The Oval Garden at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C.
This project included the design and development of a shrubbery garden and greensward to complement the 1893 Queen Anne-style Vice-Presidential mansion. The scope included the rehabilitation of a neglected and underutilized “victory garden” into a greensward and garden with the ability to accommodate this historic property’s ceremonial and programmatic needs.
A central elliptically-shaped lawn encircled with cherry trees is evocative of DC’s well known landscape features. The distilled and classic style of the garden is punctuated with sitting areas paved with salvaged flagstone found on the site. Teak benches with Chippendale fretwork seatbacks – modelled after the 18th century garden settee found on an historic plantation in Almodington, Virginia – allude to this region’s rich and eclectic cultural heritage.