Gasper Landscape Design & Construction

The Secret Garden
Creating Intimate Garden Spaces
By Maryanna S. Phinn

You may wish to spend quiet time outside in your own “secret place” reading a novel, relaxing with an old friend over a glass of wine or just listening to the birds chirp. But, that special niche doesn’t exist on your property—or does it?

In fact, your property may hold some delightful hidden secrets. With thoughtful planning and detailing, you can create that coveted beautiful garden oasis from unused or overlooked spaces surrounding your home.

Gasper Landscape Design & Construction, located in Bucks County, has professional designers, craftsmen and horticulturists that have many innovative ideas to help you create one or more of the outdoor “rooms” that you never knew existed on your property. The Gasper Landscape team can design intimate garden niches within your large master-planned project or create an intimate outdoor getaway from areas you once considered wasted or unusable.

A Lovely Home in Washington Crossing
Transitional Space: The Path to Discovering the Unexpected
“When we work on large master planned projects, we consider the views from all sides of the property and the surrounding areas,” explains Bob Gasper, owner of the award-winning landscape and construction firm he founded in 1985. “Sometimes the goal is to take individual pockets of space and create transitional areas that help compose the entire design,” he notes.

Gasper uses a home in Washington Crossing as an example. The 4,000 square foot home on 3 acres benefited from Gasper’s composition of several intimate garden spaces within the master plan. The overall plan results in an area rich in color, creative nooks and crannies, and woodland paths leading to unexpected seating areas.

“On the left side of house, we added a flagstone walkway and an arbor gateway planted with flowering clematis. We used the natural terrain to build stone steps down to a patio space,” Gasper explains. “It’s a sizeable patio, but it is tucked away from the activity of the main entertaining space on the back of the house.” Guests arriving from the driveway can meander along this path discovering the first of several destinations along their journey to the backyard.

A second curvilinear bluestone patio overlooks the back of the property and is adjacent to the large cedar deck. The simple design of this intimate garden space incorporated an existing mature tree with added flower beds filled with flowering shrubs, perennials and seasonal annuals. Its purpose is to provide a completely separate private seating area for someone to sip hot coffee or cold lemonade while enjoying the view towards the large pond below.

Elevations and grade changes on a property also help create secluded, private areas. “The entire plan takes advantage of the steep slope between the house and the pond. Using large moss rock boulders, we created a unique “grotto,” notes Gasper.

The grotto is in close proximity to the house with views towards the pond. The existing mature trees provided a large canopy over a seating area creating a cool, quiet spot for reflection and relaxation. The design blends well into the natural terrain with the addition of shade tolerant woodland plants and an irregularly shaped flagstone patio. “The seating area looks as though it was built because the rock outcropping was found there,” says Gasper.

A Private Garden Oasis in Yardley
Creating Beauty Using Overlooked Spaces

“It’s possible to create a series of intimate spaces on a smaller property, as well” explains Gasper. “We always look at the overall scope of a property. Sometimes views, in the distance or from within, are not given the importance they deserve.”

Gasper Landscapes worked with a Yardley homeowner to create several transitional and functional garden spaces from areas that were not well defined or used. The modest two-story colonial home sits on less than one acre.  A fountain garden was added on the side of the home off the driveway and in view of the neighboring home. It was previously an area on the property that was not appreciated.

An arched arbor planted with climbing roses and an irregular flagstone walkway created a transition from the driveway to the side and back of the home. The fountain served as the focal point and a bench and several large potted ferns and perennials added texture and color. The hedges created added privacy between the two properties. Irregular bluestone slab steps transitioned the space in one direction from the fountain garden to the lawn, while a red tipple path meandered off in another direction leading to other secluded destinations.

In the back of the home, a modest sized patio area created from irregular flagstone, red tipple gravel and Belgium block curbing blended naturally with the property’s backyard lawn. This space is perfectly suited for the homeowner to enjoy their morning paper and coffee.

“It doesn’t matter how large or small your property is, we can create intimate garden settings using the right materials, details, and by taking advantage of the existing natural terrain,” Gasper adds.

About Gasper Landscape
Gasper Landscape and Design and the Gasper Home and Garden Showplace are located on 316 Tanyard Road in Richboro. The nursery and gift shop are open year round weekdays from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. and Saturday from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. For more information or to request a complimentary DVD highlighting Gasper Landscape’s services, call (215) 364-2400 or visit www.gasper.net.

Maryanna S. Phinn is a freelance writer from Washington Crossing, PA.