Natives of the Corrotoman River

Located in Kilmarnock on a peninsula of the Northern Neck along the eastern branch of the Corrotoman River, this five acre site has sat unattended for years. Dominated by ancient oaks and within sight of a nesting area for bald eagles, the owner decided to develop the property as a model of sustainable design.

Working closely with many of the owner's personal ecological ideas, Four Winds developed a land management plan for the site that includes a meadow of native grasses for songbirds, buffer zones along the water's edge, an untouched portion of the property for wildlife cover, colony bat houses,a pervious patio, and an area cultivated to provide additional favorable conditions for an existing colony of pink lady slipper (an endangered native orchid).

The design also features a three thousand five hundred gallon rainwater collection system and a planting scheme exclusively of native plants that showcases a butterfly garden and an indigenous berry garden. A series of custom designed botanical markers were installed throughout the landscape for the benefit of the client's grandchildren. Additionally, the development scheme also included designing an methodology for construction that has included extensive existing tree protection.  Working closely with an arborist, the root zones of sensitive trees were protected with barriers to keep machines from compacting or contaminating the soil.  In another area an air spade was used to excavate for a stone wall footer, a process that allowed existing tree roots to remain rather than be ripped out.  Also during construction almost all of the trees removed to make way the new home were either recycled on site as mulch or harvested and milled for furniture and flooring.

The duties of FWLD included site analysis, establishment and documentation of land management goals, collaboration with the project architect, detailed design layout, obtaining necessary permits, and project construction administration.  This project is fully documented in the publication The Landscape at Worlds End by Drew Harrigan.

Click here to view a portion of the book. 

A flight of aging stairs were recycled to form a new set of steps.