French Mediterranean Gardens

The landscape design for this new home on Lake Michigan was inspired by the client’s desire to have a classically styled French Mediterranean home and landscape.

The entry court encapsulates a serene lawn with a reflecting pool on axis with the front door while arches of the garden house wings create a cross-axis that frames long views of statuary. The formal terraced gardens, inspired by the sea, link the estate with sinuous, wave-form hedges and a central axial path of crushed sea shells. The garden overflows with plants common to classic French gardens – peonies, roses, clematis, iris, and lavender. As with French Mediterranean tradition, the formality around the home dissolves into a naturalistic planting style as the garden nears the wildness of the bluff and lake beyond.