Southwood

When this historic family estate underwent a significant interior and exterior renovation, our challenge was to rethink and simplify the entrance sequence. The reworked site walls created a landing off the parking court that led visitors to the front door along an ample path. The property's slopping back was revitalized by a sweeping stone retaining wall bordered with a cutting garden. Gracious lawn steps detailed with brick risers spill from the wall to the lawn below. The second set of stairs leads to a vegetable garden and garden house. A highlight of the grounds is the formal moss garden. Moss harvested from around the site was placed in two rectangular panels framed with boxwoods and modo and punctuated with stone paver paths. The garden won a Merit Award for design from the Alabama Chapter of the ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects).