An Accessible Garden

This seven-acre residence in the hills of Chester County has great views to the west across adjacent farm pastures.  The rear of the residence is nestled into the slope of the hillside and the property is accessed by a long, steep driveway.  The owner of the residence is confined to a wheelchair and had very few options to enjoy the property.  As part of the master planning process, the property was inventoried and a phased master plan was developed.  The woodlands and hedgerows of the property were enveloped in invasive plant materials.

 

A woodland management plan was developed to restore the woodlands and hedgerows to their native state.  New native plantings were introduced to screen and accent views.  The driveway was redesigned with a stone-faced retaining wall and a new subsurface drainage system was added to mitigate the eroded driveway that was extremely treacherous during the winter months.  An accessible route around the residence was designed using an Invisible Structures porous paving system to provide wheelchair accessibility even on natural surfaces.  A flo-form water feature was designed as a focal point from the terrace.  Lastly, a management plan was developed for the property that used only organic fertilizers, compost, and pesticides.