1928 BACKYARD LANDSCAPE

Minneapolis, MN, 2010

Upon moving in their 1953 mid-century modern rambler, designed by architect Saul Smiley, the first project that Souliyahn and Tia tackled was the back yard. The planning of the interior of the house was so fantastic, that they wanted an exterior space that complimented the interior. The placement of the house on the lot created a spacious and semi-private backyard that they set-out to make even more private ... and fruitful. The space has evolved (and continues to) over the years. 

2006: Patio project started and completed. Relating to the sunken living room on the inside of the house, the patio is sunken into the yard. A short concrete block retaining wall doubles as a bench and as garden-pot platform. Black brick (left over from a client's project) makes up the ground surface of the patio -- the bricks are turned on end to reveal their circular-cores along the walkway next to the garage, that leads to the driveway. The driveway was resurfaced with black pavers turned upside-down to create a tight, flat surface. Tall Karl Foerster grasses line the driveway, and interior fence, as well the enclose the end of the parked Airstream (aka Silvercocoon) on the other end of the yard. Souliyahn applied vertical cedar boards to the existing (extremely sturdy) chain-link fence to add an extra layer of privacy along the alley and driveway. 

2006-2008: Garden consisted of pots and a narrows garden bed in the ground that extended along the same line as the retaining wally. 

2009: Souliyahn (and our then 4-yr old son) built a large raised bed to expand the vegetable garden. Within the main frame of the bed there are three garden beds of varrying widths and two walkways. 

2010: Souliyahn added 3 rain barrels along the garage and additional gravel beds to surround the garden with pea-gravel. The area south of the patio was also converted to a gravel bed sitting area surrounding a small fire pit. These additions mimimized the lawn to a perfectly defined rectangle that is easy to manicure and maintain.