Surrounded by Green

It's rare that a homeowner requests that a garden be high-maintenance. But that's exactly what Will Massie of Richmond wanted. "I'm passionate about gardens and enjoy doing everything myself, so ours is designed to be one I can actually work in," he says.

When he and his wife, Alice, bought their 1910 brick-and-limestone home on Monument Avenue, they asked landscape architect Charles J. Stick to redesign the garden, an overgrown area that didn't relate to the house.

"The main house is a very strong and elegant architectural statement," says Stick. "I wanted the garden to maintain this spirit of elegance and harmony."

As co-owner of the outdoor furniture company McKinnon and Harris, Will has gardening in his genes. His two grandmothers, for whom the company is named, inspired a love for it in him, and it's become a family tradition.

"My daughter, Ella, has a small plot that she tends," he says. With geraniums, herbs, and lamb's ears, the 11-year-old loves to start with seeds and watch things grow. "Her plot has more color than anywhere else in the garden," Will says.

Even though the lot is large for its location in the city's historic Fan District, "the garden is small enough to need a permanent foundation of green," says Will. This preference for greenness is balanced with streamlined embellishments. Playing off an existing goldfish pond, the Massies incorporated stone garden ornaments (see: Ornamenting a Garden), a cedar trellis, and brick from the walkways of an old Richmond school.

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As with any Southern garden, the summer's heat can be a challenge, but the family has made adjustments by incorporating shade, lattice, and other elements for comfort.

"You have to create a little oasis to get some relief from the sun," says Will. And the family, along with their cockapoo, Gretel, spend a lot of time in their garden oasis, enjoying dinner together often and using the lawn for entertaining.

Stick is most happy with a part of the garden that serves this purpose. The trellis enclosure creates a focal point and a roomlike space," he says. "The garden's hallways and rooms link it to the house in a graceful manner."

A livable area that functions as an extension of their house, Will's high-maintenance garden is just what he envisioned. "Gardening has always been a central part of my life," he says.

RESOURCES: Landscape architecture by Charles J. Stick, Landscape Architect, 434/296-1628. McKinnon and Harris (T), 804/358-2385, www.mckinnonharris.com.