Hardscape Solutions: Take it up a level

Location: Leesburg, Va. 

Company: Kane Landscapes

A drastic slope presented the biggest challenge for Kane Landscapes in the execution of this project.

Josh Kane, president and head designer of Kane Landscapes, says crews utilized more than 3,600 cubic yards of fill soil to level the backyard. Much of the soil came from a nearby construction project that was looking to get rid of soil, Kane says. 

“The clients wanted to be able to walk around the grounds and have a cutting garden,” he says. “Filling in someone’s backyard with tens of thousands of dollars in soil can be a tough pill to swallow, but this client knew just what they wanted.”

In the front of the home, Kane Landscapes installed a pair of bluestone patios dotted with mondo grass to soften the edges of the large stones. 

At the clients’ request, Kane kept things simple in the backyard gardens and opted for natural materials, such as granite cobblestone and gravel.

“They wanted something that felt more like something you’d see in the country,” says Kane. “So that’s a three-quarter inch decorative gravel on a compacted 21-A base.”

Other complications included the delayed delivery of the granite fountain for the backyard garden. Kane says the fountain, which weighs more than 12,000 pounds, was placed piece-by-piece by a crane following the garden installation.

This project won Kane Landscapes a Gold Award from the 2022 National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence Program.

(Photo courtesy of Kane Landscapes)

The clients requested a low-profile backyard design with walkways leading to cutting gardens and benches.

(Photo courtesy of Kane Landscapes)

Kane Landscapes needed thousands of cubic yards of soil to get this project’s backyard level.

(Photo courtesy of Kane Landscapes)

Kane Landscapes provides maintenance for several other properties within this Virginia neighborhood.

(Photo courtesy of Kane Landscapes)

The large granite fountain in the middle of the backyard spent months delayed in customs on its way from India before it made its way to Virginia.

(Photo courtesy of Kane Landscapes)

At the front of the property, Kane Landscapes used bluestone for both walkways and patios.

(Photo courtesy of Kane Landscapes)

A second water feature on the property, this marble fountain serves as the centerpiece of a Zen garden-inspired space at the front of the project.

(Photo courtesy of Kane Landscapes)

Flagstone accents the gravel paths on the back patio that overlooks the garden and fountain.

(Photo courtesy of Kane Landscapes)

One of two bluestone patios and walkways the clients wanted to remain open with plenty of sight lines.