A garden pathway with steps leading to a modern wooden gate, flanked by trimmed green bushes and trees, with a scenic view of a pond and open field in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
Outdoor pool area with lounge chairs, a wooden pergola, and a metal outdoor heater or vent attached to a hedge, with trees and cloudy sky in the background.
Close-up of a tree with reddish-brown bark and white patches, surrounded by tall ornamental grass with feathery seed heads, overlooking a backyard with a swimming pool and lush green hedge in the background.
Four white lounge chairs with cushions beside a pool, surrounded by lush greenery, trees, and ornamental grasses.
A garden scene with a tree, lush green foliage, and tall ornamental grass with feathery plumes.
A landscaped backyard with a grassy lawn, stepping stones, trees, ornamental grasses, and a wooden fence.
A pathway through a park lined with evenly spaced trees with green and yellow leaves, with lush grass and green bushes on either side.
A landscaped garden with a curving concrete step pathway, grass, and various bushes and trees.
Modern outdoor garden landscape with grass, wooden structure, and ornamental grasses.
A front porch with a wooden Adirondack chair and a fire pit with stones, overlooking a green lawn and trees in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.

Once part of a larger estate, this property included a former working nursery that the client chose to preserve as open agricultural land. The design vision was to visually connect the new residential landscape with the mature plantings beyond — a concept known as “borrowing landscape.” By referencing the patterns and plantings of the former nursery, LaGuardia Design Group created a seamless transition between the private garden and the broader landscape.

The existing home sits on high ground overlooking rows of trees planted two decades earlier. These strong, linear arrangements became the foundation for the new design. A long, custom rim-flow pool was placed on the same axis as the nursery rows, drawing the eye toward the horizon and visually merging the two landscapes. A custom ipe arbor on a stone plinth defines the pool terrace, offering a shaded space for dining and social gatherings while echoing the geometry of the original nursery layout.

Throughout the property, LDG reused and reimagined existing plant material, integrating roughly forty of the original trees into the new design. Rows of Yoshino cherries became a graceful allée, while fastigiate beeches now serve as a structured backdrop to the pool arbor. New plantings — including panels of fountain grass and clusters of white-flowering ‘Natchez’ crape myrtles — soften the architecture and frame outdoor spaces such as the sunken tennis court. The result is a landscape that honors its agricultural past while redefining it through a modern lens of design and connection.


PROJECT TEAM | Peter Cook Architect - Shine Design + Distribution - Hobbs Inc. - Whitmores