This design addresses the need to update a backyard design and provide access to the beautiful forest behind it. Fencing is updated for privacy from the street and more porous property boundary edging. A recrete patio utilizes concrete that was excavated from the space in order to construct a screen porch. Two terraced walls have been incorporated into the curved hill in to address its steep slope.

The backyard needed a shift in raised bed location and shrub layer to soften fencelines and buffer the entry to the forest. The foundation planting at the foot of the home replaces aggressive non-native species with natives that will offer some food and shelter to birds and insects.

Access to the forest in the back requires a bridge over a small gully and a path to traverse its slope, terminating at a gathering space and kid’s play area. The play structure utilizes an existing, large tree as a focal point from which to construct a deck with climbing and slide components.

The forest planting uses shrubs to screen particular viewsheds along the path and amplify the beauty of the existing piedmont mesic forest. The species selected for this area of the landscape occur naturally within this forest type, and will contribute to the existing biodiversity.