Portfolio
Lakeville, CT
The meadow at this lakeside property sweeps along the drive and around the house, where it gracefully highlights existing landscape features, both constructed and planted. The meadow culminates in a secluded sitting area with dramatic views of the water.
This meadow was featured in The Cultural Landscape Foundation Garden Dialogues tour series (2015) and Garden Conservancy Digging Deeper program (2016). The meadow was profiled in Landscape Architecture Magazine (Dec. 2014) and The Wall Street Journal (July 17, 2012). It was also part of a plant and insect diversity study conducted by the Farmscape Ecology Program.
Landscape plan by Jamie Purinton Landscape Architect.
Wilton, CT
In this meadow, which was established organically, native wildflowers form an intricate composition with broom sedge and little bluestem grasses. Thanks to careful attention to plant height, the meadow conceals the driveway from the house, allowing for an unbroken sea of color, texture, and form across the hillside.
Salisbury, CT
On this 400-acre estate, woodland wildflowers, shrub thickets, rock outcrop plantings, and forty acres of seeded native meadows represent a dynamic mosaic, ecologically robust and rich in beauty. Over time, these designed communities have assumed lives of their own as planted species colonize outlying areas where invasive vegetation once dominated. (Click for more on this estate.)
This property received the Place Maker Award from the Foundation for Landscape Studies (2011) and is included in the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens. The meadows were featured in the Landscape Architecture Magazine (Dec. 2014), the Ecological Landscape Alliance summer tour series (2014), Cultural Landscape Foundation’s Garden Dialogues Tour Series (2012), The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program (2009), Wildflower Magazine (2009), and The New York Times (2008). The property is also a participating site in an ongoing insect diversity study conducted by the Farmscape Ecology Program.
Salt Point, NY
Simple management procedures, none of which involved any plantings, converted an impenetrable shrub thicket into a sweeping expanse of little bluestem, one of our most beautiful native grasses. Strategically timed mowing encouraged small existing populations of little bluestem to expand while existing woody vegetation was shaped into periodic drifts, creating a dynamic interplay of openness and enclosure. The success of this project exemplifies how incredible landscapes can be created using straightforward field techniques based on a deep understanding of natural processes, an approach pioneered by LWLA.
Saucon Valley, PA
Thirty acres of majestic native meadows unfold across this estate formerly home to a founding family of Bethlehem Steel. Over time, colorful meadow plants have seeded into more formally arranged native gardens, merging so naturally that they seem part of the original master plan. Increased bird counts in the region have also been attributed to these meadows, demonstrating that beauty and environmental enhancements need not be mutually exclusive. (Click for more on this estate.)
Featured in Private Edens (Jack Straub, 2013), Garden Design Magazine (2011), Landscape Management (2008), and Nature’s Garden (2007). Received the Landscape Design Honor Award from the Perennial Plant Association (2008) and the Gold Award, Best in Show Award, and Monrovia® Distinctly Better Plant Design Award from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (2008). Study site for Burghardt, Tallamy, & Shriver, “Impact of Native Plants on Bird and Butterfly Biodiversity in Suburban Landscapes,” Conservation Biology, 2008, vol. 23, no. 1.
