Project Portfolio: Sculptural showcase

February 10, 2014 - By LM Staff

This Boston-area new-build home was christened “Floating Peaks” by the homeowner, who envisioned an accompanying garden to showcase several natural stone sculptures he had collected and shipped from China. These unique stones were shaped by water at the bottom of a river. In addition, the homeowner wanted several outdoor living areas—a pool, hot tub, pergola, terraces and a large lawn area for his children.

Fred Anderson, president of Anderson Landscape Construction, was up to the task. His Sterling, Mass.-based firm specializes in large-scale installations like the one on the homeowner’s wish list.

“Our first challenge was installing the landscape around the existence of a mature Cedar of Lebanon specimen tree,” Anderson recalls. “Utmost care was taken in the completion of the house and landscape during construction, as the tree was only 15 feet from the house.”

Placing the stone sculptures was another challenge, he notes: “A crane was brought in to set the largest stone, which weighed 40,000 pounds. We hired an engineer to help us figure out how to mount and stabilize this massive stone. Great care had to be observed during installation of these stone sculptures so as not to break or scratch them.”

After the house was built, the owner decided he wanted to expand his backyard landscape area. He negotiated with a neighbor who was directly in view of his backyard, tore the house down, and had Anderson create a large lawn and wildflower meadow area complete with fire pit and moss garden.

“This allowed for the property to expand into space that the house really needed to balance its massive size,” Anderson says.

Founded in 1982, Sterling, Mass.-based Anderson Landscape Construction focuses on building gardens for private estates with features such as baseball fields, football fields, tennis courts, seasonal colorscapes, private intimate gardens, ice skating rinks and more.

Photos: Rosemary Fletcher Photography