A Living Magazine - Day 273 - Homecoming - Wake Forest: Horticulture and Landscaping with Natalie

After the excitement of the day before, it was great to have one final day just being in domestic bliss. The three adults did some work during the day. Natalie - besides being a horticulturalist - is a very talented landscape designer. The two go so well together that they are practically the same profession.

She worked at the dining room table drafting designs for a project she is currently involved in. She goes old school with it, using large vellum paper and a variety of different kinds of pens--hand drafting her designs. I hope she forgives my ignorance of her work and the terminology used in the following as I discuss what she does.

I worked, writing a post and processing pictures, while planning the next leg of my trek. Occasionally, I'd wander into the dining room to ask Natalie what species or variety a plant was. She was much friendlier than Google and easier to consult. 

When she finished her work for the day she asked me if I wanted to see what she does. I jumped at the chance. Landscape design has always interested me and I couldn't turn down an opportunity to learn more about it. For my own future land I wanted something beautiful and not just functional. I will probably pick her brain when I am laying out ideas in a few months. For now, I just enjoyed seeing the process.

Now I'd like to share some of what she shared with me. The following drafts are from Natalie's Facebook business page, along with her descriptions. I encourage people to go and view what she does if you are a Facebook member, and click "like" there and on the individual designs that catch your eye! If you are in North carolina and need a great designer she's the one for you. And I'm going to show you why...

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Picturesque Landscapes - Design by: Natalie Conrad

Back Yard Renovation with a patio retreat away from the house.

This small back yard had no shade and no privacy, so we added some smaller ornamental flowering

trees and some ornamental plants on each side of the fence to soften the space.

Master plan of the entire landscape. These particular clients were left with a giant mound of soil

in their back yard after construction ceased in the neighborhood. In lieu of spending a lot of money

on soil removal we turned it into a secret garden like a retreat into a mountain. The back yard was

heavily shaded with existing trees, so we selected shade-loving and fragrant plants to beautify the

muddy hill. The front has very little shade, so we added a large grassy patch

in the front for a more welcoming open feel.

A newly constructed home sits on a couple of acres with no existing trees or hardscapes and this particular client needed some suggestions on where to add a future swimming pool, patio,

vegetable garden, sidewalks, and plants. We had to work around the septic field and

make careful plant selections for deer resistance.

This client wanted several points of interest and was somewhat overwhelmed by the size of the lot.

Initially there was a lot of lawn, but it wasn't fenced, so we dissected the back yard with a fence

making sure to leave the existing trees alone. The diagonal approach to the fence was to slowly cut

away at the huge lawn and also to bring the garden more into the client's view from the back of the

house. We added a variety of plants for birds and multi-season interest.

We also added a water feature and a couple of interesting seating areas. A couple of pergolas are

added as shade structures to make the outdoor living spaces more enjoyable.

After completing a landscape design for the front of this house this client asked for a second phase

design. This was a particularly large lot with severe runoff and lots of existing trees.

The client needed direction in how to segregate the wooded area from a lawn area.

We added larger ornamental plant specimens to the edge of the wooded area

and built up the upper area with a subtle grade for grass.

And, the following is an example of how beautiful a yard can look after Natalie's designs are applied to the real world. Look at the lushness of the plants, the natural placement, the stone wall, how she used an already existing walkway to form the shapes, the steps, layers, and levels. Can't you imagine yourself just relaxing on the deck and enjoying a sweet tea on warm and misty North Carolina summer morning? I can! ...

A picture of peaceful, natural backyard bliss.

[Photo by Natalie Conrad]

Here is what Natalie wrote about the above...

Unfortunately I do not have the before pictures of this particular residence, however I can assure you that this was quite the transformation!! Originally this was a muddy slope that washed onto the existing deck. I dissected the backyard into three sections to break up the slope. We cut into the earth and constructed this stone wall to retain the hill and created a beautiful walkway below. The brick walkway was discovered during construction, so we decided to leave it and incorporate it into the renovation. This particular client wanted a resort-like feeling to the back-yard like Charleston, SC, so we chose southern plants that would provide multi-seasonal interest. I also added steps to the wall to give her Golden Retriever easy access to the back yard for recreational reasons. There is a meandering flagstone pathway that leads to a gorgeous water feature that the client purchased prior to installation and it ends at a stone seating wall surrounding a lovely cascading Japanese Maple tree.

She showed me some before and after shots at her Facebook site, and I learned some of what makes her style of design so alluring. 

Like me, Natalie loves circles--blends them, overlaps them, builds walls, patios, and planters with them. This "hardscaping" goes hand in hand with landscaping. She told me that "circle kits" are available for patios and other features. They are a high quality, long lasting option. From what I saw, I'd say that they are the ideal way to blend walkways with patios. She also adds fire pits with circle kits.

Something that impressed me after seeing her designs from above in the drafts and then how they work out in the finished landscape was how Natalie interconnects walkways to allow views of different angles of a yard from different positions, while not having to leave a path. And she doesn't only use stone, but employs all kinds of interesting ways of forming paths. She taught me about "stepables," which are plants used in paths or in open areas that are meant to be walked upon. I liked that they weren't grass. Rather, they can be herbs, like thyme, that are tough enough to take the foot traffic, but also give off a pleasant aroma.

She will use water features to enhance the feeling of a yard, softening the appearance, freshening the air, and of course, lending a beautiful sound to the background of the space.

The drafts themselves were impressively hand drawn (as we see above), with consistent shapes for different kinds of plants. I could easily distinguish between large trees, smaller trees, bushes and small shrubs. She sees it all in her mind and transcribes these thoughts and images directly onto paper. She channels her creative and artistic side to fit her scientific training; such a perfect mixture to have: art and science blended in her drafts and then made real in the material world. What satisfaction it must give her to see what was once in her mind, now growing and able to be beheld and even walked through in the outside world!  

Natalie will remove a shrub that grows too high in front of a window and replace it with a species that keeps its height down. This saves a lot of trimming, still provides the green or flowering desired, and breaks up the hard angle where the exterior of the house meets the ground. So, not only does she envision the look of her finished product, but can use the right plants as she forecasts ahead into the future. When she needs a little bit more descriptive view of her ideas (something that perhaps an overhead draft can't accommodate), she will sketch-out the appearance of her design as it would look from the side while standing in a kind of virtual reality viewpoint in the prospective yet-unfinished yard. She showed me a few drafts that had color as well. Just another dimension to help her clients see what things will look like before even going forward with the actual work.

I honestly believe that Natalie's affinity with nature, plants, art, science, design and practical application is unusually strong. That is why she is so effective at expressing her ideas and why she is so successful with her clients. She could teach a course in any of these things. She certainly taught me quite a bit in a short amount of time. Again, if you really want a landscape and hardscape artist who truly lives and loves what she does, go to her Facebook site and give her a call or send her a private message. She is busy but working with her would be well-worth your time. Also, I should mention that she is such a gentle, attentive, kind-hearted, friendly and outgoing person that you'll be happy and encouraged each time you speak with her.

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When we were done with our study, I got back to writing. I should mention that besides being an expert at her profession Natalie runs a tight ship at home. She manages her inquisitive, intelligent and sometimes quite entertaining son as only a good mother would. And, their house is immaculately clean. When mealtime comes along she is right on the ball, cooking up delightful things for the family--and for me too during the four days I spent there. They have four cats and a well-behaved little dog, which she and Jeff keep a close eye on, making sure they are well-cared for and happy.

When I was done with my work for the day I went outside to photograph some of the large variety of plants in the Conrad yard. Natalie gave me the information about what each one was...  

Loropetalum chinensis

Rhododendron 'Snow' - Azalea

Camellia japonica 'Professor Seargant'

Lonicera - Honeysuckle

Camellia japonica 'Pink Perfection'

Hellebores orientalis - Lenten Rose

Rhododendron 'Coral Bells' - Azalea

Cephalotaxus harringtonia

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki'

Blueberry

Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis'

Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii'

Prunus x yedoensis 'Yoshino'

Cornus florida - flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida (flower bud)

Gelsemium sempervirens - Carolina Jasmine vine

Cercis canadensis - Eastern Redbud

Forsythia x intermedia 'Golden Times'

Betula nigra 'Heritage' - Paperbark Birch tree

We had a nice dinner and the three adults talked well into the night with a few glasses of wine. It had been another wonderful day spent in what I thought was an ideal way; conversation, education, the study of nature and good wholesome amounts of work. This would be my last night in the Conrad Oasis. The road was calling...