WARM GROUND
Along the fairway in Sawgrass Country Club, Warm Ground reorganizes an exposed property into a landscape defined by enclosure, geometry, and material warmth.
Following a comprehensive interior renovation, the homeowners sought to bring equal clarity and comfort to the exterior. Though the property enjoys expansive golf course views, the outdoor spaces felt stark and undefined - particularly the side yard, which functions as the primary living area and sits tightly between the neighboring home and the fairway beyond. The challenge was to introduce intimacy without sacrificing openness.
Visibility within the community required careful coordination and documentation to support Architectural Review Board approval. Every structural and planting decision needed to feel cohesive within its architectural context.
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Residential
As featured in Martha Stewart Living
Process:
Full Garden Renovation
Partners:
Theodore Contractors
Sutherlin Lawn and Landscape
Concrete Commander
Photography:
Polina Pigulevsky Photography
The front yard, previously an uninterrupted lawn, lacked distinction. Its edges dissolved into neighboring properties, offering little sense of ownership or invitation. A gravel courtyard enclosed by a tailored podocarpus hedge now establishes a defined threshold. Native Eagleston hollies soften the adjacent wall, while hand-selected coquina boulders introduce texture and permanence.
At the center of the courtyard, a Bismarck palm anchors the composition. Its broad, sculptural canopy brings immediate scale and presence, transforming the front yard from a pass-through space into a lived environment. What was once transitional is now intentional - a place for morning coffee, evening wine, and easy conversation with neighbors passing by. Potted citrus reinforce the Mediterranean undertone while offering seasonal fragrance and personal character.
Along the side yard, the landscape unfolds as a sequence of outdoor rooms. A custom kitchen with integrated high-top seating anchors one end of the space. Opposite, a modern stucco fireplace serves as both focal point and wind buffer, tempering breezes that move through the corridor. Overhead, a powder-coated aluminum pergola with cantilevered slats introduces rhythm and filtered shade.
Rather than replace recently installed pavers, selective edits carved out planting beds to soften the perimeter walls. In front of the fireplace, paving was removed to create a new living terrace composed of geometric salt-finished concrete pads with artificial turf joints. The interplay of mineral surface and green infill introduces warmth and contrast, subtly echoing the fairway beyond.
Planting reinforces a restrained palette of green, white, and silver. Containers frame the fireplace. White muhly grass introduces movement at the edge of the course. Curved native sabal palms lend vertical scale and converse with a neighboring palm beyond the property line, extending the visual composition outward.
In the rear garden, dense pineapple guava establishes privacy and depth, while a triple ribbon palm provides sculptural emphasis.
Warm Ground now reads as layered and grounded - a series of outdoor rooms anchored by material richness and defined by the quiet confidence of structure.
