THE INNER LANDSCAPE – MAJOR EXHIBIT; PHS PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW 2022

Winner of The Governor’s Trophy 2022 for Most Innovative, Visually Stimulating, Unique Design

Gold Award—Show Garden; Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2023 International Landscape Design Awards

Award of Merit—Show Garden; Perennial Plant Association (PPA) 2023 Landscape Design Awards

Research tells us that meaningful interactions with nature are directly related to high levels of biodiversity, old-growth trees and opportunities to experience solitude. Wonder, happiness and relaxation are to be found in such habitats that are as alive with sights, sounds and smells as we are. ‘The Inner Landscape’ integrates diverse native plants and sustainable materials with playful soundscapes, structures and immersive biodata sonification. By echoing and unveiling nature’s hidden systems and interconnections, visitors feel closer to what’s often out of sight; resilient, interdependent, and restorative amid the busyness of Philadelphia’s FDR Park.

THE SANCTUARIUM – MAJOR EXHIBIT; PHS PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW 2021

Silver Award—Show Garden; Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2022 International Landscape Design Awards

Award of Excellence—Show Garden; Perennial Plant Association (PPA) 2022 Landscape Design Awards

‘The Sanctuarium’ was a major exhibit for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Flower Show June 2021, staged outside for the first time since 1892. During a pandemic rife with fear and disconnection, our green spaces offered refuge; reminding us that, whatever else is happening, nature happens quietly and with optimism. ‘The Sanctuarium’s creation of dynamic native habitat immersed attendees in the aliveness, beauty and resilience of nature that is hopeful and celebratory; showcasing what is possible in our own gardens via thoughtful ecological design-build.

HERBACEOUS HIGH STREET

Silver Award—Non-Residential; Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2025 International Landscape Design Awards

Award of Excellence—Commercial; Perennial Plant Association (PPA) 2025 Landscape Design Awards

Established in Philadelphia in 1938, family-owned Boyds clothing store sought a ‘statement’ landscape to accompany their new suburban outpost; enhancing the storefront’s facade while optimizing natural light inside. Our design intent was to create a richly woven ecologically functional landscape as a place of beauty and abundance. Low maintenance with all season interest, this 2022 redesign sought to cultivate connectedness between plants and people to showcase what’s possible when we rethink traditional commercial landscaping.

The Architect’s Oasis

Bronze Award—Residential; Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2025 International Landscape Design Awards

Honor Award—Residential; American Society of Landscape Architects (PA/DE) 2025 Professional Design Awards

This entire suburban block in Greater Philadelphia is backed by a regional rail line that necessitated steep grading for the homes below. While neighbors had unsuccessfully used bamboo to screen the boundary; this architect and his family craved a climate resilient alternative that would also manage excessive stormwater runoff. Design-built in Fall 2022, our team capitalized on the grading to reimagine a loosely tiered outdoor living space integrating a dining area, hot tub, firepit and raised beds while successfully channeling stormwater to an immersive all season rain garden in the front.

BRYN MAWR FILM INSTITUTE—PUBLIC GARDEN

Go for the Green 2017 Winner For Outstanding Commercial Site Greening

Gold Award—Specialty Projects; Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2024 International Landscape Design Award

Refugia collaborated with Bryn Mawr Film Institute (BMFI) in order to fulfill the Township Natural Features Code requiring the conservation of natural features to maintain ecosystem function such as stormwater filtration, wildlife habitat, and air purification. Through creating and maintaining a holistic ecosystem within BMFI’s beds, Refugia enables a functional, resilient landscape that promotes the health of humans and wildlife alike; and a gorgeous immersive public garden for cinema attendees.

OCEAN LAKE HAVEN

Gold Award—Residential; Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2024 International Landscape Design Awards

Creative homeowners envisioned a Japandi style (Scandinavian meets Japanese) renovation of their 1916 bungalow in Asbury Park. Uniquely situated on a freshwater lake, clients sought a high impact, low input redesign that reflected their desire to “respect and preserve our environment and be kind to all of the wildlife around us”. In such a unique setting, our design response was to compliment the house’s modern renovation with a grass forward, laidback, textural landscape that would animate the coastal airflow beautifully. Phase 1 encompassed the front entry garden, phase 2 envisioned a lakeside retreat with outdoor living nestled amid a naturalistic meadow edge offering all season interest.

NARBERTH LIVING LANDSCAPE 

Gold Award—Specialty Projects/Educational; Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2022 International Landscape Design Awards

Silver Award—Residential; Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2022 International Landscape Design Awards

Award of Excellence—Residential; Perennial Plant Association (PPA) 2022 Landscape Design Awards

Merit Award—Residential; American Society of Landscape Architects (PA/DE) 2022 Professional Design Awards

Over the course of 4 years, the transformation of this property has made it a neighborhood landmark, gaining interest from horticulturists and curious homeowners eager to address climate change where they live. Serving as a testing and show garden for company founders Jeff and Kayla, this is the centerpiece of 90+ ‘stepping stone’ gardens within a 5 mile radius that promote habitat connectivity for plants and wildlife within Refugia's ‘Greenway Network’. Despite its modest footprint, this garden is now the epitome of functional, beautiful and resilient, made more powerful by its connectivity. A dynamic, shifting, immersive perennial garden in which everything is intentional.

BRYN MAWR RESIDENTIAL

Go for The Green Award 2021 for Green Design & Development: Meadow Conversion

This Bryn Mawr landscape was transformed from a lawn to a half-acre meadow wrapping around the home. The dynamic combination of grasses, native wildflowers, trees and shrubs changes appearance throughout the season while providing a lush year-round habitat for wildlife. Unseen to onlookers, the meadow offers meandering exploratory pathways that immerse you in nature’s sounds, movement and smells, up close. These grassy channels also provide children fun access routes from one playing area to the next, hidden from the grown-ups, free to roam and explore. Dense perennial plantings enveloping the formerly underused patio create an intimate and immersive gathering space; beckoning its inhabitants with a daily dose of drama and beauty.