After living in this brick, Georgian-style home for over 20 years, this South Tampa couple was ready for a landscape change. “It was just weeds and grass back there and I didn’t want to just resod and throw some flowers in. If we were going to do something, I wanted to do the whole thing,” the homeowner says. This is where Kim Levell of Levell Design came into the picture.
This project was a meeting of the minds that nearly didn’t happen. The homeowner had spoken to three other companies before finding out about Levell through a family member. Once they had met, they knew it was the right fit.
“I am an exterior designer,” Levell says. “Like interior design, it is really about space planning. ‘Where are we going to sit?’, ‘Where are we going to cook?’, ‘Where do we want to read or relax with a glass of wine and how do we get there?’ It is about delineation and functionality but it is also about feeling. In a well-designed space, you don’t consciously notice it but everything has its place. Even the table setting is designed specifically for this space.”
In this project, the homeowner had a strong idea of what elements she wanted including a trellis, a cooking area, a rose garden and a place to read but she was not sure how to make it work since the back yard is a relatively small space.
Entering the back garden is like stepping into a private Charleston garden. Brick paths lead to a raised gazebo with a comfortable shaded seating arrangement. Levell designed this area so it would be both beautiful to look at from the house, and provide lovely views for those using it. “Wherever you look, it is a pretty picture,” she says.
The brick walls and white trim of this lovely, older, two-story home, set the tone of the garden design. Levell took cues from these strong, formal design elements, as well as the home’s interior design, to create the back yard. The final result is a home and garden that fits just as comfortably in Charleston, South Carolina as in Tampa, Florida.
“The project was a complete remodel,” she says, adding that she completely reworked the front of the house to serve as a design bridge to the rear of the home. “When designing a project, I look at the style of the home, intuitively get to know the homeowner and study their interior style.”
White trellises covered with climbing vines make a shady covered walkway from home to gazebo. Separate brick pathways lead to the adjacent cooking area with its own patio and seating.
To the back of the garden, the large brick patio features a trickling wall fountain and an outdoor dining table partially protected by the shade of a large oak tree.
Additional seating with brightly colored cushions ties the space together. Much of the outdoor furniture belonged to the homeowner already and was supplemented by pieces chosen by Levell. All the cushions were reupholstered with outdoor, acrylic fabrics made to withstand the rigors of outdoor life.
The brick garage wall is accented with a black iron trellis and a custom-built window box planter. Raised planting beds host a bank of white blooming spath lilies. Even the rear of the garage has been utilized—this potting and storage area features a handsome painted potting bench and the crushed stone bed used here was deliberately dug lower to provide a large drainage area for the patios. Less attractive, but necessary, gardening items are discreetly tucked behind a wood panel. Additionally, fast-growing, weeping podocarpus were used to create an attractive green privacy hedge above the rear brick perimeter walls.
Low maintenance plants such as weeping podocarpus, confederate jasmine, Japanese boxwood, and iris are used as structural plantings and to add softness to the garden. Attractive container plantings add unique, eye-catching points of interests. While black metal urns are used for continuity in several areas of this garden, other container plantings in complementary textures and materials are used to create an eclectic look. Glossy black ceramic pots punctuate the gazebo seating area. All the pots are set up with drip irrigation for regular watering though some full sun areas may need supplementing.
What was once a barren space of dry grass and weeds is now a lush, beautiful southern courtyard with plenty of places to relax, garden and play. It is a wonderful change for this homeowner who used to keep the blinds shut to block the view; now she never wants to come in the house.