HGTV Dream Home 2004: Landscape Pictures

"What we tried to create here is very simple," Peter says. "It's a simplicity that carries from the marsh up to the house - the use of grasses, the lawn area. In the backyard we used grass to link the back porch to the dock and create a sense of space. It's very casual and elegant. The ornamental grasses in the backyard complement the grasses in the marsh. When you look at the horizon, it's very simple, and we wanted to recreate the horizontal look." The dream landscape includes more than 4,000 plants (including 23 different varieties), 375 bales of pine straw and more than 15,000 square feet of St. Augustine sod. It took 200-plus hours to design and supervise the project, and 20 truckloads of soil to raise the front yard. 

"This is a place I could live in," says Peter. "You get the breezes, the salt from the marsh, the spectacular views, and this wonderful architecture that's been carefully positioned on the site to maximize the views."

With the simple, natural landscaping, the house, lawn and marsh come together as one. "The most important thing we try to do in our designs is create a sense of space and a place for the architecture. In this site, we have this beautiful marsh and beautiful house, so we wanted everything to blend together, to feel comfortable. It has the character and warmth a Dream Home should have."