A myrtle-lined front walkway, shaded by California oak trees, leads to a gracious wraparound porch and a classic custom-built front door. The picture-perfect scene is complete with oversized, lantern-style hanging lights that run the length of the porch and brighten the entire corner as the sun sets. "In a town like this, people are always walking down the sidewalks...and a front porch is very much about community and conversation," house planner Jack Thomasson says. "It's very appropriate to have a house like this, on this corner with the mature trees out front that contribute to the historical feel of the house."

Oak trees, which grow on the town side of the sidewalk, create a perfect frame for this Victorian-style farm house. "They are very close to the road and very close to the sidewalk, so we had to be particularly careful during construction not to impact the root system," says Jack. "We want to protect them as much as the town wanted to protect them. I think it's a really fortunate thing that they are a part of what we have created here."

Dramatic Grecian-style cement urns, which flank the gracious front porch steps, overflow with drought-resistant plants, including pansies, coral bells, Vinca major 'Variegata' and purple feather grass.

Plantings in the front yard as well as the fescue grass were chosen for their tolerance to both shade and drought. Foundation plantings include rhododendrons, spring-blooming Daphne, hydrangeas, Breath of Heaven and Japanese anemone. The bed that greets passersby mirrors the foundation beds and includes pyrus, grasses, flowering tobacco, sage and pansies.