A beautiful 75 acre farm located along the eastern Pennsylvania Delaware River basin was the perfect setting for this large private pool and spa designed and under construction by Liquidscapes and several other professionals. We were retained to install the granite pool and spa decks.
The residence dates back to 1788. The 1 acre property backs up to East Amwell valley. The barn and home sit at a high elevation and the land slopes to a central low point where a small brook flows through the property. Behind the brook, the elevation increases again and ends at a farm field that extends into the valley.
Soil conditions vary from dry to flowing water. Deer pressure is high. My family and I reside on this land and it serves as my testing grounds for new perennials and shrubs. I work in my gardens almost every Sunday. My wife and I expand our organic vegetable garden a little bit every year. I have converted the rear lawn into a meadow and design new walking paths once a year. We have six chickens who enjoy our meadow and we enjoy their eggs!
I am in the process of converting the second story of our barn into Garden Artisans East Amwell landscape design and build studio. I am also in the early site analysis stage of creating a master plan for the property. I am fortunate to own an interesting historic home, barn, and property. I am excited to develop my land into something that my family will enjoy forever!
Our client’s childhood memories of summer fun in her parents’ pool and family time on Long Beach Island, NJ is what she wanted to recreate for her own children in the comfort of their backyard. The client’s wish list included a pool that was versatile for all ages and activities. We teamed up with Liquidscapes to assist with the pool design process to ensure functionality and quality was achieved. The saltwater pool has a swim lane, sun-shelf, deck jets, built-in seating and a raised spa with an 8′ spillway!
The pool deck is built with limestone, which remains cool in the hot sun. A custom pavilion cantilevers the deep end of the pool serving as a shady poolside lounge. The wavy garden beds were designed to complement the freeform shape of the pool. The landscape consists of multi-layered magnolias, ilex, and cryptomeria to ensure privacy year round. Fagus, lagerstroemia, and cotinus add in-season privacy, color, and contrast. The large garden beds are filled with lush hydrangeas, perennials, perennial grasses, and ferns.
During our presentation for the front of the property, which is the final phase of this project, our client said to us: “Over the years we have dealt with many design and build companies and we’re very happy we finally found one that is a pleasure to work with and cares about delivering high quality results.”
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This home doubles as a dance studio and has a second front entryway for the studio. The client wanted an inviting front design for personal use and for their client’s enjoyment, and as a way to connect with the surrounding community. They also hold religious gatherings with family and friends so flowers for plucking and stone canvases for traditional ceremonial art displays were also priorities. Being able to walk around the entire property to enjoy their plantings was an important goal to achieve with their design and build project as well.
We designed a central front bluestone courtyard with built-in seating and Kichler landscape lighting. Magnolias, weeping Cercis, perennials, and perennial grasses, surround the courtyard. A custom 6’x6′ trellis is hung next to the main entrance like a painting where we will plant fragrant vines in the spring to stimulate the senses of their guests as they arrive. In front of each door, square brownstones were installed as canvases for their ceremonial art projects. Bluestone walkways and pathways surround the home and are met by lush plantings around the entire property.
As the project was under construction, our clients were planning a celebration to renew their vows. They were researching venues for the important event. As the project evolved and they became increasingly pleased and excited with the results, they asked us if we could guarantee completion in time for them to host their vow renewal celebration in their new garden terraces. We completed everything in time for the event!
We met with our client regarding our estate maintenance services and were having a conversation with him about how he was enjoying the new property. Our client said: “60 years on this earth and this is the first year that I have really connected with the evolution of plants and the beauty of nature around me!”
We offer a wide range of outdoor services and this portfolio showcases the following types of projects:
Master plans by our landscape architecture team
Historic stone & planting design
Natural stone terraces, walkways, and courtyards
Pergolas and Brazilian walnut steps (IPE)
Terrace plantings, front plantings, tree plantings, privacy plantings, perennial plantings, and driveway plantings
Natural fire pits
Ponds, waterfalls, and formal fountains
Our company has been caring for this property for over a decade! Our original client referred the new owner to us. The new owner wanted to renovate the terrace, pool, and create a backyard oasis. Drainage, stone selection, maintaining site lines, and concerns about bees were a few of the challenges and requests that we had to take into consideration while developing the design concept.
Due to the large footprint and elevation of the existing pool we had a significant amount of storm water to mitigate. To avoid using surface drains we designed island planting beds with sub surface NDS EZ-Flow drainage to absorb surface water and move it underground away from the home, pool, and landscape.
Our client considered nearly 20 different materials for his project before choosing one! It was a process. We visited and researched stone manufacturers, brick makers, and quarries in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Canada to find the perfect match.
The north side of the property looks onto a 5-acre meadow and the south side looks out over a farm field. We had to be conscious of plant and branch height to preserve the panoramic views.
One of our client’s dogs is allergic to bees and the property is adjacent to a honey farm. We used minimal flowering perennials for the project to reduce the risk of the dog being stung. Where we felt color was necessary, we strategically encapsulated the flowering species in the center of the planting beds away from walkways, pathways, and pool deck edges. We relied heavily on perennial grasses to add color, texture, and motion to the landscape.
The project included an outdoor kitchen and bar with a large granite countertop, walkways, plantings, Kichler landscape lighting, NDS EZ-Flow drainage system, a new spa, waterfall wall, poolside dining, poolside pavilion, and a sunken fire pit with built-in seating.
We asked our client what he enjoyed most about his new backyard oasis: “Roasting marshmallows around the fire with my family.”
Our client grew up in Utah and is an avid golfer and skier. During our first meeting he expressed his love for the outdoors and was adamant that we use fine natural stone materials to build his project. His home overlooks the 15th hole of a golf course and the Sourland mountain range. A large honey locust dominates the area where he and his wife wanted us to design and build a new outdoor kitchen, bar, and fire feature. The design concept needed to respect the footprint of the mature tree. We also needed to create a new step layout that functioned seamlessly with the backdoor, existing raised porch and the new outdoor gourmet kitchen. We designed triangular Brazilian Walnut (Ipe) steps to overlook the 26′ long serpentine bar and gourmet kitchen crafted from 2″ thick soapstone with a beveled edge and natural veneer stone. The terrace is constructed of mixed natural cleft bluestone. On the other side of the dining terrace a large natural stone fire table with seating invites family and guests to gather and enjoy cocktails, surrounding perennial plantings, golf course views, and beautiful sunsets over the Sourland mountain range!
The gourmet outdoor kitchen features Alfresco and Lynx stainless steel appliances including a sink/beverage center, garbage and recycling compartments, refrigerator, weather sealed pantry, grill, side burner, Kichler lighting and a transformer cabinet.
In the front of the property the design had to solve entryway drainage problems, increase parking capacity, and add access to golf cart storage. We redesigned the driveway into an expanded formal parking court to allow for additional parking spots for their kids’ vehicles. We lined the driveway with a bluestone soldier course and bluestone super tread curbing to help guide vehicles and water for proper drainage. We added a bluestone driveway/walkway to a private bay for our client’s golf cart. Plantings and landscape lighting compliment and soften the bold bluestone accents.
We received a text message and a picture from our client on a Friday evening while he was enjoying some red wine and his new fire feature: “You did good my friends. Thx.” We had the privilege of having some fine beverages with our client fireside one evening and he told us: “You know what I like most about my new outdoor space? It is a quality space that brings my family together!”
