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From the sky

A Nelson Bubble pendant from Design Within Reach hangs above a dining table and chairs by Jasper Morrison for Maruni.

The side walls have been treated as vertical extension of the horizontal surface of the garden, and are used for growing climbers such as jasmine, grapes, honeysuckle, raspberries, beans, peas, and even a climbing fig. Colorful bird’s houses and bug hotels are also mounted on the walls.

A view of the ipe-and-steel bridge from the main house to the annex.

Inside, the living areas flow around a green box that contains the kitchen and a full bath.

Sunshine flows through a large gridded skylight to illuminate an atrium at the heart of the home.

Caption TK Here

Designed by Austin, Texas–based studio Andersson-Wise Architects, the 12,500-square-foot Stone Creek Camp is sited on a sloping hill whose topography guides visitors to discover the grounds slowly: from the gatehouse to the master house, main lodge, and guesthouse. The eco-friendly family retreat features a stacked wood facade that was built from fallen trees found on the site; a sod green roof that provides insulation; and regionally sourced construction materials—including stone, wood, windows, and doors.

Northeast: Stephen Stimson Associates To recreate the original ecosystems on a plot of land in Northeast Harbor, Maine, that required extensive site rehabilitation, landscape architect Lauren Stimson and her team examined early photographs and paintings depicting scenes more varied than the existing evergreen forest. They designed granite stairs leading into a seaside area featuring huckleberry, sweet fern, bayberry, and sheep laurel, as well as white spruce trees.

South: Mark Word Design Mulch and living ground covers—like Big Blue liriope, marsilea, and Palisades zoysia turf—keep moisture within the soil and lowers the soil’s temperature, protecting the live oak trees’ roots.

Midwest: Hoerr Schaudt Ample amounts of Russian sage add visual interest, and manicured bluegrass offers recreation space. “I always like to say, strike half of your original plant list out and double up on the rest. It keeps you from getting too busy.”

Midwest: Hoerr Schaudt Knitting the designed spaces into the greater wilderness beyond was paramount for the ten-acre landscape Douglas Hoerr devised in northern Michigan. “The idea is once you’re there, you can’t tell what we did,” he says. Instead of building formal gardens right to the property line, Hoerr added a meadow planted with mature trees and indigenous grasses to buffer the yard. Naturalistic plantings ebb and flow around the 110-foot-long saltwater lap pool.