We were delighted to collaborate with the incredibly talented Designer and Stylist, Emily Henderson, to create a warm and welcoming patio for her River House project.
Emily put her trust in the Dennis’ 7 Dees team to create container plantings that would elevate the existing containers on site and highlight the beautiful furniture by Article that had been selected for the space. We went to view the property, meet with Emily, and pick up the containers, and then we designed and planted them with the help of the Lake Oswego Garden Center staff before having them delivered to the River House just a few hours later.
Plant Selection & Color Palette Considerations
Our main priority was to use the container plantings to connect the clean lines of the modern, Pacific Northwest architecture of the home with the free-flowing landscape and natural setting.
By focusing more on foliage and texture in the plantings than on flowers, the look is timeless and slightly more masculine. Plants that are low-maintenance and would survive year-round in the hot sun during the Summer and intense rain during the Winter were used to make sure the containers remained full no matter the season.
Garden Designer Andrea Melnychenko consulted with Emily to hone in on a color palette that would contrast with the dark, moody exterior without adding overpowering color. We wanted to use blue-toned foliage to create a soft, relaxing feeling and tone down some of the brighter flower colors in the landscape. The peachy hues of the textiles and warm tones of the wood were highlighted in the container plantings with the bark of the Pineapple Guava and foliage of the Heuchera and Carex. The custom color palette that was created for this space is a hybrid of the “Moody” palette from our Bohemian Landscape Design Guide, and the “Composed” palette from our Pacific Northwest Landscape Design Guide.
Container Plantings for Large Window Doors
For the groupings on either side of the door, we used a single specimen per pot in a grouping to keep the arrangement fresh and modern, and to provide versatility when styling the space.
We chose Chocolate Mimosa to anchor the largest containers with their dark, feathery foliage and height. An underplanting of Woolly Thyme with a single dark-leaved Echeveria was added to the Mimosa pots to create an unexpected surprise for anyone walking close to the containers and to make the planting look finished right from the start.
Carex ‘Cappuccino’ was en masse in a single container used to connect this planting scheme to the other containers and highlight the beautiful warm tones of the wood table and sofa set. By grouping three Carex ‘Cappuccino’ into one pot, the planting looks instantly full and mature. Finally, a gorgeous ‘Wiethorst’ Pine was used in the third pot to introduce the glaucous blue of the color palette and to provide sophisticated evergreen texture.
Container Plantings for Patio Seating Area
Two sets of Room & Board lightweight grey containers were on site and available for the project, and we decided to use them in the seating area. The goal was to create complementary plantings that could be used as a large group of four or split into individual units and dotted throughout the space. One pair of pots was planted up very simply, while one was planted with a more complex scheme. This created harmony and interest across all the container plantings without looking busy or overplanted.
The tall containers each had a specimen shrub installed as the foundation plant that guided all other plant choices. For the simple planting, we used a blue-grey Smoke Tree (Cotinus ‘Old Fashioned’) for the ethereal texture of its flowers and its changing leaf colors, and underplanted it with a skirt of ‘Kent Beauty’ Oregano. The other container used a Pineapple Guava from Monrovia pruned as a specimen patio tree to introduce our glaucous foliage in an evergreen form, and to pull in the warm tones of the wood in its bark. That planting included perennials for texture and foliage color—a dark-leafed Hibiscus ‘Mocha Moon’, Carex ‘Cappuccino’ and Heuchera ‘Orange Delight’, along with Wire Vine to trail down one side of the pot.
In the smaller containers, we again kept one planting very simple, using only an upright Sedum ‘Rock Star’ to make sure the scheme stayed modern and chic. In the other container, our hero plant, Carex ‘Cappuccino’ was paired with the terracotta tones of Heuchera ‘Orange Delight’ to echo the larger planting.
We absolutely love how this look came to life. The containers brought a welcoming, calm energy to this incredibly stylish entertaining space. Read the full story of the River House patio by Emily Henderson on her blog.
Visit our garden centers any time of year for all your DIY gardening needs! Or to work with one of our talented designers on a custom landscape project, contact us today!
Professional photos by Kaitlin Green