Category Archives: Residential Gardens
Midwest Garden Design & Challenges
No one can argue with the radiance of a Midwest garden in the spring and summer—but as you know winter is the truest test. When Hoerr Schaudt designs for this region, we always think of winter first—creating the structure, or the “bones” for the garden’s framework. The landscape for this… Read More >
Luxe Magazine: Beyond the Cover
This month’s Luxe Interiors + Design Magazine tells the story of how a century-old home in Lake Forest, IL was carefully restored to its original glory. Hoerr Schaudt had the pleasure of collaborating with Rugo/Raff Architects, Athalie Derse Interior Design and the Heidbreder Building Group who, along with the client, all… Read More >
Gather Around the Table – Alfresco Dining Spaces
In honor of the Thanksgiving tradition of gathering around a generous table, I thought I post some (zero calorie!) eye candy of our favorite outdoor rooms designed for alfresco dining. You can let your imagination fill the table with your favorite Thanksgiving treats! At Hoerr Schaudt we give thanks for… Read More >
Up on the Roof
This month’s issue of Traditional Home Magazine features Doug Hoerr’s personal roof top garden at his family residence in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The article highlights how Doug, his wife Tracy and their two children Malcolm and Amelia enjoy and live in their urban oasis. Having spent a lot of… Read More >
Garden Fence – Favorite Landscape Design Detail of the Week
A beautiful residential landscape we photographed this Spring includes one of my favorite examples of a functional element that is transformed by good design. A fence running along the length of the property is barely visible in some seasons and a highlighted design element in others. In this photo of… Read More >
Garden Landscape Details
Eye-candy time! A few of my favorite ‘detail’ shots from a variety of projects: Many of the hardscape details on this project, like this iron fence and concrete water feature, reflect the rectangular planes of the architecture. (photo Scott Shigley). Natural stone is used in a variety… Read More >
Design Tips for Terrace Walls and Fences on Rooftop Gardens
This month’s issue of Garden Design Magazine includes a great article on roof garden design that features a wide variety of design styles from across the country. One section of the article gives tips on something few people get excited about when envisioning the perfect rooftop space – walls, fences… Read More >
Garden Views – Inside/Outside
Just some eye candy based on a theme today. Enjoy!
Family Courtyard on the Lake
This week, Architectural Record profiled a pair of family residences in Michigan’s Harbor Country for which we designed the landscape. Not surprisingly, the feature highlights photographs of the architecture, designed by Margaret McCurry, more than the landscape design, so I thought I’d show a few images of the landscape element… Read More >
Urban Garden Design for a Historic Home
We’re very pleased that the Illinois Chapter of the ASLA will give an honor award next month to the redesigned garden at a historic urban property in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. As a five-parcel lot, this property could easily have become over-programmed with dozens of vogue landscape amenities like a… Read More >
Engaging Plants in the Garden
Camp Rosemary is a garden designed in the 1920s by Rose Standish Nichols. On a tour of the garden this summer, I took time to reflect on the formal and evocative qualities of several types of plants. Two opposing elements; the vertical and the planar, are used in this… Read More >
Holiday Reading List: Great Books on Landscape Architecture and Design
Stumped on a gift for someone interested in landscape architecture, design, or garden design? Here are some of our faves, for a wide variety of skill levels and interests, ranging from monographs on the hottest landscape architects practicing today to a simple guide for organic composting. Let’s hear it for… Read More >
Thresholds in the Garden Landscape: Garden Steps
Building on the theme from our earlier post on thresholds and gates, I decided to dig into the archives again for some images of garden steps. While the main function of a stair is to move you from one level to the next, the transition can create a myriad… Read More >
Entering the Garden Landscape: Garden Gates
I frequently hear the words ‘mystery’ and ‘sense of discovery’ used here as defining qualities that are important in a garden landscape, and creating an intriguing threshold is one way to heighten that experience. A threshold – any place in a garden when you move from one area… Read More >
Inspired by Travel: Chinese Scholars’ Gardens
Peter Schaudt and I recently returned from a trip to China where we are in the beginning stages of a project outside of the city of Ningbo. While on our visit, we had the opportunity to spend some time visiting several of the famous Chinese Scholar’s Gardens in Suzhou,… Read More >