A 2½-acre lakefront garden in Shelburne.
A young family in their first Vermont home asked for a garden they could be inside, not just look at — a place for kids to run, a place for adults to sit at sunset, a kitchen garden, a swimming destination. The site sloped 18 feet from house to Lake Champlain, with mature maples and existing perennial beds in poor health.
— The brief
What the clients wanted.
A young family in their first Vermont home asked for a garden they could be inside, not just look at — a place for kids to run, a place for adults to sit at sunset, a kitchen garden, a swimming destination. The site sloped 18 feet from house to Lake Champlain, with mature maples and existing perennial beds in poor health.
The challenge.
Three constraints shaped the design: the 100-foot Lake Champlain shoreline buffer, the 18-foot grade change requiring engineered terraces, and the requirement to preserve five mature sugar maples for the next generation. Most lakefront work either sacrifices the natural slope or fights it; we wanted to use it.
— Project specs
— What we built
Project elements.
Three terraced rooms step from the house toward the lake — a kitchen garden at the highest level (closest to the back door), a stone-walled main garden room with cedar pavilion mid-way, and a viewing terrace at the lake edge. 240 ft of dry-laid Panton schist wall with proper drainage. A cedar pavilion sized for ten at a long table with a clear sight-line to the Adirondacks. Native pollinator beds throughout, with bloom continuity from April to October.
Stone
Panton schist
Timber
Eastern white cedar
Location
Shelburne, VT
Year
2024
Duration
14 months
Scope
Master plan + Build
— How it came together
The Cairn & Cedar Method, this project.
Same Method as every project — site visit, design, quote, build.
Site visit
Two-hour walk with the architect. Light, slope, drainage, microclimate measured. We listen, you talk.
Design
Hand-drawn schematic, then full construction documents. Material specs, sections, footing detail.
Quote
Fixed-price proposal, line-itemed by trade. You see the math. Change orders signed before any change.
Build
Our in-house crew on site every working day. Architect at every milestone. Punch list closed before final invoice.
— The outcome
What happened after we finished.
— Project notes
Worth knowing about this project.
What was unique about this site?
Three constraints shaped the design: the 100-foot Lake Champlain shoreline buffer, the 18-foot grade change requiring engineered terraces, and the requirement to preserve five mature sugar maples for the next generation. Most lakefront work either sacrifices the natural slope or fights it; we wanted to use it.
What materials were specified?
Stone: Panton schist. Timber: Eastern white cedar. All sourced within 60 miles of the project.
How long did construction take?
14 months from first site visit to final cleanup. Construction phase varied based on the integrated disciplines.
What was the disciplines mix?
Master plan + Build
What’s the outcome two seasons later?
The pavilion frames sunset over the Adirondacks from the seventh week of October. Two winters in, the wall has not moved a single stone. The kitchen garden produced 80% of the family’s summer vegetables in year two.
Can we visit the project?
Some projects we can arrange property tours by appointment, with the owner’s permission. Ask during the site visit if a similar property is available to walk.