The design of this 10-acre garden is organized along an ecological and spatial gradient transitioning from open hayfield to garden. Spaces closest to the house are smaller and more clearly defined with a finer grain of texture and detail. Moving toward the field, this spatial definition blurs as plantings blend with the unmown pollinator strips at the edge of the fields and the woodlands beyond. The plant palette is also on a gradient, transitioning from native and naturalized Old Field and Woodland Edge species to more traditional garden varieties near the house. The planned bloom sequence provides color, form and fragrance for the residents and food resources for many thousands of pollinators when the fields are mown twice each summer.

Architecture + Construction: GO Logic, LLC

The GO Home’s award winning sustainable landscape preserves and expands on the existing healthy site ecology. Areas disturbed by construction become spaces for circulation, recreation and outdoor living. Re-grading a shallow swale for stormwater management creates  an opportunity for a wildlower meadow. Native New England trees and shrubs are planted along the driveway and property boundaries to  increase the area and the biodiversity of the existing woodland edge habitat. Maine heirloom aple varieties, planted alongside existing trees from an old orchard, build on the cultural and working history of the site. Walking paths are mown through the Old Field, creating opportunities for family and visitors to experience the finer grain details of the larger landscape

GO Home received national recognition as the USGBC LEED for Homes 2011 Project of the year, along with a LEED Platinum rating. GO Home was the first Passive House building designed and built in Maine.