modern victorian terrace garden – part two, inspiration

I’ve collected a zillion photos in my mind and on my hard drive over the years from all my walks and runs and noticing. But I collected a few images recently to convey some of that here. It’s pretty easy to find urban front yard inspiration – there are cities around the world with tall, skinny houses with amazing courtyard design.

I’m also going to ignore formatting issues with the changes to this platform which can sometimes cause me to delay posting, so I hope you’ll forgive the random sizes of photos below. They should help you see the direction and overall feeling we’re going for here.

Eliminating the rolling lawn feel by establishing a leveled, terrace structure that feels more like an outdoor room.

Layers of greenery throughout that provide interest and some privacy.

Structure and symmetry – a modern nod to Victorian design principles, in keeping with the architecture of the house and the neighborhood.

Taking advantage of shade and dappled light on the north side. Also, looking for interest from above, as I love the views from our bedroom over the front courtyard.

Um, I would LOVE a fountain, but I’m getting mixed opinions from others! And we also want to gather out front again, so talking around a fountain would be sort of silly.

I do have more buy-in on a modern round lily pond, maybe something that could be covered for a table, or could hold a fire pit. Not elevated like this, but in the spirit of it.

Boxwood in some form is a prerequisite.

Still… this fountain. Am I right?

And last but not least, you’ll see a general color idea from these photos. I might have stayed up until one a.m. last night just building a spreadsheet of what I want to plant in this space!