Landscaping a Special Home

The green-thumb minds behind the 417 Idea Home’s landscaping discuss the project and offer advice for folks seeking landscaping services.

Tracy Boyce owns Elite Landscapes LLC, and Brent Crawford is general manager of the Branson-based company. When signing on to the 417 Idea Home project, they faced a number of challenges in the landscaping area: A hallmark project, a large residential ¾-acre lot in an unusual shape that abuts a very special golf course… and, most importantly, the expectation from the homeowners, Marc and Petie Williams, that the house should have a Mediterranean landscape. As the project takes shape, challenges have turned into creative opportunities.

Q. Can you talk about your experiences working with the 417 Idea Home owners to create a landscape for this project?

Brent: They were actually wanting a Mediterranean design to go with the look of the house. That, in itself was a challenge on this project. In southwest Missouri, you can’t grow cactus, palms, that sort of thing the way you could in Phoenix, Arizona, or the Mediterranean.

Q. What were some ways you adapted Mediterranean landscaping for a Branson location?

Brent: We’re using no mulch in front of the house. It’s pretty arid and Mediterranean at the front of the house, using gravels. We’ve used some 
Mediterranean and Italian plants  like emerald arborvida. [Editor’s note: That’s a cedar-like shrub that’s tall, pointy, and in every Italian-vineyard movie you’ve ever seen.]

Q. What about the back of the house?

Brent: We’re trying to tie in what’s naturally there with the golf course to the landscape of the house.

Tracy: We tried to explain [to Marc and Petie Williams, homeowners] that a total Mediterranean look would stick out. We’re tying it all together and still giving them the look they want.

Q. How does that work?

What is the Idea Home? 417 Magazine and 417 Home found a team of the brightest to build a dream home in Branson Hills. The concept is to construct a house in which subcontractors apply the latest technology, use the best products and apply the utmost creativity. We call it the 417 Idea Home. When it’s all said and done in summer 2008, Marc and Petie Williams will just call it home. You can see the finished product at a home tour to benefit Skaggs Foundation and the Ozarks Regional YMCA. (The tour is August 21-24 and 28-31; Thursdays and Sundays, noon–6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.) For more info, visit 417homemagazine.com.

Tracy: The golf course is actually doing their slopes and fairways in wildflowers, and we’re going to tie onto those.

Brent: We’re going to have sod line right up to these wildflower areas in the back of the house. It’s like bringing the golf course up into their yard. And we’ll have some of the Ozarks theme going on with some maple trees. As you fade away from the sides of the house, where it will be really Mediterranean, the plants start going back to native [southwest Missouri species]. There will be a lot of trees framing the house in that way.

Q. If you’re interested in updating your landscape, what are some things to consider before working with a landscaper?

Tracy: In a nutshell, know your budget, find a reputable company, and go into it with an idea of what you want and work with someone who knows the plants.

Q. It sounds like homeowners should do a little research before talking to landscapers. Is that what I should do if I want a special kind of garden, say, a Mediterranean landscape or an eco-friendly low-water landscape?

Brent: Well, the average person doesn’t know plants, so you’ve got to listen to what they know, what they’ve seen. People bring in pictures from Southern Living… but none of it grows here. But then we at least know the look that a homeowner wants. That’s where you start. You explain what alternatives are: This would be an alternative with this plant.

Tracy: I do think sometimes when people do research, they don’t fully understand what they’re doing. I know I’ve been guilty of that. I like this plant; I like that plant. But you have to understand the climate.

Brent: But go ahead and bring in pictures. Think of it as not looking at specifics. If you like it, that’s good enough; then the designer knows the look you like.