April 19, 2023
Camp Johnson
Getting this distinctive modern-style landscape in northern Wisconsin to look as if it flowed right into the house and that the garden and landscape appear as one from the inside was far from easy.

Long Distance Landscaping
When the client in Lac du Flambeau in northern Wisconsin couldn’t find a local landscape contractor to work on their distinctive modern-style landscape designed by a Minneapolis firm, they found us–four hours and 245 miles away! The location required the crew and equipment to be shipped to the north woods.
Reasons Why This Was a Gold Winner
For starters, there was the search for and the use of unique materials. Distinctively colored rock and gravel chosen for the driveway was in a quarry near Minneapolis. Additionally, the required native plants and specifically grown fescue sod for the various grassy areas took time to track down. Hours were spent procuring these materials.
In the rear yard, the woods needed to be cut back strategically to look natural but provide more natural light to grow grasses and natural edge plantings. Mowed turf and no-mow areas blended into the native woods to look natural. A combination of seeding and sod was done to create this perfect combination. Mounds in the front of the house were formed by hand to make sure they alternated shape; specially ordered fescue sod was installed to maintain the mound shapes. Combinations of sod, seed, and erosion control were needed to grow grass on the sandy soil around the boat house, which required much hand work due to the steep grade.
The home was built with a green roof, so there are no gutters, which posed serious erosion issues. Consequently, we added significant buried drain tile under areas of dark grey rock around the entire house to guide water away from it while keeping the modern design intact. Pavers were installed with precision to create a unique pathway to the basement entrance, and drain tile was added along edges under the gravel to remove water from the staircase.
Lining Things Up
The client required all lines of exterior detail to be square with interior features when looking outside. Also, the landscape needed to look as if it flowed right into the house, and the garden and landscape appeared as one from the inside. All lines of edges, walks, driveway, and trees had to line up and square off the house. Some edging lines were more than 100 feet long in straight parallel runs. Laying out this project took hours of measuring and using transit to ensure all lines were correctly placed.