LAURA S.D. GRELOCH

Project Works Sampling 2005 through 2010

But she had a down-to-earth hands-on style: “Her own experiences as a dirt gardener were the

foundation of her art”¹

Introduction: Inspiration, Intuition & Realization Slides: 3 - 6

Residential Projects: Bell Terre & Chipman House Slides: 7 - 28

Sustainable Foot Steps & Restorative Landscapes: Slides: 29 - 34

Bibliography: 1. Robin Karson founding director of the Library of American Landscape History of Ellen Biddle Shipman

2. Edith Wharton, Italian Villas and Their Gardens

3. Edith Wharton, Biography

4./ 4a. Reference Beatrix Farrand : Garden Refuge, Dumbarton Oaks Gardens, Harvard Magazine July-August 2012

5. David Bennett, Landscape Architect reflects on the work of Beatrix Jones Farrand

In Nature, there is detail, character and rhythm. On any given day, I am reminded by familiar striking beauty where I was the year before. The light, the air, a flower that has blossomed that was not there the day before, a fresh fragrance, the soft sounds of life humming, bring me home; ground me gently. The landscape in nature is to be admired, learned from, repeated.

INSPIRATION

She structured the gardens to “devolve” from formal and structured to progressively less

so as one moves downhill from the main house. As one enters the “wild,” less landscaped

portion, stone paths trail off abruptly into dirt or lawn. BLISS & FARRAND a

Indigenous elements fit

without question. Designed

and crafted to create age and

intentionally extend

architecture into the

landscape.

INTUITION

Learning by observation is gradual,

an experiment in practice, patience;

barring results initially

unpredictable.

A journey toward intuitive design is,

life-long in study, hugely gratifying;

satiating an audience with purpose

greater than oneself.

REALIZATION

Growing knowledge, as learning how to see, how to listen, thrives in commitment and in wonder. Talent lies idle with out expression and voice to a greater audience. Success is realized in opening new doors

and sharing vision.

Belle Terre Saucon Valley, Pennsylvania

- Benjamin L. Walbert: Architects & Planners

- Laura S.D. Greloch:

Landscape Architect & Projects Coordinator

- Lewis Brothers Construction:

Building Contractor & GC

- Creative Landscapes: Flat Work Subcontractor

- The Outdoor Room: Softscapes & Irrigation

“Gardens should be divided into rooms and planned in

concert with the house and the natural landscape.”²

Original

conceptual drawing

resulting in the award for

full- service design contract.

– AD Marker on Sepia–tone Diazo

Presentation Paper

NOTE: the original plan depicted a first generation pool design with natural features. A ha-ha

wall in lieu of required pool fence enclosure which offered an unobstructed view to the meadow

below and melded the living spaces to the site gracefully.

This working conceptual reveals a European Garden Style with formally aligned multi – level outdoor living

spaces. The heart-shaped garden to the left of the residence was an original 1940’s feature that was the only part

of the original landscape to be renovated as it was originally intended.

She used plants to create

“impressionistic” effects of texture

and color, and also was known for

creating outdoor “garden rooms,”

with “the idea of moving through

a landscape in a sequence, from

one space to another, where each

space has its own character,”

…“One space may be very shady

and enclosed, and you pass

through a hedge or a row of trees

or through an actual gate in a

wall to enter a very sunny and

open space.”³

Hand selected specimen

Pendulous Norway Spruce is

positioned into planting niche via

crane.

Fragrant culinary herbs are conveniently

incorporated into the landscape along the path just

outside the Manor-House Kitchen & adjacent to

outdoor dining space.

Design-build Detail for grill housing, set out for discussion with the masons.

Receiving Area and Barn Court Pavement Details.

Granite Belgium Block detailing, accents

the receiving area and barn court.

Chipman House Chipman Estate, Bethlehem Township,

Easton, Pennsylvania

-1870 Georgian Brick Architecture

- Penn Contractors, Kitchen Addition

- Laura S.D. Greloch, Landscape Architect, PM

- E.L.K. Masonry

- The Outdoor Room: Flatwork, Planting,

Irrigation & Lighting

Formal gardens in the European tradition, but

with a distinctively American flavor that

acknowledges their setting—are laid out as a

series of “garden rooms,” with walls formed by

trees in some cases, by terraces in others, with the

result that something new lurks around each twist

of the winding paths. One has the constant feeling

of going where one isn’t supposed to go—a place

this beautiful just can’t be open to the public.

THE DUMBARTON OAKS GARDENS

Working through

concepts.

Chipman House post addition, before site work.

Wharton believed that the design of a house should be treated architecturally and should honor the principles of proportion, harmony,

simplicity, and suitability. She thought gardens, too, should be architectural compositions.

Awkwardly sited this home sits a

mere 10’ off the road, is tight to

the property boundary and lacks

cohesiveness to its 3 acre open

landscape. A retaining wall was

necessary to extend architecture

into the property and create a

level outdoor living space

accessible to first floor grade of

the house.

Lighting Plan for Electrical & In-House Low-Voltage Installation

Sample Construction Details Sheet for Chipman House Project

Adaptation of sustainable

practices has made a difference

on residential scale projects.

Clients are open-minded where

they can recycle, utilize native

plantings along-side hybrids

and incorporate thorough bed

amendment in order to

conserve water and maximize

organic soil nutrients.

SUSTAINABILITY

Blue Wonder Cat Mint adjacent to Japanese Golden

Hakon-Grass create a soft foreground to the swing

and twig-sculpted tree in a photographer’s garden.

Invigorating Landscape Design for the Fragrance Manufacturing Company, Inc.

VARIETAL PLANTINGS Herbaceous plantings breath life into and are restorative to an otherwise predominantly static garden. Once

defined, the landscapes structure plantings may yield to perennials & grasses reflective of the designer’s

attentiveness to contrast in color, foliage seasonal characteristics. Appropriate spacing offers fast cover with

little room for weeds.

“ She had a strong appreciation for the natural character of the land and the appropriate way of integrating a designed “ DAVID BENNETT