Landscape lives large

Guests walk through the garden following the twists and turns of its paths, their eyes constantly stopping to take in a new focal point or view.

Plan like your house

Reaves, a landscape designer and owner of Mark of Excellence and Topiary Courtyard, needed space for entertaining. “If you want space for guests, a hard surface, shade from a gazebo or pergola or an area of lawn is a nice plus,” Reaves said. Because he didn’t want lawn, his flagstone-surfaced back terrace works perfectly.

Walls, steps and paths of flagstone handle changes of grade and create garden rooms. “A garden this size is most successful if you plan your landscape with the idea that you’re walking from room to room, just like in your house,” he said.

Make major plantings

“Your next step is the big plants, the ones that provide structure for your garden. Some people consider it the most boring part of the landscape but it’s what gives your garden interest in all seasons of the year,” Reaves said.

Texture and color come into play with the choices of evergreen and deciduous plant material.

Don’t be restricted in your choice by what the tag says is the ultimate size of the plant you’re considering. Reaves manipulates plant size by pruning some into topiaries, some into arches and some into tall hedges.

Build in privacy

Privacy from the street was in place because the house is sited on a hill.

“Morningside is a busy street, which is part of intown living. But with the house so high up, I can sit on the porch and, with my pond as a buffer, you don’t feel like you’re sitting right on the street,” Reaves said.

Privacy from the side neighbors is accomplished with planting for screening.

Magnolias line one side of the lot, sheared to stay about 3 feet deep and 20 feet high. By pruning these trees, the foliage stays tight and the two-story house next door disappears behind what is in effect a tall, green hedge.

Make use of containers

Reaves suggested using containers that are at least 24 inches in diameter.

“A larger container gives you more options for creativity, and it’s easier to keep watered,” he said.

He recommended filling containers with shrubs or trees like Japanese maples, boxwoods or conifers and then underplanting with bulbs, annuals or small, interesting accent shrubs.

“The structural plants will give you three to five years of interest before possibly outgrowing the container. Then you can relocate them within the garden and start over,” Reaves said.

Decorate near windows

“Window boxes — I love them, love them, love them,” he said.

Outside his kitchen window is a box centered with an ivy topiary and planted with tropicals and annuals.

From the outside, it’s one more interesting garden, and from the inside, it takes the eye away from the kitchen window of the house just 15 feet across the driveway.

He also loves growing vines around his windows and doors.

“You can never go wrong with using vines this way,” he said. Reaves recommended vines that don’t cling but can be grown on wire supports and then pruned to keep them in check.

Make room for the dog

Reaves refers to the back part of the garden as the “back 40,” where a fence provides a separate area for Eddie, his border collie, to spend some of his time under the shade of large hardwood trees.

Keep up maintenance

With no lawn to mow, watering is the biggest chore for Reaves.

“Watering is therapy for me. It’s really easy; there’s no effort involved, and even with all these containers, it takes me only about 10 minutes to water. Best of all, I can have a cocktail and water at the same time,” he said.