A natural solution for a slope

When Ken and Elaine Cole moved into their new home in Bethesda, Maryland, the backyard was a disaster. The patio consisted of an ugly concrete slab. There was no privacy from the neighbors. Water ran down a rear slope toward the house. The Coles wanted solutions. And they wanted them right then.

"We're the quintessential instant gratification people," admits Elaine. "We wanted the yard to look gorgeous immediately."

Elaine, an interior designer, thought the garden should function as an extension of the house. But there was no way that she and Ken could handle the job themselves. So they called on McHale Landscape Design of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to fix the problem pronto. Today, they enjoy a quiet haven that's the focus of family activity.

The garden really begins in the Coles' family room, which looks out on the yard through large windows on three sides. So inviting is the sound of the splashing waterfall that Elaine keeps those windows open as often as possible. "When we're inside, we're still experiencing the outdoors," she explains. Exit through the kitchen door, and you're out on a flagstone patio that's surrounded by flowering shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses. The blend of flowers, plumes, foliage, and seedheads provides year-round interest.

A dry creekbed marks the transition between the more formal perennial garden and the naturalistic woodland area beyond. A perforated 6-inch pipe hidden beneath smooth river stones carries runoff from the slope away from the home's foundation.

Crossing a large stone that spans the creekbed, you come to the garden's central feature, a recirculating waterfall and fishpond. Thanks to some wise decisions by Kevin and Steve McHale, the scene appears quite natural.

First, they took advantage of the existing grade change and set the waterfall back into the slope. Second, they built the falls out of native stones of various shapes and sizes. Third, they covered the bottom of the pond liner with gravel, such as you might find beneath a real waterfall. Finally, they encouraged ground covers and perennials to fill in every available niche between the stones.

When you're looking back from the waterfall and adjacent terrace toward the house, you can tell how close the neighbors are. But now you can see a lot less of them than you would have before, due to a thick screen of newly planted shade trees and evergreens.

Elaine says she and Ken spend every season in the garden, "taking pictures, working, digging, sweeping, looking, fooling with it even on a cold day." So don't stand in the doorway when you see either of them with trowel in hand. They're headed to the garden, and they just can't wait.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation May 2002
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