Riverfront

Outdoor living room.

These long time Bend residents have a charming home on the Deschutes River. They recently acquired an adjacent lot that needed to be integrated into their existing site. This residence has a distinctive Italian character. The new outdoor living space needed to reflect this European flavor and merge with the established landscape.

Sandy worked with a local landscape architect in the early conceptual phases of this design. Our landscape designer, Angie Snell, refined the design and elaborated on the details of construction.

The grotto influenced head falls of the water feature spill into the unique steel runnel. The water gently spills into the lower pool where it swirls around the custom natural gas firepit.

This project is the result of collaboration between many different contractors: building, roofing, plumbing, electrical, and landscape.

Suburban Simplicity

Back yard planting.

Response To Nature worked with this couple to phase in their landscape improvements over a two year period. The first phase included rennovations and additions to the front and side yards. In the second phase of installation, we replace a small concrete slab patio with this attractive paver patio. Also included in phase two was the recirculating urn water feature and a fun plant pallet that the deer can’t get to in this private, fenced back yard.

Resort Living

Paver patio.

When a couple moves from the lush Portland landscape that they created to the high desert in Sisters, Oregon they want a hint of home in their new yard. Expansive green lawn is a key element in their landscape. Children, grandchildren, and their golden retriever will enjoy recreating on the big open lush emerald lawn. Groups of deciduous trees make a parklike setting. Private intimate garden and patio places become essential to this couple’s lifestyle. 

Upon entering the front enclosed courtyard, the sound of water flowing from the mossy volcanic boulder waterfall pulls with amazing sound. RTN enlarged the paver walkway into two patios flanking both sides of the front door. The owners often enjoy this courtyard on their patio furniture, sip coffee and listen to the waterfall and watch the birds in the new habitat. 

Another treat created by the RTN team is the secret garden with pavers and raised boulder planting areas to grow vegetables, blueberries, and cutflowers. Out back is an alpine perennial garden in the rockery next to a circular paver patio that has been enlarged to accommodate an outdoor dining table. The view from this patio of a big pond with native and golden willows growing on an island is outstanding! Everywhere you look there is jaw dropping views created by our team.

Peak-A-View

Central Oregon residence.

This couple had been part-time residents of Central Oregon for many years and have now retired here. Their lovely home was intended to look like it was set down in the undisturbed native landscape. We had fun creating the cascading water feature down to the reflecting pool, several stone slab steps to ease the transition to the various outdoor living spaces, and flagstone and crushed gravel circulation routes.

The clients enjoy great views but also spending time in their high desert landscape. We constructed a wood chip path that winds throughout their property, raised beds for select vegetable and perennials gardening, and an official horseshoe pit.

Rural Estate

Recreational & irrigation pond with sandy beach.

Perched on a hillside, this home has amazing views of the snow-capped Central Oregon Cascades Mountains. The house sits on top of a rock outcropping that sets the stage for dramatic landscape features.

Response To Nature was initially brought on board to integrate the hot tub with the native stone outcropping it was nestled into. Our working relationship broadened to restoring other terrain that was disturbed during home construction. As part of the restoration process, we installed an alpine rock garden that now provides a kaleidoscope of color spilling from the foundation of the house.

We took the alpine garden to another level by constructing a water feature. The house appears to have been built around this feature, which cascades down through the alpine garden, meanders across a grassy meadow, and splashes into a large, blue pond. The pond features a signature Response To Nature beach that is reminiscent of the Mediterranean. Secluded by large boulder walls, the beach is easily accessible by stone slab steps that we integrated into the hillside.

As this landscape matures, the client’s garden sculptures provide added interest and personal character.

Cabin in the Woods

Rustic cabin in the woods.

Located near Sisters, this long-time family vacation get-a-way needed updates before hosting a wedding in July of 2009. Improvements included renovating the outdoor living spaces to include the buffet counter adjacent to the grill, a pool with water feature near the deck, adding some lawn for the kids to play in, and native woodland plantings through out.

The cabin provides an opportunity to commune with nature and family, as well as an excellent escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Treehouse

Progress of grading of natural landscape.

Response to Nature, Inc. enhanced this already exceptionally composed native landscape that surrounds the charming treehouse perched in the big Ponderosa Pines. Starting with the natural bluestone slab steps with places to pause and listen to the sound of water on this natural stone trail. Then upon entering the treehouse you will hear the dramatic sounds of water emerging and crashing onto the volcanic rock and splashing into the natural curving stream. The stream with its so subtle curves cascades over native rock falls and into a punctuated riparian pond.

Interpreting nature, our team installed mossy, native boulder outcroppings and retaining walls that seamlessly connect with the existing boulderscape.

Sisters Residence

Sisters Small Space-paver driveway border to widen radius, pergola to give shade to outdoor living area, curb appeal planting with Mugho Pine, Bristlecone Pine.

Moving from a neighborhood with substantially sized lots and lots of maintenance, this client wanted functional outdoor rooms with easy maintenance. Our lead designer created an outdoor living room with an arbor that integrates with the architectural aesthetics, privacy, and dog fencing to keep their dog, in, a circulating basalt column water feature that is a focus for the outdoor living room and creates beautiful sound, contemporary big square pavers for dining, and a firepit. Despite its smallness, every bit of the property is designed with detail and functionality in mind. Our team also enlarged the width of the driveway to allow for a wider turning radius and incorporated gray basalt boulders to retain a planting area that would otherwise remain a nondescript area.