“The anti-trophy house” is what husband-and-wife architects Maria Berman and Brad Horn of Berman Horn Studio were aiming for when they overhauled the landscape surrounding their clients’ 19th century farmhouse in Columbia County, New York.
Over a period of three years, a quirky, charming garden took shape. Low stone retaining walls hold a hillside at bay without hiding the views beyond. Taking a cue from the remodel of the house (see the interiors today on Remodelista), “we embraced the awkward, the weird, even the cute,” says Berman.
“We were aiming for a modern interpretation of a country garden, kind of a mix of Gertrude Jekyll and Piet Oudolf (at least in our dreams), with soft sprawling romantic plantings that still retain some structural blocking of colors and shapes,” says Berman.
Photography by Rush Jagoe, courtesy of Berman Horn Studio.
![A split rail fence adds an air of modern informality to the \19th-century farmhouse\2\17;s facade, which is painted Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/clapboard-facade-split-rail-fence-columbia-county-house-berman-horn-studio-733x489.jpg)
![The front door paint color is Van Gogh Yellow by Fine Paints of Europe. \2\20;This color has really settled down over a couple of years,\2\2\1; says Berman. I miss its vibrancy, but it was such a statement when we first put it up. It probably took about a year for the clients to finally embrace it.\2\2\1;](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/yellow-door-columbia-county-ny-berman-horn-studio-733x771.jpg)
Plantings around the foundation of the 2,500-square-foot farmhouse include Hydrangea paniculata, which are “awesome blowsy shrubs” when interplanted with perennials such as the dusty purplish Sedum in the front of the garden bed.
![\2\20;The back garden was originally set into the slightly higher surrounding slope and retained with a single, not-very-nice stone wall,\2\2\1; says Berman. \2\20;We broke the wall up into several terraced planting beds and selected and planted perennials to get a cascade of color.\2\2\1;](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/retaining-walls-perennial-garden-beds-columbia-county-ny-berman-horn-studio-733x490.jpg)
On the master plant list: a variety of purple flowering plants, including the hazy swath of Russian sage at the edge of the stone retaining wall.
![Hydrangeas (L) and yellow Rudbeckia (R) that echoes the vibrancy of the yellow front door edge a path of stone pavers.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/clapboard-facade-hydrangeas-stone-pavers-columbia-county-ny-berman-horn-studio-733x1098.jpg)
“We were envisioning a slightly more modern take on a cottage garden, with the clean lines of the retaining steps holding in the generous sprawling and unruly plantings,” says Berman.
![\2\20;The Russian sage and grasses at the top of the retaining stairs create an edge of sorts to the lawn beyond, and make the paved terrace feel much more enclosed, but without the claustrophobic effect of higher retaining walls,\2\2\1; says Berman. \2\20;All the colors are quite soft, with occasional pops of acid green, or a hot pink or orange. Lots of dusty blues, lavenders, and yellows.\2\2\1;](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/patio-pavers-hydrangeas-outdoor-dining-russian-sage-hydrangeas-berman-horn-studio-733x489.jpg)
![One-of-a-kind vintage dining tables sit end to end on the patio.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/picnic-tables-columbia-county-berman-horn-studio-733x489.jpg)
![Easy-to-care-for perennials bloom from spring through autumn.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/patio-pavers-outdoor-dining-russian-sage-columbia-county-ny-berman-horn-studio-733x489.jpg)
![A row of perennial Little Blue Stem Grass serves as a backdrop to the purple Russian sage.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/patio-pavers-retaining-walls-grasses-russian-sage-outdoor-dining-columbia-county-ny-berman-horn-studio-733x1098.jpg)
![Hydrangea \2\16;Annabelle\2\17; will reach a height of 5 feet or more when the clumps mature.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hydrangeas-split-rail-fence-columbia-county-berman-horn-studio-733x1098.jpg)
![A bird\2\17;s nest on a windowsill.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/bird-nest-windowsill-columbia-county-ny-berman-horn-studio-733x489.jpg)
N.B.: This post is an update; it was first published September 2017.
See more of our favorite upstate New York landscape projects:
- Before and After: A Summer Porch Rehab in Upstate New York.
- Garden Visit: A Cook’s Garden in Upstate New York.
- Before & After: An “Ugly Duckling” Landscape Transformed, in NY’s Hudson Valley.
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