Linger in this Virginia-Highland garden

Home and Garden

Landscape designer David Ellis bought this Virginia-Highland home in 1997, when the front yard was filled with dead shrubs, poison ivy and crab grass. "There was nothing worth saving," said Ellis, of Ellis LanDesign. He added the rustic fence and uses topiary-like holly trees, foxgloves and flowering vines such as clematis and roses for an Old World feel.

When landscape designer David Ellis bought this Virginia-Highland home in 1997, the front yard was filled with dead shrubs, poison ivy and crab grass. "There was nothing worth saving," said Ellis, of Ellis LanDesign. He added the rustic fence and uses topiary-like holly trees, foxgloves and flowering vines such as clematis and roses for a decidedly English touch.

Ellis, who is 6 feet 4 inches, likes that he must duck through the clematis to enter the garden.

Ellis prunes the holly trees in front of his house for a "Dr. Seuss"-inspired look. While he doesn't prune all trees this way, Ellis explained he likes to keep branches airy to allow light to infiltrate his garden.

The pace of the flowery front garden differs from the back, which is more woodland. "This is definitely more exciting," he said. In this bed, Ellis planted several opium poppy plants. "If this whole garden were full of these, I'd have an illegal garden," he joked.

Nearly every inch of Ellis' property is planted with vignettes of succulents to trees to colorful perennials, like these roses and clematis. "I like it if a person comes here and spends time zeroing in on little sections," said Ellis, 46. "If they span for 30 seconds and walk out, they didn't get it."

Ellis uses a lot of chartreuse to brighten the garden. "It's fresh looking, even in summer." He likes how large poplar trees surrounding the property add a multi-dimensional frame to his garden.

This Aeonium manriqueorum "Zwartkop" is a succulent that requires a lot of sun to reach this deep color, Ellis explained. Plants of chartreuse or black are considered the height of gardening chic, he said. Ellis uses these types of plants in container gardens by his front door.

Ellis uses colorful foxgloves throughout the front garden. When the plants no longer bloom, he'll replace them with annuals like snapdragons to echo their shape.

Along with the Aeonium and other succulents, Ellis uses this Echeveria "Barbillion" as a drought-friendly container plant.

Ellis likes this durable strip of "steppable" plants along the driveway. Plants like sedum and creeping Jenny are hardy groundcovers and are called "steppables" because they can survive foot traffic.

This view of Ellis' estate reveals the deeply layered effect of his garden. He planted pink Knock Out roses, foxgloves, mandevilla and more along the driveway to add to the thick, lush view. He especially likes the reddish-orange floribunda roses growing in this area. "It's called 'Playboy,' don't you love that name? Not that I'm a playboy," he joked.

This electric blue delphinium, or larkspur, adds a shock of color to the front garden.

These temple doors, which Ellis found at Scott Antique Market in Atlanta, lead to an Asian-inspired shade garden. "The back garden is completely different from the front -- it's the ying and the yang with the house in between," he said. The canine yard ornament is an homage to his late dog, Amos.

Ellis said his backyard garden was designed around this seating area. When he first moved into the house, he placed three lawn chairs in this spot because of the way the afternoon sun lit the area. "This became the center of everything I wanted to do," he explained. From there, he created privacy by planting trees and shrubs along the border of his property. Next, he planted trees and built pathways within the garden itself.

From the seating area of his backyard, Ellis gazes through a woodland view toward his home. To keep the rustic, natural feel, he sided the home in tulip poplar shingles. "I've traveled and seen gardens all over the world," he said. "Back here is what I've seen in nature. Upfront is what I've seen and lived in England and France."

Ellis first learned about gardening as a child in North Carolina. Like his brothers before him, Ellis helped two elderly women care for their landscapes, and he was hooked. "I loved it from the beginning," he said. "I've got photos of me digging in the dirt while in diapers."

Ellis installed this koi pond in the first few years of living in his Virginia-Highland home. Water flows into the four-feet deep pond and nearby fountain from two circulation systems.

Just as he does with holly trees and Japanese maples, Ellis pruned this bald cypress for a topiary effect that allows dappled light into the garden.

"Everything I have in here is intentional," said Ellis of his landscape. "When you walk down that pathway and have to slightly duck your head, that's intentional."

This view from the back porch into the shade garden is Ellis' favorite. "Part of a garden is walking into it and forgetting the space outside of it," he said. "My efforts were to make it otherworldly."

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When landscape designer David Ellis bought this Virginia-Highland home in 1997, the front yard was filled with dead shrubs, poison ivy and crab grass. "There was nothing worth saving," said Ellis, of Ellis LanDesign. He added the rustic fence and uses topiary-like holly trees, foxgloves and flowering vines such as clematis and roses for a decidedly English touch.

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