Formal landscaping with sculptured shrubs and clearly defined borders often suggests rigorous maintenance, requiring time and effort. But when establishing their landscape in a new house in 2007, Mike and Diane Brucato decided to choose simplicity as their ally in achieving an attractive front yard which also handles rainwater runoff efficiently. The Brucato home at the intersection of Stagecoach Trail and Summit Ridge pairs neatly clipped shrubs and a small turf lawn edged with large boulders beside rock paving and gravel ground cover. A healthy motte of oak trees divides the lawn from plantings near the house and ensures privacy for residents.
Plants grow and change over time, but Mike Brucato has clear expectations of how to manage a developing landscape. The original boxwoods in an area near the entry may have started out as small separate shrubs, but now stand shoulder to shoulder yet still trimmed as individuals, offering reliable green even in winter months. Showy red berries on nandina shrubs in a raised planting area next to the house, are kept trimmed below window level and provide welcome bright color on gray days. Level ground next to the house is covered with small gravel, which contrasts with a larger rock mulch around the oak trees edged with larger stones.
