It’s a good idea to approach large landscaping projects that cover your whole yard from front to back from a comprehensive point of view. A landscaping master plan helps define your vision for the entire space, ensuring a cohesive look and providing a blueprint for phased installation. The yard pictured above provides the perfect example of how planning can lead to a landscape design even better than you had first imagined.

For this home in the Fall Creek/Kessler area of Indianapolis, the goal was to create curb appeal for the front yard and to connect the back of the house to the beautiful view of a nearby lake. We completed the project in two phases

Phase 1: Curb Appeal

To increase the attractiveness and functionality of the front yard, we expanded the driveway by adding a side walkway to offer more step-off space. We also installed a stone walking path leading to the front door, water spigot and side door. The landscaping included boulders, shrubs, and perennials, creating a beautiful yet low-maintenance look. Our clients did not want to spend a lot of time managing their yard, so adding plants that essentially require 5 minutes a year to maintain (cut back in the fall and watch them grow all summer long) supported that goal. Once the front yard looked great, it was time to tackle the back.

Phase II: Backyard Beauty and Functionality

The backyard design included many varying elements that all had to work together, making our master plan invaluable. Our clients wanted to create a functional yet unique visual connection between their home and an adjacent lake. They have a sunroom off the back of their house and wanted to be able to enjoy the view of their backyard from that space as well.

We began by fixing some grading issues to set a stable backdrop for the rest of our work. Our plan called for a large patio and walkway, a water features and an art piece, all brought together into a cohesive space that encouraged relaxing in the backyard.

Patio Design: Our clients were not looking for a basic backyard patio. We created a design that connects many spaces and functionalities together. From the home, one steps off the deck to a walkway that connecting a patio area that wraps around the sunroom and then spills open a bit to create an outdoor seating space. From there one follows another walkway to another patio for outdoor gardening space, which empties out into their yard toward the lake. The expansive, meandering patio also offers many opportunities to add additional outdoor seating if they are entertaining.

Water Feature Design: The final landscaping design called for a large pondless waterfall that could be seen and heard from the sunroom. We built up the area with dirt and created the water feature with boulders. We chose sandstone for this project because we find its character just gets better as it ages and weathers here in Indiana. Limestone would have been another option since our clients were not planning on hosting fish, or we could have used granite. We also like sandstone because it is lighter than the other options, which saves money for our clients on installation. We like to design our water features to look like they have always been there, adding iconic pieces like large boulders for the wow effect but in a natural way. The viewer is meant to ask, “How did it get there?”, but also look like it fits into the landscape. If you think of how waterfalls in nature, this approach makes sense since over time water moves rocks into odd places. We then added granite as a base gravel under the boulders and throw it up into pockets among the sandstone. Finally, easy maintenance evergreen and perennial plant varieties like roses, globe blue spruce, nest spruce, and butterfly bush helped us stick to that 5-minutes-of-maintenance-a-year rule.

Art Piece Design: At Eagleson Landscaping Co., most of our water features are essentially placing rocks in a pleasing way and adding water. This project really challenged our artistic approach to rock arrangement by requiring we build an actual piece of art! Our clients had seen Inuit Anuksuk (rocks stacked to look like a person) on a trip to Canada and fell in love with the style. They showed us example pictures and then set us off to make our own rendition. There really is no right way to create an Anuksuk, and we knew that if our clients did not like what we had made initially, we had all the pieces to recreate it. Fortunately, there were happy with our first attempt – as were we.

For the area surrounding the Anuksuk, our clients wanted to evoke the feel of being in a rugged place like the Arctic – not an easy look to achieve here in Indiana. We designed this small space with few soft elements, highlighting the beauty of the stone

The vision for this extensive landscaping project was a partnership between us and our clients. They knew they wanted their art piece, and to connect the house to the lake, but did not know how to go about it. We developed the landscaping master plan with them through site visits, pictures, and conversation, each of us offering and leaping off of each other’s ideas. This project is the perfect example of how a professional landscape designer can help you achieve something you did not even envision. Are you planning a large landscaping project? Reach out to use to help you create a master plan. Send us an email, or give us a call at 317-997-4803.