Rodeo Drive Mall

I drew up the landscape plan for the Rodeo Drive Mall on the north end of Moscow back in 2005. The biggest design challenge for this site was the city zoning requirements. Section 6-9 of the City of Moscow Zoning Code has some very specific requirements for what is planted between differently zoned areas, particularly between a motor business area and two different types of residential areas.

In the end I was pleased with how the design turned out and I had high hopes for how it would look upon completion. But this is the point in the design process where my job ends and it's up to the contractor (or homeowner in some cases) to either follow my design or substitute as they sometimes see fit. Some substitutions were made at the mall which has resulted in some oddities, but the overall idea has remained basically the same and I am pleased with that.

Casa Wallace

This was a project that I did for school almost 8 years ago. I had the privilege of studying in Italy for 6 weeks over the summer and we stayed at an amazing little villa/winery while we were there. One of our projects was to create a comprehensive plan for the villa and vineyards that included some wetland reclamation, garden space, an increased number of paths throughout the property, a children's garden, a grotto at the site of the old pool, and other requirements. Living in the space you're designing for is an enjoyable but sometimes overwhelming experience.

Two areas that we concentrated on were the courtyards at the villa. One was completely paved and enclosed on three sides by the villa itself, with the owner's private residence partially covering the fourth side. It got incredibly hot in this courtyard, so I added a fountain with night-lighting and some edge plantings to soften the harsh lines of the space.

The second courtyard was bounded on one side by the villa and the rest was surrounded by an old wall with a little terra cotta roof that was as charming as it was unnecessary. They didn't have a lot of water for irrigation, so I used brick pavers and pea gravel set in organic lines  and curving shapes to create a more "natural" feeling environment and added a few strategically placed berms of native plants to make the sparse plantings more visible. 

As an aside, if you're looking for a place to stay in the Piedmont region of Italy, you can stay here. Visit their website here.

Wingers in Moscow

I have no pictures, but I designed the landscaping for the new Wingers in Moscow a few years back when I was working through Crossroads Nursery just west of Moscow. As is typical with businesses, they wanted something virtually maintenance free and with low water requirements. I used lots of rock, grasses, roses, evergreen boxwoods, and virginia creeper to soften the architecture and bring some color and interest to the little island in the middle of the fifteen acre parking lot. I cannot, however, take credit for the lollipop trees to the right of the entrance.