Modern coastal garden in Fernandina Beach
Our clients recently purchased a historical beach house on Amelia Island to kick back and relax when they traveled from their home in Atlanta, Georgia. The lengthy process of procuring this property in 2020 and the subsequent remodeling took its toll on the landscape and the home owners were forced to start from scratch. Part of the original front walk was damaged during remodeling so the clients took the opportunity to expand their parking footprint by having us design a new driveway and front walk. These Georgia natives also wanted to take advantage of their new slice of paradise by installing citrus trees and beautiful tropical flowers.
This landscape style can be best described as modern costal cottage with some flair. We chose more visually pleasing curves for the front entry and driveway edition. This was accomplished by creating “pivot points” at strategic spots to guide people’s attention through several different themed gardens. The house is a unique 1950’s cottage structure that reflects the marine influence of the beautiful Amelia Island coast. We incorporated this influence by using large Pennsylvania gray ballast stones across the front porch to create a splash zone that prevents dirt and other runoff from splashing on the front entry. We used a small centrally located area of sod to balance a long perennial butterfly garden to the south edge of the property. This front yard garden contains several butterfly host plants and nectar sources like cassia, Firebush, Vitex and westringia planted amongst a foundation of Florida friendly evergreen trees and shrubs. On the north side of the property we continued the sod around a line of 4 beautiful Corten steel planter boxes each planted with a different citrus tree. The new front entrance is anchored by a beautiful multi trunk European Fan palm surrounded by dwarf Firebush, gold mound duranta and liriope.
The clients invested in a highly effective irrigation system that was laid out based on our exact landscape design. This is important because our clients live in the Atlanta, GA area. We chose plants that are appropriately sized and Florida friendly so our clients would not be bogged down with garden chores when they visit. We also added a literal dump truck full of compost to prep the yard for planting.
We truly love designing entire landscapes. It’s still exciting to deliver detailed drawings and watch the hardscape come to life. We were thrilled to see our design theories proven when the final product came together. We are intrigued by the idea of making less than efficient entry ways that take a meandering but pleasant trajectory around a beautiful and interesting garden. Since this is a vacation home we felt comfortable creating a fun (and zero maintenance might we add) mixed succulent and cacti garden as this focal point. This garden has it all! We hope our clients love their new outdoor space for many years to come.
