A SIXTH STREET OASIS:
Water, Sun, Stone and Light in Perfect Harmony

The holiday's glow is quickly fading, and the winter doldrums will soon be setting on most Washington gardens - but not 524 Sixth St., SE, where the light-filled, free flowing home and its gardens shun even the grayest day of winter.

This 1863 federal style row-house is home to Howard R. Nelson and Marc R. Nasberg. It has been completely renovated twice - once in 1980 and most recently in 2004 by Nelson and Nasberg. The inside is a wonderful tribute to the perfect placement of stone, marble and granite; and it has an open feel that spills out to the magnificent gardens which surround its three sides.

However, when Mr. Nelson and Mr. Nasberg purchased the home three years ago, the interior required a full renovation. Once the inside renovation was complete, they had to transform the outside. The result: a light-filled home that flows from the outside to the inside and back out again.

The front courtyard was renovated, the back patio was completely removed and reset, the gardens were entirely replaced, and the back garage was completely rebuilt to become the pool house.

By 2005 the renovations were complete, and their vision of uncompromising elegance had been realized. In fact, they have been a feature home on Capital Hill's home and garden tour. No small feat.

When entering, you are instantly aware that this home is not your everyday renovation - both inside and out. The raised brick front garden is flanked on one side by a brick stairway that leads you past a perfectly placed bench and a purple flowering plum. The plants in the front garden include Boxwoods and pencil Hollies, seasonal flowers and Silver King Euonymus. A small hedgerow of Abortive adds an air of privacy and mystique to the otherwise public front garden.

A heavy iron gate separates the wonderfully private yet inviting front courtyard, where Wisteria climbs the walls on custom chrome trellis posts. At night the sunken lighting adds a magical mystique and allure that is often tried yet seldom accomplished in smaller spaces. The marble statue at the end of the space defines, separates and draws you through the glass wall into the home and out to the gardens beyond.

If the gardens ended here, they would be simply enchanting. They don't. In fact this trip to garden nirvana has only just begun. Once you work your way through the immaculate living room, you will be beckoned forth by massive windowed doors out to the secret garden, where you will find the pool, fountains, patio and gardens in perfect harmony.

The rectangular pool, measuring ten feet by eight feet, is offset in the landscape layout. It is equipped with lap pool technology giving you the ability to swim laps and get a great workout in a minimal space.

The flagstone patio is set perfectly around the pool and spills from the main house to the pool house and to the garden beds on both sides of the yard. The pool house matches the home in color and structure and is heated and cooled for additional comfort.

The garden contains large stones that are placed randomly to add a flow and naturalness to the rectilinear space. There is a standard trained Crape Myrtle in the center of one bed that adds size, dimension and upward motion to the space. A Trumpet vine flanks the pool house and shares fence space with wisteria that contributes to the vertical motion of the garden walls. Creeping Euonymus climbs across the back wall to the fence behind the Crape Myrtle and is joined by fall blooming Clematis that runs to the pool house.

There are Hydrangeas and ornamental grasses, and seasonal plants are placed throughout to add contrast color and definition. There are various ground covers and Ivy overflowing to the flagstone patio. On either side of the glass door entry to the pool house, two large planters contain 10-foot Oleanders.

There are always pots overflowing with the season's best annuals. And a large three-foot by three-foot planter is filled with a topiary trained English Ivy. The patio furnishings accent without being overly heavy. And the glass dining table adds whimsy with its iron fish base.

There is an airy spacious feel from every angle of the garden, and without much thought, a visit to this light-filled, free flowing secret garden can shake off even the grayest day this winter may have to offer.