Seven Winds Landscaping Projects from 2016

From Rain Gardens to Outdoor Fireplaces, 2016 projects ranged from beautifying small corners of the garden, to constructing whole new outdoor living spaces.  Here are some visuals of our Year 2016 with some dramatic before and after photos too!

A key element to enjoying your patio year round is an inviting hearth.  This fireplace is brick with bluestone accents.  The space is defined and embraced by curving brick walls.  The patio itself is Pennsylvania Bluestone- a classic withstanding the test of time!

 Moon gardens must shimmer in the moonlight.  The choice of quartzite flagstone with its mica particles was natural in designing this Moon garden.  Plants with silvery foliage light up in the moonlight and give year round texture and color to the landscape.  The summer is filled with white blossoms of roses, hydrangeas, day lilies, echinacea, astilbe and coral bells.

Functional, beautiful, and a gift to bees and butterflies, a rain garden can be incorporated into any landscape.  Generally filled with native plants, a rain garden absorbs water runoff and provides a wonderful ecological benefit.  The second photo in this series is a rain garden in its second year of growth.

(Before)

(After)

Old ivy laden chain link gives way to classic brick and iron.  Elegant and secure this alley way wall is the visual back drop to a reimagined city garden.

 (Before)

 (After)

New lattice fences flank garden beds lining a new Bluestone walkway.  In city gardens, space is a valuable commodity and design can make a small garden feel expansive.  After springtime planting this will  be a tapestry of color and texture surround simplified lines and a contemporary yet classic style.

 (Before)

 (After)

Here the goal was to create a more serene space.  The garden was spilling over with flowers creating an unmanageable space.  The challenge was to keep the color but redefine the space.  Plants moved to new perennial borders leaving space for a bench and step ping stone pathway that acts as both a visual accent and functional seat. 

 (Before)

 (After)

A front garden of grass and weeds is transformed to a view of texture, color and year round interest.  A Sango-Kaku Japanese maple tree takes center place surrounded by perennials.  A lovely birdbath that had been hidden by the weeds becomes a second major accent in the composition.

 (Before)

(After)

This tired slate patio was crumbling on top but had a solid concrete pad below.  Removing the slate and its mortar bed, and replacing with new brick pavers mortared on to the existing concrete pad allowed this patio to take on a whole new look.

A Peaceful City Garden

Baltimore is full of narrow city lots, often with a garage at one end and the town house at the other. Fences often surround them, and sometimes walls. It is only when one enters the gate or walks through the home or garage that one can see the beautiful and lush oasis' that have been created by the homeowners! What the city garden lacks in space is more than made up for in intensity of landscaping. City gardens provide a unique opportunity to create a garden space that is pure landscaping, lacking the usual lawns of their suburban counter parts. Homeowners enjoy grilling, gardening, entertaining, sunbathing, reading, and more in these beautiful and intimate spaces.


This "city garden" began as a rather bare yard with an old brick patio and a shaky privacy fence.

The homeowners decided to have us replace the fence with a brick wall, and re-use the existing brick to make new patio, as well as raise the garden beds with dry-stack Pennsylvania field stone walls.

The brick wall was selected to blend in with the brick on the existing carriage house and was a full 6 feet high to maximize privacy. The subtle pattern of end bricks was also carefully selected to reflect surrounding walls and the garage itself.


The homeowners had found a decorative terracotta which had been salvaged from an old Baltimore building. We were able to incorporate this into the wall at a prominent location where it was sure to be appreciated for many years to come.
A raised bed below the terracotta serves to blend the "old with the new"...


Pennsylvania field stone complete with moss provides natural borders for the raised beds, giving the appearance of having been in the garden for years.

The majority of bricks which made up the new patio came from the original patio itself, we brought in additional salvaged bricks from Baltimore which allowed us to complete the patio without the addition of glaringly new bricks.

The rectangular patio merged with a circular patio space which created a natural sitting area for the homeowners and guests.


As we came to a completion with this project it was wonderful to see how the garden looked as if it had been there for years. The moss covered stones, the old brick, the solid wall and the unique terracotta blended perfectly to create this private, peaceful city garden.

A rare glimpse from the alleyway taken before the gate was installed, a lush magnolia tree behind the adjoining fence adds rich color to the background.

Three Snowy Owls

Three Snowy Owls!

Clients from Whitbey Island, WA requested we design and build a mural of an owl for their newly constructed dream home. After discussing available structures such as walls, patios, porches where this mural could go, we suggested a series of three smaller murals to be placed on a wall near the entrance of their new home.

The three Snowy Owls are made from a white marble tile set on a naturally colorful slate background. The first Owl is stationary in front of a full moon, the second is landing, and the third is in full flight.

All murals were designed and created at our workshop in New Windsor, MD and were shipped to our clients home in Whidbey Island, WA where the murals were installed by a local mason.