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A garden in Riverwoods, Illinois, was expanded to 24,000 square feet when its owners bought the neighboring property and joined it to their existing landscape. The Outside Design Studio and En Masse Architecture & Design created an Italian-countryside-inspired garden shaped around the wooded site, with a kitchen garden, greenhouse and pavilion.
A 24,000-square-foot garden in Riverwoods, Illinois, brings together an Italian-countryside-inspired design, a productive kitchen garden and a working greenhouse while responding to its woodland setting, according to a report by Homes and Gardens. The landscape was designed by The Outside Design Studio with interior architect En Masse Architecture & Design, after the homeowners bought a neighboring property and incorporated it into land they had tended for more than 30 years.
The owners wanted a home and landscape enveloped in greenery, with garden views from the windows, Homes and Gardens reported. Adding the neighboring parcel expanded the property and gave the designers space to connect existing garden areas with new outdoor rooms. The resulting layout combines a romantic rustic Italian influence with practical areas for growing food and working with plants.
To link the two parcels, the design team extended the driveway into a loop through the grounds, following the terrain. Existing boulders and bluestone thresholds informed the materials palette: bluestone continues across the property, while details in the garden beds, fences, gates and pergola echo the main house. Cedar used at the home’s entry is repeated in the pergola, which frames a terracotta planter as a focal point.
Planting combines structure with seasonal change. The report identifies Hydrangea macrophylla, Allium ‘Summer Beauty’ and Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ among the selected plants. Beyond the pergola, neutral gravel and subtle fencing define a vegetable and fruit garden with raised beds. The greenhouse, designed by En Masse, includes custom metalwork, a stone sink and cast-concrete potting benches; it can also be used as a dining space. A pavilion at the garden’s edge provides tool storage and a place to sit.
How the Garden Uses Its Woodland Site
The project’s defining feature is not simply its Italian-inspired look, but the way that look is fitted to an existing wooded property. The looping drive, repeated bluestone and plant structure help connect old and new sections instead of treating the added land as a separate garden. That approach gives readers a concrete example of how a residential landscape can gain usable space without abandoning the character of its site.
The layout also gives the garden more than a decorative role. The raised beds support food growing, the greenhouse accommodates propagation and other horticultural work, and the pavilion offers storage as well as a resting place. These uses make the landscape part of the homeowners’ day-to-day routine, rather than a setting intended only to be viewed.
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From Two Parcels to One Garden
The homeowners had tended their original property for more than three decades before buying the neighboring parcel. They then folded it into the established landscape, creating the reported 24,000-square-foot site. The report describes the expansion as part of the couple’s plans for a new stage of life, but does not provide a date for the purchase or explain whether the work was completed all at once.
The project involved landscape architecture by The Outside Design Studio and interior architecture by En Masse Architecture & Design. Pappas Company handled landscape construction, according to the report. Photographs are credited to Scott Shigley and John Boehm. The published account presents the property as a private residential garden, not a public attraction.
raised garden beds for vegetables and fruit
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Details the Report Does Not Give
The Homes and Gardens account does not state when the design and construction took place, how long the work lasted or what it cost. It also gives no details about the property’s acreage before the neighboring parcel was added, so the scale of the expansion cannot be calculated from the published total alone.
The report describes the greenhouse’s possible uses and the plants selected, but does not provide maintenance requirements, growing results or a full planting plan. It is also unclear whether the garden is open to visitors; the account describes it as a private sanctuary. These details should not be inferred from the design description or photographs.
greenhouse potting bench with sink
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No Public Opening Announced
The source report describes the garden as an existing private landscape and does not announce a public opening, future construction phase or upcoming event. No next milestone is specified. Any further information about access, project timing or later changes would need to come from the homeowners, designers or a subsequent report.
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Key Questions
Where is the garden?
It is on a private property in Riverwoods, Illinois, according to the Homes and Gardens report. The account does not provide a street address or say that the site is open to visitors.
How large is the expanded garden?
The report gives the expanded site’s area as 24,000 square feet. It says the owners reached that total after buying and incorporating a neighboring property.
Who designed the landscape?
The Outside Design Studio worked on the landscape with En Masse Architecture & Design, which the report identifies as the interior architect. Pappas Company is credited with landscape construction.
What features does the garden include?
Reported features include a looping driveway, bluestone elements, a cedar pergola, a terracotta planter, raised vegetable and fruit beds, a greenhouse and a pavilion. The greenhouse is described as both a horticultural workspace and a potential dining space.
Is the garden open to the public?
The source describes it as a private outdoor sanctuary and does not announce public access. Readers should not assume it can be visited without permission.
Source: rss
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