Backyard Beauty is on Full Display Thanks to a Like-Minded Design Duo

Although originally from Louisiana, the original architect of celebrated Atlanta designer Jackye Lanham’s personal home, Owen Southwell, studied architecture at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He ventured down to Atlanta where he helped design buildings at Emory University and several homes around the city.

Surrounded by hydrangeas, an antique cistern-turned-fountain serves as a charming focal point at the end of a walkway. “Whenever you find an old garden ornament or vessel like this cistern that’s incredibly beautiful, trying to turn that into a water feature that retains and recirculates water can be a challenge,” says landscape designer Alex Smith. “We made sure to waterproof it a few times.”

Right off the driveway, a plethora of Annabelle hydrangeas and Lenten roses thrive among native white dogwood.

Original to the home, a whimsical lead glass door with a spiderweb motif boasts views of the garden beyond. The path is lined with Korean boxwood, Duke Gardens Plum Yew, and a Tulip Time camellia.

“It’s a very shaded property so that’s why hydrangeas thrive up there on the hill,” explains Lanham. “They just look happy.”

A past addition by Norman Davenport Askins, Architects is decorated with climbing hydrangea planted by garden designer Ryan Gainey and Smith. “He opened up Pandora’s box for me and sort of brought it out in me,” says Smith of Gainey. “He was truly one of a kind.”

The front of the home is lined with refined Korean boxwoods and a Southern magnolia. Lady Banks’ roses climb around the bay window.

Located off of the living room, a rooftop terrace offers lush views of the property.

“Nothing is trendy,” says Lanham. “We just went with the terrain that was there.”

Climbing hydrangea and Preziosa hydrangea add color, and nearby potted Wheeler’s Dwarf pittosporum and dwarf mondo grass reside. “You can walk through the garden at any time of the year and it would strike you as being a beautiful garden, even if it’s not in the middle of the growing season,” says Smith.

A strong foundation and never too fussy: These words describe not only the personal garden of famed Atlanta designer Jackye Lanham, but the over 30-year friendship she cultivated with landscape designer Alex Smith.

After moving into her Buckhead home 40 years ago—which notably celebrates its 100th birthday this year—Lanham was immediately charmed and knew she only wanted to make improvements, not changes. With thoughtful home renovations and additions by Norman Askins, Yong Pak, D. Stanley Dixon, and William Litchfield, the garden received all-star treatment to match. Recruiting celebrated garden designer Ryan Gainey in the late 1980s, Lanham was soon introduced to his young apprentice Smith. When Smith branched out on his own 26 years ago with Alex Smith Garden Design, Ltd., there was no question about who should continue to maintain Lanham’s gracious grounds. “We just speak the same language,” says Smith. “I get it, she gets it, and we don’t even have to talk about it.”

Situated on a small bluff and with a circular driveway encapsulating it, the property brims with pockets of intrigue and curated moments—the kind that only emerge when you truly know someone. Keeping in mind Lanham’s daily walks along the driveway with her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Hutty, Smith planted an abundance of blue hydrangeas to frame the strong gable on the back of the home. “We wanted to create a layering effect, so that when she’s walking and looks back up at this beautiful house and all these plants, she can just embrace what an architectural gem it is,” says Smith.

Echoing the home’s architecture, the garden maintains a strong foundation, dotted with even-tempered boxwoods and blooms. Lanham and Smith, who serve on the board of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) together, are kindred spirits when it comes to historic preservation and appreciation. Not looking to make any radical changes to the outdoor areas or start anew, the pair focused on incorporating storied improvements. “I think we’ve done a good job of seamlessly weaving in different types of plants over the years,” says Smith. “You can’t really tell where we start and stop, what’s old and what’s new.”

Around the back of the home, a spacious terrace sits atop the garage and looks out over the property. Tailor-made for Lanham, who is known to host inspiring ICAA parties, the rooftop terrace and adjacent granite terrace allow for guests to comfortably spill out from the home into the garden. “When you’re up there, you don’t feel like you’re in the city because you’re up high among the trees and beautiful plantings,” says Lanham. “It’s calming.”

Despite possessing undeniable year-round interest, springtime brings a special sense of wonder. “It’s spirit-lifting to see the beginning of life again in the spring,” says Lanham. Seen from the kitchen and jokingly referred to as hydrangea hill, the landscape transforms into a “sea of white when it blooms,” adds Smith. Lanham, fond of cutting her own clippings, decorates her home with a constant rotation of fresh arrangements from the garden.

As any good gardener—or friend—can attest, proper attention and support leads to growth. “Jackye is the crème de la crème of interior designers; she could have anybody she wants and picked me,” says Smith. “I’m flattered, and I don’t ever take it for granted.”

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER Alex Smith, Alex Smith Garden Design, Ltd., (770) 455-8878; alexsmithgardendesign.com INTERIOR DESIGNER Jackye Lanham, Jacquelynne P. Lanham Designs, Inc., (404) 238-9595; jackyelanham.com ORIGINAL ARCHITECT Owen Southwell