Our clients almost never used their outdoor space, with good reason. Steel fencing left them exposed to the street and the traffic from an adjacent parking garage. They had very little privacy and the existing garden was spare without much to draw them outdoors.

For this garden, privacy would be paramount but the clients still needed something to look at beyond a green wall. For privacy, we enhanced the existing Arborvitae screen at the fence and installed sleek modern planters to hold robust and fragrant evergreen jasmine to provide a year round sense of enclosure in an emerald green room.

Once that layer was established, we added a wide shallow bowl filled with the deep plums from Heuchera’s and Hellebores that contrasted perfectly with the velvety brown undertones of the existing dwarf rhododendrons. To brighten the space we added whites from long-blooming Limelight Hydrangeas and Crepe Myrtle ‘Natchez.’

As we were in the last stage of installation, I was delighted to see that the client had already set up a hammock outside to enjoy the newest room on their home: The Green Room.