Italian Garden Design – Bloomington Minnesota Landscape Company

Date April 27, 2007



We designed a simple rectangle patio anchored on one end by a large table and the other by garden statuary.  We used a statue of Pan, the Arcadian god of hills and woods, the deity who protects herdsmen.  He is depicted having a body of a man with a beard and horns of a goat, playing a syrinx and clothed in beautiful lions skin.  Pan is positioned in the courtyard just off center of the bay window in a circular flower bed within the patio.  Four classical urns with elaborate interlaced ribbon work on pedestals are located just off the corners of the patio and a large State Vase with a mid-Victorian design sits on the stoop adjacent to the door of the garden.  Two curved bench seats sit along the half circle walk adjacent to Pan Term and are also beautiful garden ornaments with vine and scroll work detailed in the supports.

Pic 3

Within the courtyard garden we also incorporated a large sitting wall planter.  The planter was built with the same brick used in the existing columns of the town home development and modified the existing metal fence attaching it to the limestone cap of the planter.  We used clay pavers framed with broom finished concrete banding for the patio surface.  The concrete band flows harmoniously with the concrete stoop and stepping pad walk.

We limited the color palette to reds, yellows and shades of orange creating a unified and bold look.  The garden was planted with Coreopsis, Daylilies, Coleus, Rosemary, Geraniums and Rhododendron.  One the Daylilies used was a Happy Returns, which blooms for a long time.  The other Daylily selected more for their color with varieties blooming at different times of the daylily season.  The large leafed Rhododendron is a of broad leaf evergreen that gives the garden plants more texture and a nice flower in the early spring.  We planted an Imperial Honeylocust to create privacy and comfort while still allowing filtered light.  To soften the tall wooden fence separating garden from the neighbors are two single stem Amur Maple, which are intended to be sculpted and form to compliment the garden theme.

Final project is a courtyard garden with splashes of vivid color that immerses its users into a structured city garden with an Italian villa theme.

Bloomington Minnesota Landscape Design Company – Niwa Design Studio


Category Posted in Garden Art, Garden Types, Italian Gardens, Landscape, Patios

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