This new home was built in a revitalized area near downtown Charlotte. The homeowner thoughtfully asked the contractor to provide me a blank slate by not installing a sidewalk, foundation plantings or turf. I decided to speak to the architectural style of the home by using stone, gravel, ornamental grasses, conifers and a specimen Japanese maple to pull textures, hues and shapes from the home. Gravel replaces the predictable front lawn. We added berms to provide a third dimension, held back by boulders that became sculptural elements in their own rite.