Patio of the Week: Japanese-Inspired Landscape in Toronto
A landscape architect plays off a contemporary home’s architecture, creating a soothing outdoor atmosphere
“My client’s work keeps her very busy. She wanted a calm outdoor space where she could chill out at home,” landscape architect Sander Freedman says. The home, in Toronto’s Forest Hill neighborhood, is done in contemporary style, with rustic accents like dark barn wood-like siding. Freedman played off the home’s rustic linear planks and dark color when choosing materials and plants for the surrounding landscape. The result is a modern urban oasis with a strong connection to the home.
“The landscape design is a rustic-industrial-modern mix with a Japanese sensibility,” Freedman says. He went with a minimalist landscape design, using smooth materials and clean lines to match the minimalism of the architecture. The dark curbstone on the right keeps the soil in the perennial beds from spilling out onto the walkway. He flanked the door with two planters to add height.
Out in the backyard, the banding theme continues with bands of pavers running parallel to the house. Back here the size of the pavers are much larger, 24 by 24 inches, to match the scale of the space.
Two sides of the yard are edged with a low retaining wall, composed of a gray concrete linear block system from Techo-Bloc and capped with black granite. The walls retain soil from a slope, form planting beds, add structure to the garden and provide extra seating.
Three blue-gray stained cedar privacy screens block views of scraggly shrubs and a chain-link fence along the property line. The raised beds they sit atop add height, improving the views from the main level’s windows. “The horizontal planks pick up on the linear siding on the house, and the screens helped create an outdoor room architecturally,” Freedman says. He planted peegee hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’) in front of the screens to add softer structure.
Two sides of the yard are edged with a low retaining wall, composed of a gray concrete linear block system from Techo-Bloc and capped with black granite. The walls retain soil from a slope, form planting beds, add structure to the garden and provide extra seating.
Three blue-gray stained cedar privacy screens block views of scraggly shrubs and a chain-link fence along the property line. The raised beds they sit atop add height, improving the views from the main level’s windows. “The horizontal planks pick up on the linear siding on the house, and the screens helped create an outdoor room architecturally,” Freedman says. He planted peegee hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’) in front of the screens to add softer structure.
Freedman used a mix of dark and light materials to play off and contrast with the dark siding of the house. The smooth finish of the concrete pavers lends a minimalist look. And stone beds, boulders, soft foliage and cedar wood create a calm Japanese landscape sensibility.
Like the peegee hydrangeas, a row of European beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) adds soft structure atop the retaining wall on the left. The bed beneath it incorporates a mix of textures, colors and planted forms, including those of golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’), white bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Alba’), ‘Millenium’ ornamental onion (Allium ‘Millenium’), ‘Silver Edge’ Siberian iris (Iris sibirica ‘Silver Edge’), ‘Autumn Frost’ hosta (Hosta ‘Autumn Frost’) and peony (Paeonia ‘Gardenia’). He repeated these plants in the bed between the sofa and the dining deck in a different composition, and added a ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Prince’).
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Like the peegee hydrangeas, a row of European beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) adds soft structure atop the retaining wall on the left. The bed beneath it incorporates a mix of textures, colors and planted forms, including those of golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’), white bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Alba’), ‘Millenium’ ornamental onion (Allium ‘Millenium’), ‘Silver Edge’ Siberian iris (Iris sibirica ‘Silver Edge’), ‘Autumn Frost’ hosta (Hosta ‘Autumn Frost’) and peony (Paeonia ‘Gardenia’). He repeated these plants in the bed between the sofa and the dining deck in a different composition, and added a ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Prince’).
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The backyard space includes a lounge area, a raised dining and grilling deck behind it, and an entry to the kitchen and dining area on the main level of the house. Freedman replaced the existing decking and staircase materials with cedar and added modern steel railings. The cedar will patinate to a gray over time, which will work with the gray of the other materials, he says.
In addition to the level change, planters along the dining deck’s edge and a Japanese maple behind the lounge area help delineate the two spaces.
Just out of view on the right, Freedman reconfigured the entry to a lower-level party room, which includes a billiard table and a TV. The entry area has two wide steps and a gracious landing that create a nice transition — gatherings flow from indoors to out with ease.
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In addition to the level change, planters along the dining deck’s edge and a Japanese maple behind the lounge area help delineate the two spaces.
Just out of view on the right, Freedman reconfigured the entry to a lower-level party room, which includes a billiard table and a TV. The entry area has two wide steps and a gracious landing that create a nice transition — gatherings flow from indoors to out with ease.
Browse outdoor lounge furniture in the Houzz Shop
The concrete wall that wraps the dining deck was existing. “We let some of the concrete show on the top and bottom to keep that industrial detail,” Freedman says. But he spruced it up with a wide band of charcoal porcelain tiles, and capped it with black granite coping that matches the granite of the retaining walls. The coping hangs over the wall a few inches, providing a nice spot for tucking LED lights underneath.
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Other lights include integrated lights on the steps and and uplights along the privacy screens and beneath the Japanese maple.
Freedman repeated the LED-light strategy underneath the retaining wall. Now the yard has a calm ambiance and makes for a pleasant place where the homeowners can relax after a long day at work.
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Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A female professional
Location: Forest Hill neighborhood of Toronto
Backyard size: 500 square feet (46.5 square meters); 20 by 25 feet
Designer: Sander Freedman of Sander Design Landscape Architecture
Though this story focuses on the backyard, it’s easier to understand the landscape as a whole by looking at the front of the house first. The house is contemporary but has rustic attributes, such as the barn wood-like horizontal planks. Previously, pavers had extended from the front entry path to the far end of the driveway without a break, and there wasn’t a garden. Freedman added dark bands of pavers to echo the linear planks on the house and to trick the eye into making the walk feel larger. And he cut in a bed of tall grass to soften the space and to distinguish the front walk from the driveway.
In the garden on the right, he added bands of plantings that follow the lines of the dark paver bands. Clump paper birch trees (Betula papyrifera) in the back add wispy texture and light color against the dark siding, as well as winter interest. The next layer of plantings is a line of ‘Limelight’ panicled hydrangea trees (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’) that adds structure, and in front of that, a mix of perennials and grasses for color and softness. These include ‘Autumn Joy’ stonecrop (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’), White Drift roses (Rosa ‘Meizorland’), purple sage (Salvia nemorosa ‘Marcus’), ‘Autumn Frost’ hosta (Hosta ‘Autumn Frost’), golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’) and lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis).
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