6
COUNTRY GARDENS // FA LL 2019
PAGE.
DESIGN
NOTEBOOK
WRITTEN BY SAMANTHA S. THORPE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIE PASSANO
STYLED BY SUSAN APPLEGET HURST
a lot of upkeep. To help them create a plan, Keri and
Chris called in Shalae Larsen, principal landscape
architect with Io LandArch, who specializes in creating
historical and environmentally friendly landscapes.
“Keri and Chris were interested in a landscape that
was going to be sensitive to their Victorian Era home,
but they were also adamant about getting rid of all of
their useless lawn,” Larsen says.
IN
GOOD
TA S T E
Let your veggies and ornamentals star in a
front yard kitchen-garden plan that tastefully
plays up their best features.
Landscape architect
Shalae Larsen optimized
this extra-deep parking
strip, the prelude to
Keri Gibson and Chris
Orino’s front yard
garden. Larsen created
interest with a curving
design of bright-
green Pennisetum
‘Little Bunny’ grass,
blue fescue, and
‘Bronzeschleier’ tufted
hair grass.
F
ront yards are for more than grass. Think of
this sunny locale as a perfect place to raise
veggies and ornamentals in an eye-popping way.
Homeowners Keri Gibson and Chris Orino aspired
to something more imaginative than a lawn for their
1909 Victorian’s front yard in Salt Lake City. They
wanted a design that spoke to the home’s roots and was
compatible with Utah’s dry climate—without requiring
