“We want to keep storm water generated on our property from flowing into the Chester River”, declared the clients in the first meeting with Principal Miles Barnard. This overriding goal became a driving theme in this site redesign project.

A newly designed brick terrace off an open-air porch became the primary node of the garden axis, where two existing Eastern Red Cedar trees provide coveted summer shade. Beneath the brick terrace is the heart of the storm water management system; where drywells and infiltration pits return roof runoff and surface drainage to the native soil.

The central path continues from the terrace and leads to a sunny perennial border where a raised vegetable garden and other edible plants flank the clamshell path that leads to a private parking area at the rear of the garden.