Tour a Terraced Backyard That Delivers Outdoor Living Inspiration on Every Level

Caroline Ervin and her husband bought their 1930s brick home in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington, DC, in 1993. The rear property line sits nearly 35 feet above street level, and the backyard offered almost no flat ground for entertaining. Caroline, a landscape designer, turned that challenge into an opportunity.

She carved the hillside into a series of connected outdoor rooms: a fireplace patio, dining terrace, a vegetable and cutting garden and a potting shed built by her husband. The result, known as Hawthorne Garden, recently earned a spot in the Smithsonian's Archive of American Gardens. Read on to take the tour.

A wooden garden gate marks the entrance to Caroline's Palisades garden. Stepping stones cross a gravel path lined with cobalt blue planters, and string lights glow in the distance, offering the first glimpse of the outdoor rooms.

Caroline had solved this exact problem before for a client with similarly challenging topography, so she knew what her own hillside yard needed. Stacked stone retaining walls step up the slope in layers, softened by boxwood and flowering shrubs at each level, leading up to a pair of white Adirondack chairs tucked into the garden's upper reaches.

Caroline modified an existing retaining wall to build this stone fireplace, giving the patio a strong focal point, which is visible from the house and other parts of the garden. Cushioned sofas and chairs surround the hearth, with a firewood nook tucked into the base for easy access.

As dusk settles in, a crackling fire fills the herringbone hearth, casting a warm glow over the seating gathered around it. Built into the garden's terraced walls, the fireplace stays the space's clearest focal point, day or night.

A black metal table set with fresh blooms occupies its own terrace, just steps away from the fireplace patio, giving guests a separate but connected space for dining. It's the kind of outdoor room Caroline sees more clients asking for: an extention of the home into the yard for entertaining well past the summer months. Nearby, a small water feature adds sound to the garden and attracts birds and other wildlife.

The terrace dining area dials up or down for any occasion. Patterned linens, woven placemats and a low arrangement of dahlias and hydrangeas dress it up here, but the same setup works just as well for a quiet family dinner as it does for a full garden party.

As evening settles in, string lights and uplit trees carry the dining terrace past sunset, casting a soft glow over the space long after the sun goes down.

Rounded boxwoods and stone steps mark the entrance to Caroline's vegetable and cutting garden. The hedge keeps the space partly hidden from view, drawing visitors in rather than revealing everything at once.

Stone-edged beds hold panicle hydrangeas, dahlias and roses, with a metal obelisk marking the center of the cutting garden, part of Caroline's ongoing effort to fill the garden with more native plants. The lawn opens into a second bed of vegetables, tucked just beyond the flowers.

Stone steps lead up to a small clearing where two Adirondack chairs wait, tucked beside the house and framed by shrubs. It's a quiet perch, a place to pause between the garden's busier rooms.

Caroline's husband built this 6' x 6' potting shed, complete with a hip roof, glass French doors and a cupola topped with a weather vane. Tucked among the plantings, it holds tools, pots and supplies within easy reach of the garden beds.

Open doors reveal a chandelier, shelving and gardening supplies stocked from Caroline's shop, The Georgetown Garden Shop. High ceilings leave enough room to hang hydrangeas and roses to dry.

Just steps from the back door, the stone fireplace rises out of the terraced retaining walls that climb the property's steep slope. Potted topiaries and climbing vines soften the stonework at every level, easing the transition from house to hillside.