Castle on the Hill

Perched on a hill overlooking Pease Park, this unique Austin home demanded a landscape as grand as its towering turret. Previously an overgrown hillside of weeds, we transformed the front yard of this house into a tiered garden by collaborating with a skilled stone mason to build several retaining walls of Blue Lueder Limestone to match the masonry of the home while at the same time preserving an original 100-year-old stone staircase and walkway.

Drawing from the client’s love of Mediterranean seaside escapes, we used native and adapted plants such as Italian Cypress, Silver Bush Germander, Rosemary and a wide variety of Native Texas flowering plants to create a cascade of seasonal color and texture across the expansive hillside front garden. We also played to the client’s love of sport by incorporating a horseshoe pit; and in the back garden, by the kitchen, culinary herbs were planted to complement the client’s love of Italian cuisine.