Braddock does not explain itself from the street. A composed lawn, clipped boxwood, the quiet weight of a charcoal hip roof. The design begins where the public view ends.

Behind the home, the earth drops twelve feet across three terraced levels — connected by curved fieldstone retaining walls and stone steps that descend from order into intimacy. The main level holds the architecture: the ipe deck, the open-slatted pergola bridging home to garage, the structured plantings that belong to the house. The mezzanine transitions through a spiral fountain and loosening beds of azalea and hosta. The lowest terrace arrives at a recessed stone grotto — a fire pit anchored beneath a cathedral of mature southern oaks, walled on three sides by six feet of coursed Georgia fieldstone.

The planting palette is exclusively Piedmont native and adapted species. Quercus rubra and alba for canopy. Buxus for structure. Hosta and Osmunda for the shade floors. Every plant earns its position not by color but by character.

Braddock is the first project in a new body of work from Anvil & Ax. It is not a garden added to a home. It is the completion of one.

Design: Anvil & Ax. · The Consonance, Creative Director

Decatur, Georgia · 2025

Braddock — Plant Schedule

Anvil & Ax. · Decatur, Georgia · 2025

1 · Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’ — Dwarf English Boxwood

18–24 in., sheared, full. Foundation hedge, front entry flanking.

2 · Buxus sempervirens — American Boxwood

30–36 in., sheared, dense. Structural border, left boundary.

3 · Osmunda regalis — Royal Fern

3 gal., full crown. Rain garden, shade understory.

4 · Hydrangea quercifolia — Oakleaf Hydrangea

7 gal., multi-stem. Front entry accent, seasonal gesture.

5 · Rhododendron canescens — Piedmont Azalea

5 gal., multi-stem. Mezzanine transition, spring ephemeral.

6 · Ilex vomitoria ‘Nana’ — Dwarf Yaupon Holly

3 gal., full, compact. Front foundation, evergreen mass.

7 · Muhlenbergia capillaris — Muhly Grass

1 gal., established clump. Front accent, rain garden edge.

8 · Hosta ‘Elegans’ / ‘Sum and Substance’ — Hosta

3 gal., full crown. Shade mass, retaining wall base. Minimum 15 per drift.

9 · Dryopteris erythrosora — Autumn Fern

1 gal., full fronds. Shade groundcover, wall crevice.

11 · Carex pensylvanica — Pennsylvania Sedge

1 gal., plugs/sweeps. Rain garden floor, shade lawn substitute.

13 · Loropetalum chinense — Chinese Fringe Flower

7 gal., multi-stem. Mezzanine screening, evergreen mass.

14 · Ilex x attenuata ‘Fosteri’ — Foster Holly

8–10 ft. B&B, single leader. Canopy understory, left boundary screen.

15 · Cercis canadensis — Eastern Redbud

2–2.5 in. cal. B&B, multi-stem. Mezzanine focal, spring bloom.

17 · Adiantum pedatum — Maidenhair Fern

1 gal., established. Fountain surround, moist shade.

20 · Quercus rubra — Southern Red Oak

4–5 in. cal. B&B, specimen, full crown. Dominant canopy, lower grotto cathedral.