I met Ted Cleary of Ted Clearly Landscape Architecture when we both spoke at the Charlotte home show — that’s him, playing up his mad men persona, in front of the mini-Eichler he designed, installed and landscaped for the event. He and I got along famously, in fact, we were kind of a Friday night double feature: Mid-century homes inside… and out. I’ll tell you: I learned a lot about landscaping mid century modern homes, in just one hour of listening to Ted.
When I first showed Ted’s sketch for the landscape design of this Eichler house, I promised more coverage of mid century landscaping ideas. So here comes: Ted himself on some of the basics of mid century modern design, the first in a new series of guest posts from him. I’ll feature one or two a month — pretty much as many and as fast as he can crank them out. I know this is a big “want” and “need” of many readers. In fact, after you read this first story, I’d love to hear more from you about landscaping topics you’d like to Ted him cover.
Ted writes:
Can you start by telling us about yourself and your background in landscape design?
I’m a sole practitioner, designing and managing the construction of landscape projects for a mostly-residential clientele. After Clemson University’s five-year LA program, I followed the path of most young graduates and went to work at conventional landscape architectural firms, whose focus is typically on larger commercial projects. While these provide great experience in such technical issues as drainage and construction detailing, the reality is that the bread & butter work of most firms are conventional shopping centers and office parks and the like, where the developer is motivated to follow only the most basic landscaping requirements, rather than the sorts of cutting-edge high design praised in architectural journals. I’ve always maintained that you could train a monkey to sit in front of a computer and stamp tree symbols on a Wal-Mart parking lot plan. I gravitated to garden design, where the “end user” is excited about really making their home their own modest version of paradise, and the opportunities to do it creatively are so much greater.
Why did you get so interested in mid century landscape design?
All across America, we have subdivisions built in the past two to three decades filled with contemporary interpretations of French Chateaux, Arts & Crafts Bungalows, and other period, historic styles. A trait they usually share is that they’re designed with square footage as the driving factor, and often their scale, in relation to each other and to their own outdoor spaces, makes for awkward relationships.
In recent years, I believe the movement toward houses that are bigger on design quality but smaller in size has really developed a following. You can build a new home with this philosophy, but why not look for it in an existing older home with a sense of age and continuity, when there’s so much great post-war housing stock? Our parents’ generation happily raised families in these homes, under more modest conditions of space that fit better with today’s smaller families. While there are indisputable issues to deal with in an older home of energy efficiency and the like, and some interior layout changes are usually in order to make them more livable, I’ll take a cozy older home with real lap siding, true-divided-lite windows, and a lovingly maintained garden hands-down over many of today’s characterless big boxes. But, to complete this picture of domestic bliss, the outside spaces should reflect the style and period. In most cases this landscaping has ‘lost its way’ through the vagaries of time, weather, and changing tastes; I want to see it more reflective of its history.
For this first story, can you tell us, in general, what are the key, foundational elements or drivers of mid-century landscape design. Like… the theory behind it… that residential homeowners should be thinking of?
Well, I think we can look at it in a couple of ways; traditional homes had one ‘look’, but mid-century modern ones quite another. With the latter, a seamless quality between inside and outside was an integral aspect of mid-century modern architecture, and there’s a very recognizable vocabulary of rectilinear patios, clean lines, and bold curving shapes with no focal point or symmetry. Influential landscape architects such as Garrett Eckbo were strongly influenced by the abstract painters of the mid-century.
But as Pam has pointed out, most of these modest post-war homes instead reflected a traditional style, whether we’re talking about a Cape Cod, a neo-Colonial, or a rambler. If you carefully study garden books of the ‘40s and ‘50s, when you scrutinize the black and white or fading color photos, you’ll see that the better landscaping really was not a lot different than what we garden designers today think of as basic, sound design principles: overlapping plant masses, interesting specimens, a sense of ‘movement and rest’, and entertaining areas using hardscaping materials and geometries in sympathy with their house’s style. We could speculate that our parents and grandparents, having weathered a deep, sobering Depression and the full-on sacrifices of a second World War, were looking for the comfort of traditional styles in both their homes and the landscaping that surrounded it, but in a simpler and more affordable version geared toward the middle class. There seemed to be a bit more emphasis on bright circus-like colors with big Dahlias, Hollyhocks and high-maintenance Hybrid Tea Roses, yet designs tended to be a bit more ‘tight’. Today’s trend, by comparison, introduces somewhat relaxed, native perennials and shrubs, which have become more mainstream not just for the aesthetics but the environmental aspects of water conservation and so on, which of course was virtually a non-existent concern back then. One easily-overlooked aspect of mid-century garden design is what’s not included: the sorts of materials like stackable concrete block walls or vinyl fencing that weren’t around back then, and an absence of the over-the-top luxury added to so many expensive backyards in recent pre-Recession times. It’s interesting to me how the influences of Modern design crept into the look of many otherwise-traditional gardens, no doubt because of popular magazines like Sunset, in a similar way to the merchant builders who cobbled together different features they admired into their hybrid home styles.
How about showing us one nice design – and why it’s great.
Mid-century modern garden design is very diverse, even though it has an unmistakable ‘vocabulary’ as I described. But if I had to choose one specific project that’s really iconic for the period, that would have to be the Donnell Garden in northern California. Thomas Church is generally recognized as the first landscape architect to reject his Beaux-Arts training of classical formality, in favor of a Modernist approach that both responded to and defined the “California Style” of relaxed outdoor living. In 1946, Church created a pool area whose genius is in the clean, sweeping curves that echo distant views of rolling hills and San Francisco Bay beyond the rural landscape of their ranch. The Donnell descendants have done a wonderful job maintaining it in its original state, and I think its elegant simplicity is the reason it still draws admirers today to see it, sixty-four years later.
Thank you, Ted!
Josie says
I would like to see a list of popular combos in mid-C. I tend to picture red geraniums…and….and…? Or blue junipers…and more blue junipers. I have a hard time pulling together classic-looking beds.
When you picture that cute ranch house w/ little mounding foundation plantings and single specimen tree, what were the common vs. bold choices? What was gauche? Was there any point in the 20th C. Americans WEREN’T planting Japanese maples?
Thanks in advance I’m so excited to see these posts.
Cindy says
This is a great topic! I’d love to hear more about hardscaping for MCM homes, specifically which materials will work in lieu of flagstone which none of my landscaper contacts suggest using because it’s slippery. Also, what shapes, sizes, and materials for planters around a patio?
Thanks for great variety, Pam!
Ted Cleary says
Cindy,
“Flagstone” is often mistakenly lumped in with “Slate” (which is only ONE type of flagstone); flagstone can be cut, split or sawn from all types of stone, such as basalt, bluestone, sandstone or others which all have a gritty (non-slip) surface to some degree. Slate, having a low absorption rate when it gets wet, will indeed be slippery. If you like the look, I’d suggest visiting some local stoneyards to see what’s available in your area.
Beyond that, the nomenclature gets a little fuzzy: what I call “flagstone” are the rectilinear-cut (“ashlar-cut”) pieces, all cut at right angles that fit together jigsaw-puzzle-like, which I think usually are a much more modernist, or just generally mid-century, look…..I call “fieldstone” the same kind of stuff, only they’re IRregularly shaped pieces….but not all stoneyards or stonemasons follow the same naming convention.
Ted Cleary says
I also wanted to point out that, if you’re talking about “planters” being pots or containers, there are definitely styles that DON’T do justice to a MCM home (e.g. some kind of heavy concrete Classical Grecian urn from the big box store — ugh!). Luckily, there are more and more styles out there with a modernist look to them.
But if you’re talking about “planters” being built-in masonry boxes as part of the house structure — a very common trait — it’s hard to advise without seeing the specific home.
I plan to, from time to time, present quick conceptual make-over sketches to mid-century homes either on Pam’s blog or on my own blog, expected to be up & running this month.
Sara in WA says
I would think that making plant selections is going to be difficult as there are so many regions/climates to deal with. Maybe a general plan using shapes & textures of trees/shrubs/beds for various mid century homes including both traditional and modern, low ranch or boxy split level, might be a helpful approach. Local sources can help with actual plant sections.
Ted Cleary says
Sara,
It’d indeed be overwhelming to try and come up with comprehensive plant palettes for every USDA Zone and every specific climate across the U.S. (and Canada!). But there are actually quite a few plants that not only “work” aesthetically, but are happy across a broad range of our garden zones, so I won’t completely shy away from naming names. But you’re right: it’s a lot more important to tailor your choices to your area & conditions, once you first know what you’re looking for as far as traits — evergreen vs. deciduous; flowering or foliage color; sun/shade; mature size; texture; etc.
I often encourage my clients to collect magazine clippings for our first meeting, of gardens that ‘speak’ to them; I don’t care if it’s a garden in England and a certain plant they love in it will never survive here — rather, i want to see what kind of LOOK appeals to them….then I can find the right substitute that works.
Laura says
Fascinating article! Thank you and would love to read more from Ted. I am like Jessica and would love to find out more on design of xeric landscapes for mid century modern homes. I live in Calgary, Alberta – cold and dry. I’m also interested in finding out how to design a garden that is modern and also baby friendly. Geometric sections of pea or lava stones would be considered ‘lunch’ for my 10-month old.
Ted Cleary says
Laura,
A great idea I hadn’t thought of. Being the dad of a 6-year-old, and now twin toddler boys, it’s made me a lot more aware of “baby-friendly”! You know, the mid-century modern tract homes — the Eichlers, etc. — as well as I’m sure all the other non-modern, post-war styles, were designed and indeed marketed to be great places to live for Baby Boomer families. I’ve seen some great ideas from back in the day for really inventive play structures, back before we filled our yards with blow-mold plastic playsets. This subject is rich with angles & one I look forward to covering.
Jon Miller says
Thank you for this series! So much of the information and pictures of really cool MCM landscaping are what I would call either desert or tropical modern, which doesn’t work so well here in the Midwest. Ideas for the Midwest would be appreciated!
Marcela says
Oh thanks so much! we’ve been working on ours for the last 5 years, since we live in FL we are trying to keep it very tropical but like the earlier posters stated, we want to keep the MCM feel to go along with the house.
I can’t wait to see more
Ted Cleary says
Marcela,
BUT…..having said that, I DO envy you! — you can’t beat the variety of tropical plants, with their wide range of hugely dramatic textures, that Florida offers. At some point I’ll be discussing one of MCM’s brilliant landscape architects who made the world see how fantastic that tropical setting can become: Brazilian Roberto Burle Marx.
Tamara Hoffbauer says
Great start to an important topic! Can’t wait to read more. Would personally love to hear some ideas for ultra-low maintenance landscaping with a MCM feel, and the ever-popular “what to plant when all you have is shade”. As the owner of a modest MCM home on a relatively wild and heavily wooded 1 acre plot with poor soil and little sun, I’m searching for landscaping alternatives that go beyond just plants, grass, and patio but still look like one with our home and property. I have the (hopefully misguided) idea that most MCM landscaping was manicured and weed-free, with lots of California influence. What can those of us in the wild Midwest do to still capture some of that feeling even in areas that are not conducive to that style of landscaping? Thanks for the great article!
Ted Cleary says
Tamara,
Don’t be discouraged by shade! It actually offers a wide variety of plant textures that, composed together properly, make for beautiful combinations. (Think a sea of soft ferns among darker, glossy wide evergreen leaves.) Jon points out below that the cliche’d mid-century modern home usually seems to be in a desert or tropical setting — which can look gorgeous — but Modernism as applied to the landscape is, or should be, a lot more about the philosophy (simplicity, clean lines, plant textures), rather than the “stuff” (an obligatory Agave, for example)…..so you can create an appropriate design even if you live in a more temperate climate, such as I do in North Carolina.
Jessica Evett says
Wonderful post and really looking forward to the rest of the series! Since you put out a call for topics, I’d love to see more of Ted’s thoughts on landscaping for mid-century modest homes out here in the Western U.S. As he pointed out in this article, selecting plants that are appropriate for our arid climate (we live in the Colorado Front Range) is very important for water conservation, and it would be interesting to see a feature on waterwise landscapes with mid-century design in mind.
Ted Cleary says
Jessica,
This is indeed a worthy topic to cover……in fact, there’s so much to it that three or four posts could apply. At least as important as WHAT plants to use, however, are all the practices to follow that apply to almost all our locations: soil amendments,; mulching; rain harvesting; certain types of irrigation; and so on. When I do get around to this topic, I’ll try to address it from a mid-century-design perspective…..I don’t think that aesthetics have to go out the window to have a “responsible” garden, and, after all, the mid-century designers were all about form following function.
TaraUB says
Thank you for this new series! We’re in the midst of trying to figure out landscaping for our MCM and I so don’t want a bush of some sort on the corner of my house! I’d rather go bare for years while we figure it out than put something in that I’ll hate. This info will really help us.
kate mckinnon says
Fantastic! I look forward to seeing more Ted on the site.