Are you the proud owner of a backyard that makes everyone who sees it say “Wow,” or could your landscape use a little design intervention? However you currently define your outdoor space, the next few pages should inspire you to see a backyard ripe with potential and possibility.
These retreats, situated in the Emmaus/Macungie countryside, were chosen last summer as part of the Outdoor Living Showcase Lehigh Valley Edition, and are expert examples of what it means to fully enjoy your outdoor space as an extension of your home, encompassing outdoor living at its finest—kitchens, fireplaces, furniture and all.
Who wouldn’t want to be invited to a party in this backyard? Bringing all of the décor and amenities from the indoors out, this yard is truly an extension of the home in every sense of the word.
A cozy outdoor living room delivers on style and ambience with special touches like brightly colored seating, vibrant ornamental container gardens and a see-through fireplace that showcases original artwork. An adjacent kitchen and kitchen garden of vegetables and herbs, as well as a fully stocked bar, make this a real party pad.
Best yet, the multi-level paver patio and stone walls create lots of space for guests to relax in private, amid lush native plantings that have sparked the homeowner’s passion for horticulture. This property is a prime example of working in phases to complete the ultimate backyard space. The next phase for this yard includes a swimming pool with a raised spa and sheeting waterfall.
Design by Scott Rothenberger | Installation by Scott Rothenberger’s Place, Greenstone Landscape and the Homeowner
This outdoor space was designed with family time in mind. Every nook and cranny accommodates guests, who can gather on a generously-sized deck that leads to an even bigger stone patio, both ideal spots for casual barbeques or formal sit-down dinners.
The pool is the star of the yard, built with a mix of smooth and rustic hardscaping that incorporates high-end elements such as streetlamp-style lanterns and lion’s head fountains. The semi-formal pool design was created to expertly mirror the materials of the home. It’s the multi-colored layers of hardscaping that really make this pool space stand out among the surrounding shrubbery.
Privacy comes from a blend of an evergreen backdrop with flowering shrubs and perennials that produce color that can be enjoyed throughout the swim season.
Design and Installation by Millcreek | Landscape Design and the Homeowner
Technology and convenience define this backyard retreat, built to showcase a truly spectacular pool. The homeowners wanted a freeform pool with a spillover spa that was completely hassle-free. “They didn’t want to have to test pH, chlorine, or clean their filter and they wanted it “crystal clear,” explains Tony Caciolo, owner of Monogram Custom Pools.
So Caciolo and his team designed a salt water pool that requires no manual testing, filter cleaning, vacuuming or handling of nasty chemicals. The homeowner can control the spa, turn on the heater and even check pH levels remotely from his iPhone, or they can opt to have Monogram Custom Pools remotely monitor it for them.
And since the homeowner never has to worry about pool maintenance, they can kick back and relax amid a landscape that evokes the calmness of a serene beach-inspired retreat. Tall ornamental grasses and the soft pastel colors of blooming perennials create a private and tranquil hideaway.
Design and Installation by Monogram Custom Pools and Homeowner
It’s easy to understand why the homeowners spend as much time as they do enjoying the outdoor space they’ve created. This project was developed from a need to connect an existing deck with a walkout basement. The lower patio incorporates a sitting wall with pillars and lots of seating for entertaining. A mixture of perennials and specimen plants add shade and privacy to the space, as well as bursts of color that can be enjoyed from spring through fall.
Millcreek Landscape Design took advantage of the sloping terrain to integrate natural retaining boulders and a decorative stone stairway. This significant hardscaping element, and the blooming flowers around it, makes the route from deck to patio a pleasant garden walk.
Design And Installation By Millcreek Landscape Design
Multiple landscaped gathering spaces and a mountain lake-style swimming pool (complete with waterfalls and spectacular night-time lighting) are certainly the showstoppers for this property. The homeowners’ must-haves included a pool with a resort feel and a low maintenance, but colorful landscape.
To marry this new construction stone and stucco villa to its mature woodland surroundings, designers focused on adding special touches like an elegant paver stone driveway lined with colorful plantings that lead to a stone side portico. A multi-level boulder stream bed incorporates the pool into the land, and provides natural texture amid the lush landscape of native plants.
Native Eastern Redbud trees (Ceris canadensis) dot the entire property, planted in clusters “to create a very naturalistic connection with the existing woodland,” designer Scott Rothenberger says. Plantings of Geranium ‘Rozanne’ address the need for deer-proof foliage, and meld perfectly with the abundance of soft ornamental grasses that are just about as low maintenance as you can get.
Design by Greenstone Landscapes and Scott Rothenberger’s Place
Save the Date
The 4th annual Outdoor Living Showcase Lehigh Valley Edition will held be on Sunday, June 23rd in Saucon Valley, sponsored by Neighbors Home & Garden Center. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit The American Cancer Society Lehigh Valley Unit. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit designbyplace.com.
Greenstone Landscape | 5402 Chestnut St., Emmaus | 610.965.6940
MillCreek Landscape Design, Inc. | 820 Long Ln., Kutztown | 610.683.7200 | millcreeklandscapedesign.com
Monogram Custom Pools | 6366 Robin Ln., Coopersburg | 610.282.0235 | monogramcustompools.com
Scott Rothenberger’s PLACE | 86 Laura Dr., Barto | 610.428.1801 | designbyplace.com
