The Courtyard is a brick-surfaced entertainment area protected by a seven-foot high solid stone wall and custom wrought iron gate. Guests enjoy bench, chaise and table seating along with the warmth of the cast iron free-standing fireplace. The barbeque is used frequently throughout the year. The Courtyard overlooks the Reflection Garden down toward the Main Fountain. Tina designed this area which required building the stone downhill retention wall and pouring two loads of cement as fill before her work on the brick flooring could even begin. Due to delays in concrete delivery, Tina laid the brick flooring in a 68 hour "push" to complete work as a surprise for her brother, Todd.
Reflection Garden
The Reflection Garden is a shady nook near the Main Fountain offering concrete bench seating near the bird feeders. This was the first "garden room" created by Tina in the late Fall of 1997.
Rose Bed / Main Fountain
The Rose Bed features Ambridge and Mary Rose David Austin roses encircling a three-tier fountain - a favorite spot for prom photos. In the Spring, the redbud tree provides a stunning deep pink backdrop. Victorian-style cast metal benches near the fountain and along the main fence offer seating to enjoy the splashing water. Birds and turtles are frequent and welcome visitors to the main fountain.
Xeriscape Bed
The Xeriscape Bed faces the hottest southern exposure at Highspire and features yucca, sedum, Blue Fortune agastache and Brazilian verbena backed by a row of shaded privet and forsythia.
Front Bed
The Front Bed extends across the entirety of Highspire and is faced by a stone wall capped with a six foot high handmade iron fence. Two 90+ year old maple trees overhang a pair of Victorian metal benches flanking a marble top table. A gravel path leads to a small bubbling stone-lined pond featuring an installation of local metal art. Plants in the North Bed include euonymus, crepe myrtle, hosta, pussy willow, butterfly bush, boxwood and a Scotch Pine topiary.
North Bed
The North Bed sits against the handmade wrought iron fence and separates Highspire from its neighbors with a wall of rugosa roses, forsythia, crape myrtle and a Yoshino cherry tree. The foreground of the North bed offers a perennial bed of daylilies, poppies and Fairy roses surrounding a paver seating area beneath a maple tree that was planted by Todd and Tina's father just before he passed away in 1992.
Partierre
The Partierre (meaning "design on the ground") is a 23'x23' square geometric layout of pavers and river rock surrounding a nine foot obelisk topped with a 2 1/2' armilliary of Atlas. The obelisk was designed by Tina and the armilliary originally belonged to Todd and Tina's grandmother. Each summer, the obelisk supports clematis and morning glories. The design and layout of this area began in Spring 2003. The paver layout was completed by Todd and Tina in Summer 2006. The Partierre is bordered on all four sides by perennial beds of daffodils, daylilies, spirea, catmint and crape myrtle.
Summerhouse / Terrace
The Summerhouse is an 18'x10' stucco structure with a built in fountain grotto and feature wall of vertical pressed tin. The hammock and wicker set offers seating within. The Terrace is surfaced in pea gravel and offers cafe and Adirondack seating. The tin-roofed Strombrella at the far end of the Terrace houses the wicker swing. Tina designed and built the Terrace (2000) , the Summerhouse (2005-2006) and the Strombrella (2006-2007)
