Set along a quiet peninsula in Rock Hall, MD this 55-acre waterfront property is mostly wooded. The house was designed by a local architect and provided strong architectural backdrop and inspirational precedent for the new landscape architecture.

The clients’ primary request was a swimming pool, but also included a fire pit, a separate fire table terrace, new connections to an existing porch and grill terrace, lighting, irrigation and planting.

Because the 100’ Critical Area Buffer area cannot be disturbed by any grading work, the difference in elevation between the end of the pool and the existing grade (about 60”) would have to be celebrated rather than addressed by bringing in fill.

The monochromatic material palette includes thermaled Pennsylvania Bluestone laid in a running bond pattern on the pool deck, 2” thick pool coping, and veneer for the exposed outside of the 55’ long pool shell where it projects above grade. An automatic cover satisfies the 48” barrier rule and a wooden diving board adds some flare and material diversity.

Walking off the pool deck to the fire pit, thermaled bluestone gives way to 6” thick boulder steps, flagstone paving, and fieldstone boulders. The fire pit itself is a crushed stone circle firmly ground at existing grade and edged with raw, field-welded steel.

New Landscape wraps the pool construction in native plants including Sweetbay Magnolia, Summersweet, Dwarf Fothergilla, Elderberry, Viburnum, Ferns, Golden Ragwort, Black-Eyed Susan, and Switchgrass among many others.