Garden of the Aerie
a grand award-winning garden set on a picturesque site
with 360-degree views
The Dream
The goal of this mountain estate garden was to integrate the dramatic stone home with the land and optimize the amazing 360-degree views.
The Challenge
The challenges were soil creation for such a large property, and meeting two requirements of the client. One, to keep plantings away from the house foundation, and two, low enough to not block any views. The artistic challenge was delivering a garden that would live up to its dramatic setting, and blend the house into the environment.
The Garden
To integrate the garden into the home and setting, Viriditas created several natural-looking moss rock outcroppings, building them up, and actually into the stone of the house. We continued them onto the patios, and even had a few rocks set into the carpeting of the living room where a larger rock form is visible just outside the window.
Similarly, we designed the water feature to naturally—and quietly—emanate from the upper patio. From there it sweeps around returning to the home as it descends and links three separate patio areas.
As mentioned, the client did not want any plants next to the house, so we developed the imagery of the natural rock outcropping. In the broader landscape alpine flowers in a low grass meadow subtly connect the home to the vast open space around it. Colorado perennials, shrubs, character pines, and specialty conifers round out a native look. These conifers are particularly successful in the front of the house where a rich low tapestry doesn’t block the Flatiron views. Interestingly, these low growing trees were almost invisible when we planted them, but can be seen fully in pictures just taken in 2022, twenty years after completion.
The RESULTS
The garden en masse—front, back, and sides—grounds the home and gives a very personal connection to the vast panorama. The view from every room in the house was enhanced by our work.
This grand award-winning xeriscape garden is an excellent example of the kind of sustainable luxury garden that is a Viriditas specialty.
Our garden was creatively conceived to feel like a natural outgrowth of the existing terrain and was painstakingly constructed to blend with and be part of our home. For two decades it has grown as a work of art, and it continues to evolve as a place of joy for our family, our friends, and ourselves.
Owners of the Garden of the Aerie
