examples

Portland, ME Residence

The property owner of this residence in Portland needed a planting plan for the large backyard, which consisted almost entirely of lawn. The goal was to create a design that replaced the lawn with native plants and that the owner could follow and implement herself in D.I.Y. fashion on her own time frame. Special consideration was needed for a portion of the yard that tends to become water-legged after rain. The shrubs and perennials create a sense of structure for the space while the native meadow grass seed allows for flexibility in usage thanks for its ability to be mowed as needed.

SOUTH Portland, ME Residence

This small single family residence was undergoing current architectural renovations at the time that the Landscape Plan was completed. The renovations included lifting the house to create a second story and adding wooden decking around its perimeter. Because these changes had just been made, they were not shown in the existing satellite imagery and were therefore added by Vinlandsverket. The property owner wished to see a design that incorporated brick paving for a primary parking space, lawn for a secondary parking space, lush vegetation for screening (with a special request for the use of bamboo), a curved ramp up to the decking on the back side of the house, and the preservation of the existing stump on the front side of the house.

SCARBOROUGH, ME RESIDENCE

The homeowners of this residence in Scarborough wished exclusively to see suggestions for improved exterior lighting for their backyard without any changes to the layout of the porch, lawn, etc. The yard was only lit up by tiki torches near the back door and small landscape lights along the back fence. The goal was to bring in a myriad of lighting options that would be much more festive and conducive to evening gatherings in the warmer months after the sun goes down. The resultant Lighting Plan brought together several elements of exterior lighting and included guidance on where to place each element in order to create a better ambiance.

LEXINGTON, MA RESIDENCE

The homeowners of this single-family residence in Lexington, MA wished to see a landscape design that added a new patio to the backyard, organized the area between the detached shed and driveway better, and improved the ability to walk out their front door to access the driveway. The proposed design harmonized these goals, and suggested optional new planting areas to further improve the quality of the property’s outdoor spaces.

Portland, ME Residence

The small backyard of this three-family residential home in Portland, ME had fallen into disrepair due to years of neglect and misuse. Additionally, the driveway/parking area abruptly cut off the existing, small garden along the northern fence from the rest of the back yard, creating a sense of interruption and disharmony. The goal here was simply to produce a design that illustrates how the back yard might be improved upon to create to more harmonious and tranquil setting without requiring the need to completely repave or rearrange the existing asphalt driveway/parking area.

DENVER, CO RESIDENCE

Rather than a full landscape plan, the owner of this residence in Denver, CO simply wished to install a new gate and path in the property’s side yard, which was previously an unfinished dirt patch. The space is constrained by a fire vent, air conditioner unit, and windows. The Vinlandsverket design provides an aesthetically interesting, see-through diagonal pattern for the gate that matches the material and color of the property’s front yard fence (shown in the background) and a simple, elegant paver path and gravel scheme between it and the fence. The completed custom drawings provided all the pertinent information necessary to construct the design. The property owner handed the completed drawings to local handymen who then constructed the gate and installed path.

roseville, ca residence

The homeowner of this Roseville, CA single-family home wished to see a landscape design that improved his existing backyard with an expanded patio, a new garden area, a new shade structure, and a new pool. Because his interest was focused solely on gaining a better understanding of his property’s potential for possible improvements in the future, rather than on a determination to invest in any actual construction at present, he did not wish contact a landscape contractor and deal with the resultant pressure of committing to hiring them for design and/or building services. While he had a sense of where he might like the garden to be located, he did not have a strong sense of where he desired the other landscape features to be located or how to best integrate them with his existing property to create a functional, unified, and pleasant exterior space. The Vinlandsverket design achieved each of these qualities and opened his eyes to his property’s unique possibilities.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM residence

The owners of this home wished to improve the upper level of their backyard, which was previously covered in a sea of gravel. Vinlandsverket’s design suggested adding a dense concentration of flagstone at the end of the yard where a grill already existed and thus gets the most use. The flagstones then “break apart” like an archipelago towards the other end of the yard, which is less used and more about visual interest. The design also included two new trees and some border planting. The homeowners hired a local landscape contractor to implement the design, shown in the two photos below.

DENVER, CO RESIDENCE

The homeowner of this single-family residence in Denver, CO desired a substantial but relatively low-construction-cost improvement to the backyard of the property. The design solution reorganized the spatial arrangement of existing structures, opening up the lawn area for better recreational uses, and introduced drought-tolerant plantings for a climate-appropriate southwestern garden aesthetic along the edges.