As the days grow longer and warmer, there’s no better way to luxuriate in the splendor of nature on a summer day than to behold a beautiful, blooming garden.
Creating spectacular landscapes is second nature to award-winning landscape designer Frederico Azevedo, founder and owner of Bridgehampton-based Unlimited Earth Care.
Azevedo, who studied landscape design in his native Brazil, England, and the United States, always achieves a comprehensive and intentional landscape design by seamlessly integrating the natural landscape into the surrounding architecture and environment. Utilizing a combination of basic concepts: repetition of color, texture and shape, he imbues his gardens with balance, simplicity and characteristic elegance.
Striking the Right Balance
The key to creating a beautiful landscape is balance, avers Azevedo. “I speak a lot about the balance of colors, and I often turn to color theory to build a balanced bed of complements: yellow and purple, blue and orange,” Azevedo says. “I build up from these basic concepts and use hues to make them feel richer.”
Balance, Azevedo explains, should be considered everywhere in a design. For example, in a low bed of textured greens, he’ll plant something throughout that has height and a vibrant color, such as Digitalis or Alliums.
“In my work, I plan these compositions very carefully in order to make them feel a little spontaneous,” Azevedo says. “The same goes for form: If I’ve designed a very neat area in the garden, with trimmed hedges or modern stone paths, then I plant something a little more freeform to keep the harmony and ensure that the design doesn’t feel overly manicured.”
Simplicity is Key
An important aspect of Azevedo’s approach to design is maintaining simplicity – which is not to be confused with something basic or boring.
“Simplicity means choosing native and well-adapted plants, keeping to a certain color palette or texture for stone details, paths, and steps, and prioritizing how it will feel to be in the different spaces of the garden, as you walk around, entertain, or look out from the home,” Azevedo says.
Simplicity goes hand in hand with sustainability, which is central to Azevedo’s work, and has been part of his design since founding Unlimited Earth Care over thirty years ago.
“Simplicity as an approach in sustainable garden and landscape design is about considering the design holistically rather than focusing on dramatic elements or plants and flowers that just aren’t going to be healthy and happy in that environment,” Azevedo says. “I use native and well-adapted plants and flowers in my designs and many of the flowers native to the Hamptons and North America have this simple elegance to them.”
Agastache, Coreopsis, and Echinacea are popular perennials in Azevedo’s landscapes.
“There is nothing limiting about choosing plants and flowers that are going to thrive and be healthy in the specific conditions of a property,” Azevedo says. “To me, a beautiful and successful design happens when considering the environment and is integral to designing.”
The Ubiquity of Bold Colors
Over the years, Unlimited Earth Care has developed a well-earned reputation for creating signature color palettes.
“Creating powerful color palettes for each project, and for each season for that matter, is one of the challenges of designing with living elements that keeps me loving what I do every day,” Azevedo says. “I build out different color palettes depending on the needs and lifestyle of my clients, so I take into consideration whether or not they’re going to be entertaining or relaxing in certain areas and how people move around the space.”
Considering the flow of the property and what clients hope to achieve from their outdoor living areas then leads Azevedo into creating calm areas with muted colors: Lavender, Hydrangea, Agastache, or dramatic entranceways that welcome you home with bright Dahlias or Rudbeckias.
“I’ve also been loving designing completely green areas because it allows me to get very specific about hue and texture—the effect is atmospheric and refreshing,” he says.
On Trend: Sustainability
Typically, Azevedo does not follow landscaping design trends.
“When you’re designing a landscape that’s going to become a part of people’s homes, you don’t want to base your design off of anything too ephemeral,” he says.
Still, he has observed more and more people in the Hamptons interested in sustainable design elements, such as pollinator gardens that attract hummingbirds and butterflies or meadows that reseed themselves and are lower maintenance.
“I like to see what is new in sustainable materials and practices, how the technology is advancing, and then incorporate those methods into my own aesthetic sense because there are innovations in design and materials every year,” Azevedo says. “I also have a Garden Concept Store and Garden Market, which keeps me updated on the newest solar-powered garden accessories and renewable materials for planters.”
As they have done for the past few years, Unlimited Earth Care will host a special shopping event at the Garden Concept Store.
This year, the festivities fall on Saturday, June 28 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., celebrating the opening of “Flourish and Flow,” a new series by the artist LUAP, featuring his iconic “The Pink Bear” figure in natural landscapes.
“We will have paintings and limited edition prints by the artist, and it’s going to be a wonderful evening to experience some art amongst the flowers,” says Azevedo, adding, “Everyone is invited.”
PARTNER CONTENT
This article appeared as the cover story in the Memorial Day weekend issue of Behind The Hedges in Dan’s Papers. Read the full digital edition by tapping here.
