In a Central West End enclave, good gardens make good neighbors

This mews garden, with form and texture driving the composition, demonstrates the owner’s refined and cultivated taste for the unusual. Dramatic views make the rooftop retreat an eye-opener. The key to its success? The resident gardener is Katherine McPheeters, a buyer for Bowood Farms.

 Low containers offer interest without distracting from the stunning view of The Chase Park Plaza. The color palette of the coleus combination references the hues of neighboring homes.

The custom-designed slatted fence affords both privacy and protection from winds that will occasionally whip across the rooftop. Columnar hornbeams (a staple of mews gardeners) form a short informal privacy hedge softened by the looser foliage of a sweet bay magnolia, a semi-evergreen native prized for its highly fragrant early-summer blooms. The view to the east is quieter but affords glimpses into the leafy checkerboard of the gardens below. 

Here, scale and proportion rule, with a pair of large faux-lead containers housing fringe trees, elegant natives, and spring bloomers. Color is used sparingly; the white petunias pack a punch, echoing the sugar-white Chase.

 On one side of the broad east-west axial path of crushed granite, wisteria is trained along mews garages. Across the way, clipped hornbeam hedges form green screens to protect the privacy of outdoor rooms.

Adrienne Davis, vice provost and William M. Van Cleve Professor at the Washington University School of Law, presides over a secluded vertical aerie. The domain, newly designed by The Plot Thickens, consists of several landings and two intimate “rooms.”

  In addition to wanting a garden refuge, Davis hoped to give her neighbors a pleasant sight. The result: an Escher-like design with plants, trees, hanging baskets, and window boxes.

An Instagram-worthy moment featuring a handful of fresh tomatoes, a glazed ceramic vessel, and a planted orchid is glimpsed by the kitchen door.

“Blue Daze” evolvulus is a sun-loving dazzler for pots and containers. 

The homeowners, who have bona fide green-thumb credentials, engaged Cece Mulcahy of The Garden Works to define two spectacular and distinct areas. 

 The long and narrow east garden is shaded by 100-year-old trees and imbues the property with tranquility. It’s also home to a plethora of flowering shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers. 

Visitors enter through a tiny, densely planted courtyard on an intricately patterned path; this leafy prologue is meant to take time. A dramatic urn, an elaborate period gate, the drama of arrival all in one small space. 

 Tucked in but not hemmed in, and surrounded by looming architecture, this folly pool is like a designer dog with a big bark.

A birds’-eye view of the Mediterranean-inspired pool garden sets the stage. The effect of this garden relies on elaborate hardscaping and paving, the use of tiles, a new stucco wall, and period garden furniture and ornaments, plus pots with patina. 

In this charming, mature garden clipped hornbeams encircle a classic lawn oval. Homeowner Paula Abboud and her young grandchildren love to spend time in this sunny, inviting greenspace, which Abboud created by adhering to the implicit “mews formula” of green partitions.

Abboud relaxed the rules by forgoing the use of walls, fences, and locked gates. She favored lawn over hardscape, and on a hot summer day the green ellipse is a haven—a dose of suburbia in an urban oasis. Bountiful hydrangea blooms add a splash of pastel color to what is primarily a green garden. On the opposite side, a red dissectum Japanese maple adds a touch more color. 

Without being fussy or particularly manicured, the Abbouds’ carefree garden satisfies on every level, and nature is always hard at work—which pretty much sums up the entire verdant jigsaw of this mews community. 

Here, a vigorously climbing hydrangea scrambles over a trellis. Some of the architectural underpinnings require disguise, and this perennial vine does the job nicely. 

Talk about the intersection of pattern on pattern: A whirl of hosta leaves, flagstones, brick stairs, and an iron railing make up this dynamic spot.