Upstate NY Woodland

Upstate New York House in the Forest

Celebrating the setting

When the new weekend house designed by John Gillis/Architects was being built, we protected and saved as many of the soaring, mature trees as possible. The goal: a house that remained in the forest.

So no obviously landscaped area separates the house from its setting. As you approach the house, a large, naturalistic pond designed by the renowned Anthony Archer-Wills welcomes you. The house is revealed gradually, seen through the large trees we were able to save and those we added – dozens of River Birch, white Pines, Redbuds, Smoke Trees, Magnolia – a new forest joining the old. Masses of Fothergilla fill the understory. Ground covers are mostly ferns, reveling in the shade the trees and shrubs create

Around the swimming pool, where trees would create unwelcome shade and leaf fall, we used naturalisticplantings of vertical grasses Calamagrostis Karl Foerster contrasting with Achillea and purple Coneflowers. They create a sense of transparent enclosure – for poolside enjoyment of the surrounding forest.