One of the homeowners is an engineer who has designed dozens of retaining walls, so they came to the table with ideas. Our team worked through those ideas with them and figured out what would look right on this hill: two tiers, with steps running up the middle.

The homeowners have been up that hill so often to plant that they wore a path through the mulch. Stepping stones run along it now. So far they’ve moved 400 daylilies and irises into the beds, and the tall grasses along the fence will fill in for privacy over the next few seasons.