Cashiers landscape architects

Join Mary Palmer and Hugh Dargan in Memphis, Birmingham and Charleston this Spring!

April 2, 2014

As we shared in March, spring will be a busy season for the team here at Dargan Landscape Architects! Mary Palmer and Hugh Dargan are hitting the road this month for appearances at various events throughout the South. Their upcoming appearances include the Memphis to Milano Flower Show in Memphis, Tenn., April 5-6; the Little Garden Club of Birmingham’s Ribbons of Green event in Birmingham, Ala., April 7-9; and The Garden Club of Charleston’s 79th Annual Walking Tour of Private Houses & Gardens in Charleston, S.C., April 11-12.

We hope you’ll join us at one of these great gardening events. We’ve included more information on each event below:

Memphis landscape architect — Source: Dargan Landscape Architects

Memphis to Milano Flower Show, Memphis, Tenn., April 5-6
Mary Palmer will be judging the horticulture and conservation exhibitions at this free and open to the public garden event to be held at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis. The show’s purpose is to exhibit outstanding horticulture, conservation, floral interpretations of fine art and photography, as well as to allow youth to participate in an educational exhibit. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 6. For more information, check out the event booklet.

Birmingham landscape architects — Source: Dargan Landscape Architects

Little Garden Club of Birmingham’s Ribbons of Green event, Birmingham, Ala., April 7-9
Delegates from Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama will convene for a general business meeting of the Garden Club of America, where Mary Palmer will be judging horticulture and conservation exhibits.

Charleston landscape architects — Source: The Garden Club of Charleston

The Garden Club of Charleston’s 79th Annual Walking Tour of Private Houses & Gardens, Charleston, S.C., April 11-12
Mary Palmer and Hugh Dargan will be signing their books at 11:30 a.m. on April 11. Come have your copy signed and then enjoy the tour where you can see several of the historic Charleston gardens they’ve designed. The tour features some of the finest houses and gardens in Charleston’s historic district, as well as flower arrangements by club members.

The cost is $45, and hours are 2 to 5 p.m. on both Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12. Proceeds benefit the garden club’s ongoing projects, including maintaining the gardens at the Manigault House, the Heyward-Washington House, the Gateway Walk, the Healing Garden at MUSC, the Museum Courtyard Garden and the garden at the Historic Confederate Home. Visit The Garden Club of Charleston’s website for more details.

We hope to see you on the road! Visit the Events page of our website to keep up with Hugh and Mary Palmer Dargan’s upcoming appearances! Future events include the Southeaster Flower Show “Showing & Growing;” the Memphis Master Gardeners meeting; and the grand opening of Dovecote to name a few!

Gorgeous Garden Design Inspiration from Italy & France

March 30, 2014

The stately gardens of England have inspired many people worldwide with their regal beauty. Not to be outdone, France and Italy have their own awe-inspiring contenders that spark our creativity. Let’s take a look at a few estates that solidify their gardens’ status as paradigms of masterful landscaping.

The French Formal Garden
Surrounding the Château Vaux le Vicomte in the Ille-de-France region lies the French Formal Garden. These gardens win us over from the start with their inviting approach and arrival sequence. The grand entrance marks the direction visitors should venture, providing a straight line forward with linear tree formations and ornamental flower beds. The gardens boast decadent water features and walkways, highlighting the cohesive way designer Andre Le Notre combined manmade elements with the existing landscape. Although these grounds cover miles of property, Mary Palmer Dargan reminds us in her book “Timeless Landscape Design,” that Notre’s signature designs can be scaled down and incorporated into your own space.

Cashiers landscape architects — The French Formal Garden at Château Vaux le Vicomte
Source: Facebook.com/chateauvlv

landscape architects Mary Palmer and Hugh Dargan — The French Formal Garden at Château Vaux le Vicomte
Source: Facebook.com/chateauvlv

The Gardens of Villandry
Nestled in the French Loire Valley, the Château de Villandry is an impressive sight with its 20th-century garden. The most famous feature is its unique jardin potager, or beds of plants containing delightfully unexpected pairings of flowers and vegetables. The gardens also contain geometrical shapes of formal parterres. Designer Jean Le Breton used the Gardens of Villandry to transition the medieval fortress to a Renaissance château through bright flora and lowered walls that allow a scenic view.

Atlanta landscape architects — The Gardens of Villandry
Photo Featured in Timeless Landscape Design

The Villa Lante Gardens
Located in Bagnaia in the Lazio region of Italy, Villa Lante‘s gardens are a shining beacon of the Mannerist period, when proportion play and geometric patterns were king. The gardens display terracing, echoing the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, and its symbolic descension is drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphosis. With its Water Chain cascade, geometrical parterres and iconic grotto, it’s clear that the completed space required the work of a skilled group of artisans and bishops over several years.

landscape architect Hugh Dargan — Source: Beniculturali.it

landscape architect Mary Palmer Dargan — Source: Gardenvisit.com

How are you inspired by these historic gardens? Tell us about your plans for incorporating some of these French and Italian designs from antiquity into your own outdoor haven in a comment below.

If you would like to speak to a landscape architect about creating a master plan or a tune-up for your property inspired by the historic gardens and landscapes of England, France, Italy or elsewhere, contact Dargan Landscape Architects in Atlanta. Our team, led by Hugh and Mary Palmer Dargan, will be happy to schedule a time to speak with you about your property and how we can help turn it into the oasis you’ve been dreaming of.

Improving the Hub of Your Landscape

March 28, 2014

As we shared earlier this month, the hub of your landscape is the place where activity generates from. The hub usually includes your home and the land just outside of it, making it a natural focal point of your landscape. With that in mind, it’s important to remember the hub is a powerful tool when it comes to creating one’s first impression of your home and landscape.

If your landscape’s hub isn’t setting a good first impression, it’s time to take a close look at what the problem may be and consider possible solutions. Let’s take a look at a few examples of identifying problems and solutions with a property’s hub from “Timeless Landscape Design.”

For the Colonel Othoniel Beall House in Charleston, South Carolina, the identity of the hub and its composure evolved from a single site on a blank canvas, as 15 years of decline and decay had taken its toll on the site. A symbol of the early preservation movement, this historical landmark was in need of a redesign in order to reinstate the property’s original beauty and glory. The homeowners gathered artifacts collected by the previous owner, which were photographed and catalogued. Measured drawings of the existing gardens were created in order to rework the space to include about 90 percent of those artifacts and plants already on site.

Charleston landscape design — The Othoniel Beall House
Photo featured in Timeless Landscape Design

Now, a series of lush garden rooms revolve around an elegant epicenter formed by an arched pavilion. Tea olive, tulip magnolia and camellia were re-established thanks to a new drip irrigation system, which will enable these plantings to be enjoyed for generations to come. In addition to existing plants, fountains, stone, brick, fieldstone and other items from the original property can be seen in these spaces, which preserve the property’s character and charm.

Charleston SC landscape architects — The Othoniel Beall House
Photo featured in Timeless Landscape Design

From the restored retaining walls and fountains to the thoughtfully designed flowers beds and garden vistas, this property remains the crown jewel of the 18th-century Rainbow Row. “It is a lasting tribute to preservation of the fragile garden fabric of Charleston.”

Rainbow Row, Charleston SC — A private garden on “Rainbow Row” in Charleston, SC.
Photo featured in Timeless Landscape Design

The Abe, a densely wooded log cabin property in Cashiers, North Carolina, is another fantastic case study that shares of the challenges present when re-creating a period landscape for a property’s hub. The owners wished to honor the pioneer life during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln with their landscape, and the property’s constraints with size, steep slopes and the expansive house footprint created some interesting challenges to work through in order to achieve the desired look. Lots of research was conducted in order to ensure plants, materials and land patterns would accurately reflect the time period of Abe Lincoln’s time as president.

The entry walk was lined with retaining walls constructed with carefully selected materials to highlight the natural landscape. Boulder walls supporting front and side plateaus create spaces for clusters of flower beds that weave together to create a series of gardens.

Cashiers NC landscape architects — The Kitchen Garden at The Abe
Photo featured in Timeless Landscape Design

A vernacular approach to garden design is reflected in special features that define each garden area, such as chicken feeders, stoned-edged raised beds and rhododendron benches. “The unique spirit of place allows the owners to explore their personal pioneer spirit and be in touch with their American heritage.”

Purchase your own copy of Mary Palmer’s book “Timeless Landscape Design” to learn more about improving your landscape’s hub, or contact Dargan Landscape Architects to discuss a tune-up or a new master plan for your property.

Vistas and Captured Views Offer Stunning Perspectives of Landscape Features

March 27, 2014

When a landscape is thoughtfully designed with vistas and captured views, it can provide stunning perspectives from every vantage point. Vistas and captured views ensure that natural beauty can be enjoyed not only while standing amidst landscape features, but also from inside the home, the curb and beyond.

A landscape vista creates a panoramic view amidst buildings, trees and landscape features, both inward (from the grounds to the house) or outward (from the grounds to the house). The inward vista creates picturesque views of the home, while simultaneously creating outward views of the landscape and horizon. Captured views link interiors to the outdoors by framing garden focal points.

Axial designs, which create a clear and crisp linear pattern using a long pathway, a row of trees or shrubs and a strong focal point like a fountain or sculpture, have been used for hundreds of years. The garden at Versailles, for instance, is a wonderful example of formal axial vistas and captured views.

Atlanta landscape architect Mary Palmer Dargan — Photo Featured in Timeless Landscape Design

This technique for creating a formal, organized landscapes later became a tradition of southern plantations. They focus on the view of a home from the end of a long allee. The technique of using an axial line that leads to a focal point in a vista can also be used on smaller or more casual scales to create simple and balanced looks.

Western North Carolina landscape Architect Mary Palmer Dargan — Dargan Landscape Architects
Photo Featured in Timeless Landscape Design

Captured views can be carefully cultivated by placing garden features in places that will allow them to be perfectly framed by windows and doors . This feature can be enjoyed from the inside of the home.

Cashiers landscape architect Mary Palmer Dargan — Dargan Landscape Architects
Photo Featured in Timeless Landscape Design

Even homes that don’t naturally have grand landscape views can be designed to offer charming or elegant views with impeccable garden designs that inspire, delight and capture the eye.

To learn more about how landscapes can be transformed to provide gorgeous vistas, captured views and other design elements, purchase your own copy of Mary Palmer’s book “Timeless Landscape Design.”

If you’re looking for a team of experts to help you achieve a breathtaking landscape design of your own, contact Mary Palmer and Hugh Dargan of Dargan Landscape Architects by calling 404-231-3889.

Create a Cozy Courtyard with Bistro Tables

March 26, 2014

Who hasn’t envisioned bringing the romance of a sidewalk cafe in Paris to their own backyard? All you need is a bistro table, chairs and a courtyard, terrace or side garden to recreate the scene. Add a cup of coffee, springtime breezes and blooming flowers, and you have the makings of the perfect little retreat within your landscape.

We like placing little retreats such as these in our landscape design projects because they expand our client’s outdoor living spaces and offer a perch for admiring the yard and perhaps enjoying a quick breakfast or drinks with friends. Bistro sets are great for this purpose because they are smaller, making them easy to incorporate into an otherwise empty corner, creating a cozy, intimate spot for conversations.

Take a look at a few of the ways we have incorporated bistro sets into past projects:

A large courtyard is broken up into smaller seating areas, including bistro tables and chairs to suit any occasion, from a quick coffee break to happy hour with friends. The simplicity of the furniture keeps the focus on the surrounding landscape and highlights the beautiful paver patio underfoot.

What could have been a forgotten outdoor space is now a destination in the landscape thanks to the seating area created in this side garden using a chaise lounge and a bistro table and chairs. The pathway leading to the seating area emphasizes the seating arrangement, as does the paver patio that serves as a foundation. What’s more, the table is right outside an entrance into the home, giving owners easy access to the lush hideaway.

landscape architects in Western North Carolina — Dargan Landscape Architects

If you don’t have a courtyard on your property, you can still incorporate a bistro-style setting into a smaller space. Notice that this small terrace, measuring six feet by six feet, is all that’s needed for creating a cozy outdoor dining area for two. The terrace is floored with crab orchard stone in pink hues and a black wrought iron fence is complemented by a black wrought iron bistro set topped with pink cushions, offering a stunning seating for two.

A gorgeous brick patio and side garden are the perfect location in this cozy courtyard for a bistro table and chairs in high-contrast white. The seating provides a place for visitors to enjoy the greenery, as well as an afternoon tea and chat.

Are you ready to update your landscape with a beautiful courtyard, terrace or patio? Contact Dargan Landscape Architects to schedule a consultation. We would love to help you achieve the outdoor environment you’ve always wanted. We can help you find the look that best suits your property, right down to the furniture! For many years we’ve been designing custom seating elements. These custom solutions ensure you get the perfect piece, created with your space, style and other considerations in mind. In addition, our Talbot and Walden line of outdoor furniture is available from Kenneth Lynch & Sons in Connecticut.

Cashiers landscape architects

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