May 2001 - Camille & Gary Seamans (Galena Territory)

INSTALLMENT #1 - HARDSCAPE

The property the Seamans home sits on has, arguably, the best view in Northwest Illinois (and I'm only adding "arguably" to ease the egos of some of our other clients). The lots overlook virtually the entire front nine of The General Golf Course in the Galena Territory. The home itself, a Marty Johnson design, is a native stone and brick combo with all the trimmings. In short, a great home with great views. However, if it makes you feel better, Gentle Reader, I'm sure their heating bill is steep.

Because of the amount and variety of work that we have done for the Seamans’ (e.g. irrigation, sod, wildflower meadows, trees, shrubs, perennial flowers, annual flowers & a lot of maintenance), we are going to show you their landscape in installments spaced over the next few years. We are starting with the foundation of the landscape, the hardscape. Hardscape refers to the structural components of the landscape - retaining walls, walkways, patios, etc.

The below photos are sequenced for a counter-clockwise tour of the home beginning in the front.

RETAINING WALLS

Because the property drops approximately 25' from the top of the driveway to the back lawn, we've installed a series of retaining walls around the home. The stone walls perform a number of functions: 1) The large wall (approximately 11' tall) directly below the cul-de-sac creates a courtyard effect in front of the home. It generates a feeling of privacy and provides a substantial natural backdrop for the plantings. In addition, a number of the stones in this and all of the walls protrude from the wall face. This "3-D" effect on the wall face provides convenient shelves for flower baskets (please see photos) and creates dramatic shadows that soften the appearance of the walls. 2) Most of the driveway and parking area is defined or supported by retaining walls. Again, the sloping topography is responsible for the need. For example, while the western section of the driveway sits on top of a 6' tall wall, the parking area north of the garage is 7' below the huge walnut trees. 3) The walls define many of the flower gardens throughout the landscape. The curves and jumps in the walls provide an "amphitheater" effect. This allows more of the garden to be seen at one time. It also means there is a fresh planting surprise around each corner. 4) Finally, the retaining walls allow us to properly shape the earth in order to channel the flow of water away from the home.

WALKS & STEPS

A native stepping stone walkway meanders through the garden areas on the sides and back of the home. Of course, these are no ordinary stepping stones. They are each 4' wide with many weighing over a ton each. They are simply large, randomly shaped stones set a few inches away from the adjacent stones. The gaps are filled with groundcover or mulch. Because the native stone pops out of the quarry in layers with relatively flat tops and bottoms, we were able to use the top of the stones as the walkway surface. While flat enough to walk on, the surface has a rough stone texture.

The steps are also made of native stone. However, while the vertical faces of the steps have the same rough stone texture as the steps, the walking surface is a flat saw cut. The saw cut is a more consistent walking surface, which is important for steps. The sawed stones are also easier to stack than the random stones.

STONE BENCH

The stone bench is a large native stone with a sawed surface set on two smaller native stones.

We would like to thank the Seamans for allowing us to showcase their hardscape.

PLEASE CLICK ON PICS TO ENLARGE.