Private School Cleveland Heights

Cleveland Heights School Gardens

Although our work is primarily residential, this Cleveland Heights private school presented an opportunity to bring the character and intimacy of a residential landscape to a much larger institutional setting.

From the beginning, the goal was to avoid creating a landscape that felt commercial or overly formal. Instead, the school wanted its grounds to feel more like a private garden—a welcoming environment where students and teachers could step outside the classroom and experience nature in a comfortable, informal setting.

The landscape was designed as a series of open spaces and smaller garden rooms. Larger areas accommodate school functions and gatherings, while more intimate spaces provide opportunities for outdoor classes, conversation, and quiet moments throughout the day.

Rather than treating the grounds simply as circulation between buildings, the landscape became an extension of the school's learning and gathering spaces. Layered plantings and carefully defined outdoor areas give the property the warmth and character more often associated with a residential garden.

The result is a campus landscape that feels welcoming rather than institutional—a place where education, community, and the natural environment come together in spaces that feel more like someone's garden than a traditional school campus.