Outdoor Living in Mt. Lookout
A new lease on an underutilized backyard: A Mt. Lookout family enjoys a new hardscape patio and native plant-centric landscape design (Our Land Organics design and installation)
When the Our Land Organics team met with a client from Cincinnati’s Mt. Lookout neighborhood, they were eager to get more use out of their backyard. They hoped to create a private destination spot that enhanced the underutilized yard’s aesthetic appeal, deepened their closeness with the natural world, and improved their views from inside the house.
While they had a fair amount of room in their backyard, they weren’t sure how to turn it into a welcoming, usable space. They also wanted a landscape design centered around native plants, but the land beyond their deck was filled with invasive honeysuckle and weeds. Adding to the challenge? The backyard’s hilly, uneven terrain.
Luckily, we love a good challenge.
Instead of a weedy hillside, the family now enjoys views of a cohesively designed backyard that invites relaxation and time spent with nature
New hardscaping and beautiful, pollinator-attracting plants invite family and guests into the backyard
The Our Land Organics team set out to transform the backyard into a functional, inviting, and serene outdoor living space using the power of a landscape design that centered around hardscaping. Our project objectives:
Enhanced aesthetic appeal: Transforming the uninviting hillside covered in honeysuckle and weeds into an aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space.
Functional improvement: Creating a private and comfortable patio area under the tree canopy, replacing an underutilized and mosquito-prone section of the yard.
Integration with nature: Surrounding the patio with native-centric plantings to enhance natural beauty and provide a tranquil environment.
The flagstone patio and natural boulder wall create an organic relaxation space that seamlessly integrates with the native plantings around it
We began by designing and installing a flagstone patio with plenty of room for a large firepit and comfortable seating for the family and guests. Matching stone stairs connect the patio to the existing deck, linking the two spaces and effectively doubling the family’s outdoor living space.
Next order of business? Seamlessly integrating the new hardscape into the broader landscape design.
We installed a natural boulder retaining wall to frame the patio, control the backyard’s slope, and reduce erosion. Then we planted a variety of native plants that will create a tranquil environment and thrive in the backyard’s shady conditions.
Instead of a wall of invasive honeysuckle, the understory now features native plants (including paw-paws!) and room to explore
The family enjoys a deeper connection with nature simply by spending time in their freshly designed backyard