Decorating & Design
This Eighth-Floor Terrace Is A Sanctuary In The Sky
Updated on June 11, 2021
“You can sit outside and read just as easily as you can inside.” Jeff Shaddick couldn’t argue with his daughter’s initial observation. It’s just that when he looked at his condo’s terrace, it didn’t exactly beckon, even though it overlooked a park in Toronto’s Summerhill neighborhood and measured a sprawling 1,485 square feet. Landscape architect Kate Fox-Whyte of Fox Whyte Landscape Architecture & Design agreed. “There was some hardscaping, some stone paving and a couple of pergolas, but they were undersized and not suited to the scale,” says Kate. The terrace was also about 17 years old and showing signs of wear, including water leaking into the unit below. “There was a bit of planting, but it wasn’t doing well,” she adds.
Jeff has three adult children and twin six-year-old granddaughters, and he wanted a space to host his family. So Kate drew up a plan that divided the terrace into three distinct areas: a dining area with a barbecue, a lounging area and a private terrace with a sitting area off the principal bedroom.
The result is a four-season outdoor space that doesn’t require much tending, since Jeff, a semiretired actuary, isn’t the type to fuss with pruning or watering. “One of the top things Jeff asked for was a no-maintenance garden, and there really isn’t any such thing,” says Kate, who brought in Coivic Contracting for the construction and planting. But she made it as easy as possible to maintain by using perennials that mean no replanting is needed in spring.
“Kate’s strategy was to create a terrace that made me want to go out more, and it’s worked. It’s a nice spot to sit and socialize outside; the kids love it,” says Jeff with a laugh. It’s just the incentive he needed to leave that indoor armchair behind.
Scroll down to tour this serene outdoor oasis in the city!
“In 2019, I had the whole family over to celebrate my 70th birthday. The kids brought in a chef, the table was big enough to seat all 12 of us, and it was wonderful,” says Jeff, pictured here in his favorite spot on the terrace.
After being totally gutted, the terrace was laid with Algonquin limestone and ipê flooring, and two new, larger pergolas replaced the previous versions.
“We get some shelter from the pergolas, but adding trees eight storeys up really makes it feel like a garden,” says Kate.
The paperbark maple trunks create textural interest in the lounge area. “The trees provide scale and an overhead canopy,” says Katie. “None of them grow particularly large, an important consideration when the soil volume and space is limited.” They also have beautiful orange-red foliage in the fall.
The dining area can seat 12. U-shaped ipê benches offer extra seating for larger gatherings. To reinforce the garden feel even more, there are long, built-in planters to help obscure the balcony railing and frame the east-facing view over the park, and sun-loving sedums were sunk into shallow planters at ground level. “Layering a variety of groundcover and mid-height perennials provides a lot of seasonal interest,” says Kate.
In the fall, the ‘Bombshell’ hydrangeas, which are underplanted with feathery Japanese forest grass, and the ‘Wolf Eyes’ dogwood at the north end of the terrace develop subtle rosy hues.
A utility shed stores extra throw pillows and outdoor furniture, and houses the lighting system.
The blue-purple cranesbill (Geranium ‘Gerwat’ Rozanne) is one of the longest-blooming perennials in the garden. A micro-drip irrigation system is set on a timer but has a sensor so it will water less if there’s been a lot of rain. “The higher you go in a condo, the harsher the conditions for the plants,” says Kate.
Donna Griffith
House & Home May 2021
Sally Armstrong
Landscape architecture by Kate Fox-Whyte