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Photo by Becky Rees Creative
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Photo by Kip Dawkins
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Photo by Becky Rees Creative
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Photo by Kip Dawkins
Whether you prefer taking a hike, hearing the rush of a river or admiring the wildlife at your favorite park, nature has the unique ability to unify us as human beings. However, these experiences don’t have to be limited to traditional parks or trails. You can re-create these small moments and memories just outside your door.
For Greg Koehler, co-owner and project developer at Outdoor Dreams, the benefits of investing in an outdoor living space extend past the space itself. Aside from adding curb appeal, these communal areas can unite families and create memories that last a lifetime.
“We have a firm belief in the outdoors and the value it brings to people’s lives,” Koehler explains. “It adds value to your home, but it also adds value to your life.”
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For the Rice family — Maggie, Jon, Liam and Anna — the three-tiered outdoor living space has become the heart of their home. (Photo by Julianne Tripp)
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Photo by Becky Rees Creative
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Photo by Becky Rees Creative
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Photo by Becky Rees Creative
Outdoor Living
Mechanicsville couple Maggie and Jon Rice wanted to enhance their outdoor living space and create a safe play are for their children. There was only one problem: Their backyard was sloped. After reaching out to several contractors and receiving quotes for adding retaining walls to remedy the slope, they eventually spoke with Outdoor Dreams. In addition to retaining walls, the company also added a deck, a patio and irrigation — all within a similar budget.
“Our backyard has become our oasis,” Maggie says. “It’s basically what we love most about the house, honestly.”
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Cartwright Landscaping designed and custom-built the cedar planter boxes and surround fence for Laura Strickler's vegetable garden. (Photo by Kip Dawkins)
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Photo by Kip Dawkins
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Photo by Kip Dawkins
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Photo by Kip Dawkins
Victory Garden Veggies
If you’re looking for a more hands-on project, centering your backyard around a garden may be a better option. Laura Strickler was feeling overwhelmed with choices after she decided to add a vegetable garden to her home in Rothesay Circle. Taking inspiration from California-based interior designer Brooke Giannetti, Strickler hired Jeff Cartwright of the Cartwright Landscaping team to bring her dreams into reality.
The result included six raised cedar beds with a beautiful surrounding fence custom-designed and made by local carpenter Jeff McKenney. Since finishing the project, Strickler has grown a variety of crops, including kale, carrots, tomatoes and snap peas, to name a few.
“I really like growing food that I can eat,” Strickler says. “I love being able to know that if for some reason I can’t go to the grocery store or they don’t have what I want, I can literally go out my back door ... and find enough to make a meal. It’s very satisfying.”
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Outdoor Dreams designed this eco-friendly garden and poolscape for Sarah and Darrell Rawlings using only native plants and a hardscape crafted from permeable pavers. (Photo by Julianne Tripp)
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Photo by Becky Rees Creative
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Photo by Becky Rees Creative
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Photo by Becky Rees Creative
Eco-friendly Oasis
Greg Koehler, co-owner and project developer for Outdoor Dreams, says homeowners can make their spaces more eco-friendly with three small steps:
- Introducing native plants
- Using permeable pavers
- Incorporating rain barrels
Koehler says clients can opt for eco-friendly options when thinking about the design of their spaces. Homeowners Sarah and Darrell Rawlings wanted to create an area that could visually fit into the surrounding landscape of their Montpelier home.
Playing with the idea of having a clearing in the woods, Outdoor Dreams created an eco-friendly poolscape for the family, featuring boulders from the Shenandoah Valley, a fire pit and a garden.
Many organisms thrive off of Virginia’s native plants, creating a bustling ecosystem rich with flora and fauna. Introducing native plants allows homeowners to support these ecosystems, while adding practical improvements, such as permeable pavers and rain barrels, can help prevent major displacement in your living spaces due to runoff, Koehler explains.
Since completing the project, Rawlings says the space has seen pool parties, birthday parties and quiet moments spent admiring the caterpillars and tiger swallowtail butterflies.
“It’s almost always beautiful,” she adds. “Even when the plants die down in the winter, there’s always something interesting to look at.”
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Cartwright designed and built this cutting garden for his own home as a labor of love. The garden, enhanced by handsome stonework, custom-welded metal grow screens and gates, has a seating area to enjoy the sights and smells of the garden. (Photo by Kip Dawkins)
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Photo by Kip Dawkins
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Photo by Kip Dawkins
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Photo by Kip Dawkins
Flower Power
Seeing an opportunity to improve his own outdoor living space, Jeff Cartwright, the owner of Cartwright Landscaping, contemplated his next personal project. “We always have flowers in the house,” he explains. “I had an area in my yard that really wasn’t being utilized ... and I was like, ‘You know, we could grow a cutting garden here.’ ”
Collaborating with Sami Dean, one of his project specialists, Cartwright created a garden that features a variety of plants, including boxwoods, gardenias, wisteria vines and poet’s laurel. After careful thought and design, Cartwright enlisted the help of his wife and daughter — Lauren and Emme — to help build out the project.
To customize your garden, Cartwright recommends using garden sheds or raised beds to accent the area. Some of Cartwright’s embellishments of choice included custom metalwork from local welder Andrew Mazza.
Aside from aesthetics and convenience, Cartwright says one of the best parts of adding a cutting garden to his home was being able to bring the family together in creating and maintaining the space.
“It’s a place I think they will appreciate more because they had a hand in putting it together,” he says.
For a successful year-round cutting garden, Cartwright suggests:
- Having a variety of plants
- Cultivating plants that grow during different times of the year
- Incorporating evergreen plants
- Taking note of light, soil and water requirements
