The Art of Landscaping

From the moment that you turn on to Fox Hound Drive, it’s impossible not to notice the beauty of your surroundings. In fact, many residents credit the bucolic landscape as a deciding factor in wanting to call The Hill at Whitemarsh home.

And that’s all by design.

It has always been a priority for The Hill to maintain aesthetically pleasing grounds that seamlessly integrate with the land’s natural elements. As the landscape manager, Carl Andresen is responsible for executing on all the exterior elements to achieve that vision.

“I came to The Hill in 2019, and was guided by the Landscape Committee to oversee its mission: stewardship of the natural landscape and improving the public and private gardens around campus,” said Carl.

Every season, Carl, in tandem with the Landscape Committee and his team, including landscape assistants Nicolina Beadle and Debbie Eastin, continues to work towards this goal, especially as the grounds have increased in size since 2020 with the addition of Hawk Ridge and the Dixon Health Center. Both of these projects created more opportunities to install attractive landscapes for the enjoyment of the residents.

One recent opportunity allowed them to execute on a plan for the interior courtyard landscape for the newly renovated Dixon Health Center—an outdoor space, enclosed on four sides. The courtyard is divided into two distinct spaces—an area for patients in rehab and an area for Memory Care residents.

“Each side has gathering spots, gardens and soothing fountains, but moisture and drainage were limited, so we had to be thoughtful about how we planned the space,” said Carl.

“We wanted it to be relaxing, for people to have enough room to walk with support, and provide plenty of sights like plants and sounds like water elements for everyone to enjoy.” – Carl Andresen

As part of the Mather House Skilled Nursing project, Carl also designed and installed the planting beds on the exterior of the building.

“It was a bit of a challenge because of the steep slopes, drainage limitations, and full sun to consider, but it allowed me to get creative to figure out how to bring the plants and flowers closer to residents and staff to enjoy,” said Carl. “And to honor Peter Fleming, our recently retired CFO, for his decades of service to The Hill, we unveiled a dedicated bench outside of Mather House.”

Carl is also hard at work helping to beautify the grounds around the newly constructed Hawk Ridge buildings. The 5300 building was recently completed and Carl, Nicky and Debbie were able to revamp the planting beds around the property.

“It looks beautiful all year and got a definite upgrade from the original design. The final Hawk Ridge building is still under construction, but when it’s complete, it will look just as beautiful,” he said.

The planting beds, in particular, are especially meaningful to Carl. When he first started there weren’t a lot of planting beds throughout the landscape and the residents on the Landscape Committee had a vision for more to be planted. In the years since his arrival at The Hill, Carl has overseen the installation of about 20 to 25 new beds to add flowers and pops of color in all of our public spaces.

“I enjoy the interaction with the residents here at The Hill and value their comments, ideas and compliments,” said Carl. “And it pays off — everyone talks about how beautiful it is here at The Hill at Whitemarsh.”