Perfectly Imperfect

Ingrid Steele transforms a less-than-ideal lot into a lush landscape

- Jodi Helmer

Ingrid Steele wishes she had a level lot, more sun exposure, and a location with less traffic noise. Rather than obsess over the challenges of her SouthPark yard, Steele dug in to turn the almost one-acre space into a lush urban landscape that embraces the flaws.

“You make the best of it,” she says. “It wouldn’t be as interesting if it was just a flat lot with landscaping.”

Steele and her husband, Walter, bought the brick home on a cul-de-sac in 1999. The neighborhood was part of a former equestrian estate that was subdivided and developed; the Steeles’ house sits on top of a hill, and the surrounding lot slopes downward.

Despite the odd topography, the couple fell in love with the house and its proximity to neighborhood amenities. Steele, who spent years gardening in various rentals, was eager to put down roots— but first she had to dig up some of the unwanted remains from the old horse pasture.

After she cleared out a thicket of bamboo, ripped up ivy, and removed an old barbed wire livestock fence, Steele was left with a slope and no idea what to do with it.

So when she spotted a neighbor’s landscaper, she asked for free advice.

He generously sketched out ideas on a piece of paper, and that informal plan became the basis of the design—but Steele is the first to admit she followed the spirit of the suggestions rather than focusing on design absolutes.

“There was no real plan, and I didn’t follow any rules,” she explains.