Summer's Corner

Summerville, South Carolina

Summers Corner is described as a “Community in a Garden”. The entire place is thought of as a garden in the broadest sense of the word. A place in which the beauty of nature is always to be close at hand, the community has a sense of living amidst an abundant and productive garden. Each lot is an integral component of this 'garden' - a place connected to nature and displaying the remarkable character of the Low Country cultivated landscapes. There is an informal and relaxed quality to the Low Country gardens that puts the mind and ease and elevates the senses. The general design ethic is one of a timeless landscape style that seeks to unite the structure of the community with the fabric of nature. Forms should be inspired by place and history, yet whimsical and light. (The nearby towns of Summerville and Waterboro are good references for the Low Country garden aesthetic).

Every aspect of the built environment is informed by the idea of the garden. Houses, pavilions, and structures are can frame and form backdrops to the garden experience. Residences and site structures could be painted in subdued tones so that buildings retreat and lush, colorful gardens, and interesting plant forms are celebrated in the foreground: the flowering magnolia on the green arbor trellis, the jasmine vine against dark doorway. (Building colors to consider include Charleston green, dark blue, Charleston black, dark reds and oranges, terra cottas reminiscent of pots, and olive greens).

The Summer’s Corner landscape connects to, and celebrates the larger environment within which it is located. It should also celebrate natural and cultivated beauty and evoke a regional sense of place. A feeling of natural and cultivated abundance should permeate the community.

While innovation is encouraged, the basic structure of the private landscapes (lots) can take their cues from the traditional Low Country residential aesthetic in which the lot meets the public realm as a transition from one garden experience to another. Hedge or fence or gateway provide a passage from the street. Within the lot are” garden rooms” for recreation, relaxation, and the display of plantings.