APLD ~ APLD Members ~ Member of the Month

APLD Members ~ Member of the Month

Mark Voelkel, APLD

Prioritizing overall expanded entertaining space, the Bethesda, Maryland homeowners listed a "large water feature", a pool and pool house, a generous patio, a sport court, and sufficient play space for their children, all amid lush planting, as requirements for their landscape. In addition, the water feature had to align with the axis of the front door, providing a view that on entering the house, would draw the eye directly to the rear garden.

With about an acre of space, the challenge in meeting these requirements lay with the rugged terrain-rising more than 11 feet toward the rear property line and falling about four feet to the nearest level area. Tree removal, a series of retaining walls, surface drains, and drain tiles in the lawn and the patios were necessary and resulted in creating several unique areas, framed by lush planting.

Around the swimming pool, planting pockets and several arbors nicely frame the view past the Tennessee sandstone patio surfaces and provide shade on the pool deck.

The project was completed just prior to Memorial Day of 2004 when the owners and their many friends, family, and colleagues celebrated the opening of the new garden. The pool house, designed by the architects of their home, is close to completion.

This large project has been well received, culminating in a number of referrals from the owners and a go-ahead to begin a transformation of the front of the residence sometime in late summer or early fall.

About the designer: Mark Voelkel, APLD, graduated in 1985 in Landscape Design from the University of Maryland. He began his career working as a Designer/Foreman with a Baltimore firm, where he learned to build decks, walls, ponds, install lighting, and design landscapes, etc., and gained invaluable field experience. Eleven years later, Mark started his own design business in the Annapolis area, working as an independent designer/subcontractor to landscape firms. In 2003, he joined Rolling Acres Landscaping and Nursery as a Designer, Salesman, and Project Manager.

Certified Members seeking to be profiled should send before and after photos with SHORT design intent statement to:

Bethany Dennis
APLD Communications Manager
Email: communications@apld.org
Phone: 717-238-9780

* PHOTOS SHOULD BE CLEAR COLOR PRINTS OR JPEG COMPRESSED FILES