John Randal McDonald Inspired Landscape - Racine, WI
2019 Gold Award - Excellence in Residential Landscape Design and Construction
Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association
2020 Silver Award - Residential Design
Association of Professional Landscape Designers
This historically significant home in Racine, Wisconsin, designed by architect John Randal McDonald, received a complete landscape makeover. Our design incorporates wedge-shaped concrete walks, patios, and planting beds that honor the home’s mid-century modern style.
Historically, the home was the second for McDonald’s family and had suffered from years of neglect. Once the interior was restored by our clients, attention turned to the surrounding landscape. In the front yard, we installed a linear concrete walk with shifting wedge-shaped panels separated by beach pebble runnels, echoing the roofline of the home. Some existing stone steps were reused, and a low Tennessee sandstone retaining wall defines the driveway edge. Autumn moor grass, mixed perennials, and shrubs occupy the wedge-shaped plant beds.
To connect the front yard to the back, a walk-through garden of grasses and long-blooming perennials was created in an overgrown, under-utilized space. A new masonry retaining wall and steps with matching Tennessee stone elevate the garden above the new patio, integrating with an existing wing wall.
The backyard patio was re-graded to correct drainage and create proper pitch. The concrete patio continues the wedge motif of the front walk, with a semi-circle cutout honoring a shallow pond from the original patio. Wedge-shaped planting beds surround the patio, featuring a focal magnolia and a linear grouping of moor flame molinia. Beach pebbles highlight ornamental grasses, while slate chips provide contrast and functional coverage under roof overhangs. Border plantings and subtle landscape lighting complete the design.
The landscape now feels original to the home, reflecting sensitivity to its historical significance, and was completed just under the client’s targeted budget of $50,000.
