St. Mary’s River House

A serene riverside home serves as a weekend retreat. To evoke the placid, almost spiritual vibe our clients wanted, we kept the turf areas to a minimum, opting instead to use a palette of different meadow types. The area between the house and the river was impenetrable, thick with invasive vines and trees. To clear the land, we hired a herd of goats who promptly ate the weeds and pulled ivy from tree trunks so we could install riverine buffer plants such as Switchgrass and Swamp Mallow. A mix of hardy herbs like Russian sage and Lavender appear throughout. The pool terrace itself is composed of large pavers planted with mazus. A tulip tree was preserved, which we later discovered housed an osprey who used this tree for nesting, a sure sign that this property was meant to be a sanctuary. 

A wooden pier extends into a calm lake at sunset, framed by the dark silhouettes of foreground trees. Sunlight catches the leaves and highlights the length of the dock stretching toward the water.
A wooden pier extends into a calm lake, framed by overhanging tree branches in the foreground. Reeds grow along the shoreline at the base of the dock.
A flagstone path winds through a garden filled with patches of green groundcover and vibrant yellow-petaled black-eyed Susan flowers. Tall trees and greenery form a soft-focus background under warm, late-day sunlight.
A house with a wraparound porch stands in the distance, viewed from a shaded woodland path. Tall, grassy clearings stretch between the thick tree trunks in the foreground.
Panicle hydrangea flowers in bloom. The cone-shaped clusters of pale, creamy-white florets are highlighted by bright sunlight against a soft, out-of-focus background.
A rectangular swimming pool sits beside a grey pool house with four lounge chairs on the patio. The backyard features a stone walkway with grass inlays, surrounded by lush trees and shrubs at sunset.
A rectangular swimming pool with blue water sits beside a stone patio edged with low-growing green groundcover. Beyond the pool, a wooden fence with wire mesh panels separates the yard from a wooded area.
A lit house with a screened porch overlooks a backyard swimming pool at night. Above, a bright, starry sky glows over the surrounding trees.
A stone and siding house illuminated at dusk, with a stone path leading through a wild garden. The sky is a deep blue filled with stars, and a smaller matching outbuilding is visible in the distance.