally busy professional, the homeowner desired various vignettes of textures to view throughout the seasons. Flat grades and the common issues associated with urban living were a few of the project challenges faced by the designer.
The rear yard was designed to create depth and a visual change in elevation. The grade was greatly lowered and timber retaining walls were installed along the side of the property lines. A flagstone patio and walkway, above a gravel dry well, was constructed to create usable entertaining space. The gravel dry well captures water from the entire rear garden surface and solves any undesirable water issues. The terrace and walkway accept all drainage by allowing water to penetrate through joints in the paving to alleviate flooding, a common problem in urban settings. All of this is hidden by the various plant materials and patio throughout the rear landscape.
Considered a “collector’s garden”, the landscape showcases nearly 75 varieties of plants that were strategically placed throughout the garden to offer various points of focal interest. Many of these plants offer interest outside the normal bloom window. Other plant specimens possessing silver, grey and white color-tones were selected to allow the homeowner to view the garden, illuminated by custom landscape lighting, during evening hours.
The final phase of the project was completed in the Spring of 2009. This included the front yard and parkway. Magnolia ‘Sunspire’, Halesia monticola, and Gymnocladus dioica were used in the front landscape to create visual interest to the property when viewed from the street. A low, stone wall and decorative garden fencing were constructed for the small parkway area to protect plantings from problems such as animals, snow, salt and street and walkway traffic. The overall design incorporates a diverse palette of materials in a flowing layout, creating a cozy rear yard patio. The design-build company successfully turned this typical backyard into something extraordinary.
