A master planning process helps a family to better understand their land while creating a beautiful, comfortable, holistic home.
Private Residence, Groton, MA
Across New England, dense forest has been cleared to make space for houses, often leaving an uncomfortably abrupt edge in the landscape. Hoping to soften this impact, a family in Groton approached RDG to help improve their home experience and design a holistic living landscape. The design, implemented over several years, includes an outdoor kitchen, a revised driveway alignment, a softened transition from yard to forest, and a low-maintenance landscape.
RDG worked closely with the landowner to refine goals and conduct a thorough site analysis. This work informed a conceptual master plan and the final construction documents, planting plans, and long-term management guidelines. In keeping with the holistic approach to the project, our team looked beyond the property boundaries for opportunities to connect to, and improve, the wider landscape. The surrounding wetlands and forests, although fragmented, informed plant choices, habitat improvements, and land management recommendations throughout the process.
Key Features
- Outdoor kitchen
- Annual vegetable gardens
- Rainwater collection
- Pond
- Enhanced wildlife habitat along the forest edge
Services Provided
- Goals definition
- GIS and hand-rendered maps
- Site analyses
- Schematic site plan
- Detailed planting plan
I want the landscape to feed me and refresh me and entertain me, and make me proud to share it.
Holistic Home Client
