The Big Bang Theory
Deer love to bed down for the night in Alissa and Lawrence Winkler’s heavily treed 2.8-acre Potomac property, with as many as 30 sleeping there at a time. Lawrence, CEO of Consolidated Green Services in Bethesda, loves the privacy of their large backyard, which borders the C&O National Park. But the couple wanted a more family-friendly gathering place.
“What we wanted to achieve was a very whimsical, family-oriented backyard where we could see everything,” says Alissa, a busy mom and active volunteer. “We wanted to be able to keep an eye on the kids from every vantage point.” The Winklers have two children, Marielle, 5, and Preston, 6, and two Labrador retrievers.
They began their makeover by building a pool and a surrounding garden. Constructing the pool required digging through 14 feet of landfill to reach solid ground. Built by Alpine Pool & Design in Annandale, Va., the pool is supported by 32 helical piers, 8-inch-diameter, corrosive-resistant, steel screw-like “legs” that reach from a slab built just under the pool down through the landfill to solid ground, creating a self-sustaining structure. The surrounding stonework was designed to adjust, not crack, as the pool settles. “The engineering plans alone took about two years to develop,” Alissa says. Once the plans were drawn, construction began.
The couple initially thought they’d stop with the pool. But “once you start, it just grows,” Alissa says.
The tree line began right where the pool ended. The couple cleared trees and brush, bringing in more than 1,000 truckloads of soil to plant a lawn adjacent to the pool. The grassy area opens up the yard and provides space for the kids and dogs to play.
The pool itself provides a striking focal point for the yard, as well as a gathering place for children and adults. Surrounding it are a variety of plants—mostly deer-resistant—and a number of specimen trees such as river birch, pink crape myrtle, styrax and cryptomeria. The Winklers worked with landscape designer Joseph Hafner of Fine Earth Landscape in Poolesville to create the Landscape Contractors Association (LCA) award-winning retreat, which was finished in 2008. 
The landscaping around the pool is done inside raised stone beds, which tie in with the stone on the house. Hafner tackled the deer problem by incorporating deer-resistant plants and shrubs into the garden, using those with decorative foliage for contrast such as barberry, itea, spirea and a variety of grasses. “When you’re working with deer-resistant plantings, it’s very hard to get color,” Alissa says. “But we were able to achieve very pretty color, and all the plants bloom twice a year.”
Perennials include Russian sage, salvia, coreopsis, monarda and black-eyed Susan. “It is a loose, whimsical garden,” Hafner says. He brought in 80 cubic yards of topsoil and organic compost to amend the existing soil. The result is a profusion of grasses and perennials that looks more established than its two years.
Alissa wanted a touch of formality and chose to border the garden with boxwoods. When they are mature enough, she can trim them into a formal hedge.
In addition to deer, the Winklers had drainage issues. “We carry all of the water that comes down the hill and deposits in the creek behind our house,” Alissa says. The new lawn helps absorb some of the runoff and prevent erosion. One happy consequence of the runoff is a new border of moisture-loving “Endless Summer” hydrangeas, Alissa’s favorite flower, planted along the perimeter of the backyard. Though hydrangeas are not deer-resistant, Hafner suggested surrounding them with deer-resistant plants to deter the animals.
They also planted 20 specimen trees—dogwood, redbud, cherry and sourwood—around the property to create an understory of trees within the existing treeline.
Lawrence especially appreciates the colorful blooms and foliage of the trees. “It’s like our little heaven,” he says.
Small is Beautiful
A few years ago, Todd Perkins and Megan Leone-Perkins were so unhappy with their backyard, they were ready to move from their English Village home in Bethesda.
At just 2,000 square feet, the yard featured two awkward sets of “ugly wood” steps, as Todd describes them. One went from the house to the backyard; the other, to a stepping-stone path leading to the detached garage. The “deck” was little more than a landing with no roomto sit. Though they had added a patio, it wasn’t enough.
In 2007, the couple put their house on the market. “But it was just a horrible market, and we didn’t want to leave the neighborhood,” says Todd, a D.C.-based dermatologist. So “we decided to stay here and do something with what we had.”
In 2008, the Perkinses hired Botanical Decorators in Olney. Their goal: an outdoor living area.
Todd wanted a screened-in porch with landscaping around it. However, Montgomery County regulations prohibited the couple from adding another connected roof structure to their home. Still, “we wanted someplace where we can go outside and have an oasis in the summertime…,” Todd says. “When I pull into my home, I want to feel like I’m pulling into the Four Seasons.”
Landscape architect Steve Wlodarczyk initially incorporated the couple’s existing patio into a plan, then came up with a better idea. “We’re going to pull up what you already built and re-do everything,” he told them. By the following summer, 
the Perkinses had their dream backyard.
After Wlodarczyk tore out the back patio, one staircase and existing landscaping, he installed an 18-by-15-foot pergola on a 45-degree angle. “[The angle] gives an illusion of space,” Wlodarczyk says. An evergreen tree planted in the back corner at the rear of the pergola draws the eye out even farther. The pergola holds ample seating for the family to entertain friends and enjoy the outdoor fireplace and sound system.
An adjacent patio provides space for a grill and table and chairs, where the family can dine outside.
A key sculptural element is a large urn on a stately pedestal that holds an array of bright, annual blooms each season. The couple loves the “self-sustaining” perennials that bloom each season. Astilbe, lady’s mantle and moonshine yarrow provide color, and a sweet bay magnolia near the pergola lends fragrance all summer.
Wlodarczyk changed the focus out back from the garage to the yard by rerouting the staircase from the family room. The stairs led to the garage and a highly trafficked landing where grass wouldn’t grow. Now, a gently curving stone terrace with a custom railing boasts enough space for a bistro table, and the stairs lead straight into the backyard. Two Adirondack chairs sit on a round patio directly outside the garage.
“This is a good example of an urban garden where space is at a limited premium,” Wlodarczyk says. “It really does come down to the level of detail, because you’re right on top of it.” The attention to detail paid off with a 2009 LCA award.
The only thing the new yard doesn’t have? Grass. “This was going to be a different kind of backyard for the family,” says Megan, who owns Professions Research Inc., a market research firm based in Bethesda. But “it’s still very family friendly.” She says her daughters, Kayla, 9, and Ella, 5, love their new backyard. “We come out and we sit on the couches, we have s’mores and put the music on.”
A water feature in the shape of a bright blue urn gently bubbles as Todd drives up from work, drawing his eye from the garage to the living area.
“I feel like I’m coming home to a spa,” he says.
Karen A. Watkins is a contributing editor for Bethesda Magazine.
