Yard of the Week: City Garden With a Calm, Private Feel
A landscape architect marries indoors and out in a modern Toronto space inspired by Japanese minimalism
A trip to Japan had a big impact on this Toronto couple. When the time came to renovate their home, they wanted it to have the calm, minimalist style they had admired abroad. After their house was completed, they hired Fox Whyte Landscape Architecture & Design and Arbordale Landscaping to continue that style in their compact downtown yard. Landscape architect Kate Fox-Whyte took her cues from the house, marrying the architecture, interior design and landscape with a cohesive sensibility.
Fox-Whyte planted a ‘Waterfall’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Waterfall’) in line with the front door, seen here in the right corner of the photo. The hedge of Hicks yew (Taxus x media ‘Hicksii’) was necessary to provide privacy from the street for some basement windows located behind it.
The gravel is one-quarter-inch chip limestone. Upon entering through the front door, the homeowners can see straight back through the house and into their backyard.
Steps: Raffinato in Onyx Black and pavers, Blu60 Grande Smooth in Onyx Black, both by Techo-Bloc
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The gravel is one-quarter-inch chip limestone. Upon entering through the front door, the homeowners can see straight back through the house and into their backyard.
Steps: Raffinato in Onyx Black and pavers, Blu60 Grande Smooth in Onyx Black, both by Techo-Bloc
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A glass wall along the rear of the house provides a clear view of the backyard. “Sitting inside this room makes you feel like you’re in the garden,” Fox-Whyte says.
The new landscape design works in harmony with the interior and exterior of the house. For example, Fox-Whyte repeated the slatted look of the TV wall seen here on a privacy screen on the right side of the deck and on a feature wall along the back of the yard. She built up the planter on the left off the ground. “We wanted to bring some of the plantings up to the ground floor level of the house,” she says. She also maintained a calming, minimalist look out back, creating a seamless connection between indoors and out.
Fox-Whyte lined up outdoor features with elements in the architecture. For example, a privacy screen on the right aligns with the edge of the glass wall. She centered the fire bowl in front of the glass wall. And she aligned the edge of the deck with the edge of the door.
The new landscape design works in harmony with the interior and exterior of the house. For example, Fox-Whyte repeated the slatted look of the TV wall seen here on a privacy screen on the right side of the deck and on a feature wall along the back of the yard. She built up the planter on the left off the ground. “We wanted to bring some of the plantings up to the ground floor level of the house,” she says. She also maintained a calming, minimalist look out back, creating a seamless connection between indoors and out.
Fox-Whyte lined up outdoor features with elements in the architecture. For example, a privacy screen on the right aligns with the edge of the glass wall. She centered the fire bowl in front of the glass wall. And she aligned the edge of the deck with the edge of the door.
Sometimes a smaller yard is more complicated to lay out than a large yard. “It was not easy to get everything they wanted in there and still make it look nice,” Fox-Whyte says. This drone shot provides a view that can serve as a plan. The yard is divided into thirds.
Each section serves a function the homeowners requested. “They wanted a private area right off the living room for drinking coffee in the morning or a glass of wine at the end of the day,” she says. So she planned a small deck with a privacy screen right off the living room. They also wanted an area for dining and grilling, which Fox-Whyte placed on a paved section in the center. Finally, they wanted to be able to lounge and enjoy a fire. Fox-Whyte located a gravel patio on the right, using their existing umbrella and lounge furniture and adding a new fire bowl.
The plan also shows how she created a small passageway behind the deck’s privacy screen for access to the side yard gate. Their existing garage is visible on the far right side of the photo.
Each section serves a function the homeowners requested. “They wanted a private area right off the living room for drinking coffee in the morning or a glass of wine at the end of the day,” she says. So she planned a small deck with a privacy screen right off the living room. They also wanted an area for dining and grilling, which Fox-Whyte placed on a paved section in the center. Finally, they wanted to be able to lounge and enjoy a fire. Fox-Whyte located a gravel patio on the right, using their existing umbrella and lounge furniture and adding a new fire bowl.
The plan also shows how she created a small passageway behind the deck’s privacy screen for access to the side yard gate. Their existing garage is visible on the far right side of the photo.
“Providing privacy for a small downtown lot is a really big deal,” Fox-Whyte says. New fences and the privacy screen on the right did the trick. She also needed to hide the not-so-attractive garage while still providing access to it.
Both the slatted privacy screen and the feature wall along the back are cedar. A 4-foot-long section of the back screen on the left slides open to allow access to a door that leads into the garage.
The rest of the fencing is pressure-treated wood. “It’s a dark color that brings the plants forward,” Fox-Whyte says. She used a solid hide stain on the darker fencing. “This is not a coating on top — it impregnates the wood,” she says.
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Both the slatted privacy screen and the feature wall along the back are cedar. A 4-foot-long section of the back screen on the left slides open to allow access to a door that leads into the garage.
The rest of the fencing is pressure-treated wood. “It’s a dark color that brings the plants forward,” Fox-Whyte says. She used a solid hide stain on the darker fencing. “This is not a coating on top — it impregnates the wood,” she says.
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The back third of the yard is a casual lounge area that provides shade. This was also a good spot to plant a maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) on the left.
Browse patio umbrellas on Houzz
Browse patio umbrellas on Houzz
The landscape architect provided movement and the sound of leaves rustling with ‘Green Panda’ bamboo (Fargesia rufa ‘Green Panda’) and yellow groove bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata) behind the lounge furniture. Bamboo can be invasive and take over a space, so Fox-Whyte used root barriers to contain it.
The material on the ground of the lounge patio is three-eighths-inch blue-gray gravel. The pebbles in the fire bowl work beautifully with the Japanese garden-inspired material palette. The fire bowl is connected to a gas line.
A terrazzo floor inside the house inspired the paver choice for the dining and grilling patio. “This paver has an exposed aggregate in it that has a similar look and feel to what they had inside,” Fox-Whyte says.
Patio pavers: Blu60 Grande polished in Greyed Nickel, Techo-bloc
Patio pavers: Blu60 Grande polished in Greyed Nickel, Techo-bloc
The different planting beds and planters provide a variety of colors and textures. Two dark curved planters on the dining and grilling patio contain ‘Seiryu’ Japanese maples (Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Seiryu’). The bed on the left, which is edged with Cor-Ten steel, has a mix of grasses, perennials and a hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa).
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Not sure where to start on your home project? Click here to learn the basics
The raised bed off the deck also mixes grasses and perennials. Plantings here include dwarf lady’s mantle (Alchemilla erythropoda) and Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis).
Fox-Whyte bookended the beds on either side of the steps with Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’). “This provided some movement in the garden,” she says.
Here’s a view from the lounge patio toward the house. “This garden feels secluded and calm and is a nice space for the homeowners to hang out, just the two of them or with a group of friends,” Fox-Whyte says.
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More on Houzz
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Yard at a Glance
Location: Toronto
Size: 1,940-square-foot lot (180 square meters); 97 by 20 feet
Landscape architecture: Fox Whyte Landscape Architecture & Design
Contracting: Arbordale Landscaping
Architecture: Micacchi Architecture
Interior design: Alison Milne & Co.
While this story will focus on the outdoor space, the architecture and interior design of the house provided a lot of the yard’s inspiration. The material palette Fox-Whyte chose for the front and backyards is cohesive — Cor-Ten steel retaining walls, blue-gray pavers and gravel and a limited plant palette create a peaceful, minimalist look.
One of the homeowners’ must-haves appears here. They had named their home The Sakura House after the remodel. “Sakura” means “cherry blossoms” in Japanese. Accordingly, Fox-Whyte planted a ‘Kanzan’ flowering cherry tree (Prunus serrulata ‘Kanzan’) out front on the left.
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