DRUMLIN HOUSE
High on the back of an old glacial drumlin, where ice once sculpted the earth into long slow swells, there is a house, a studio, and a garden…
Built | Germantown, NY | 2025
Client: Private
Collaborator:
Architect: Cordero Pardee [CoPa]
Landscape Contractor: Phantom Gardeners
Born from close collaboration with the architect, the clients who are both painters, and the contractor, Drumlin Garden reimagines a predominantly lawn-covered suburban site as a vibrant, ecologically rooted landscape. Perched on the long back of a glacial drumlin, the house, a newly built studio, and an old garage stand as steady companions. Between them, the garden comes alive with color, texture, and the pulse of the seasons. A meadow wraps around the front and north perimeter; in the back, richly planted beds frame a central lawn for gathering and play. Smaller spaces for alfresco dining, quiet seating, wandering, and contemplation weave through the ground between the house and studio.
Beneath the mature maple, a winding stone path cuts through a shaded woodland understory of heuchera, sedges, and spring ephemerals to connect the domestic and creative realms. Elsewhere, the native planting palette translates the clients’ paintings into joyous living color: red columbine wavering delicately in spring; yellow St. John’s-wort drawing hordes of bumblebees in summer; and purple asters mingling with the blazing orange foliage of amsonia in autumn.
