Working with New York based Baldwin and Franklin Architects, McKee Carson was commissioned for site analysis, landscape assessment, and master planning this diversely rich waterfront property in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Spare but deliberate, the designed landscape for Pope’s Creek is an adaptation of a traditional Virginia farmstead – a structured layering of domestic, agrarian, introduced habitat, and preserved habitat.

Native plant palettes connect the site to its regional setting while framing views, enhancing wildlife habitat, and offsetting long-term maintenance costs. The entry drive traverses cultivated fields, a grove, and meadows while capturing glimpses of the home and water along the way. A kitchen garden, solar array, and orchard reside north of the house while the east and south façades are exposed rising from a grass plinth and revealing expansive views to the Potomac River and Pope’s Creek.

A path passes through a Sweetbay Magnolia allee’ before meandering through the native grass buffer strip leading one to the boat dock, guest house, and ultimately through the preserved woodland. Tree plantings are strategically placed in order to frame and provide depth to views. In some instances trees are placed as a sculptural focal point in the landscape while others provide screening and clearly defined edges. Further, others are arranged in groves to provide a shaded destination.

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