The Parkside Neighborhood is a stunning example of a traditional Buffalo Neighborhood. The homeowners wanted to redevelop their small corner lot to better reflect the beauty of their neighborhood.

For the front yard, we pulled the suburban foundation plantings away from the porch and instead pulled the plantings to the sidewalk edge. Ornamental grasses, spirea and sedum provide a dense buffer while also being a reasonable amount of maintenance for this busy family. This created a defined edge to the corner lot and provided some much needed breathing room against the house. A picket fence defines the side lot and created a nook for a garden space along the house. The garden can be viewed from the dining room inside the house, and is nicely separated from the pedestrians strolling up and down the adjacent sidewalk.

The rear garden has been designed to not only mitigate the elevation difference between the first floor and the garden elevation, but to turn it into an asset. An upper deck area provides a location for the family’s grill directly off the kitchen, as well as a wide and safe landing for the entry. A mid-level deck is idea for as a seating area for one to two people. The space between the stair railing and deck levels becomes a feature for the lowest level of the garden, as a water feature tumbles down alongside the “stairs”. The lowest level uses the upper deck to become a cover for the patio. A porch swing helps define the space from the utility portion of the yard further below the deck.

A small lawn area is surrounded by plantings, creating a second nook for larger dining needs, or lounging on the lawn. A small “key hole” garden was developed for the homeowner’s daughter to have a place to call her own.