Photos by Michael Woodall The Saltillo-tiled entry courtyard of this Santa Fe-style home sends a warm regional greeting with the word Bienvenido, Spanish for “Welcome,” above the front door. Boulders, a water feature and desert plants set a Southwestern mood.

A revamped landscape becomes a divine desert domain

In the 1960s, Ann Van Slyck and her parents traded the skyscraper “canyons” of New York for Mesa, Arizona. At the same time, her now-husband Tom and his parents gave up the flat plains of Kansas for Tucson. Ann and Tom met, fell in love, and have shared a passion for their adopted state’s desert landscape.

How much of a passion? Now living in Phoenix, the couple’s Santa Fe-style home is in the shadow of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve—so close to one craggy cactus-strewn peak, in fact, that it’s hard to tell where their backyard ends and the rocky slope begins.

While this desert domain is but steps from their door, for the majority of the 23 years the Van Slycks have lived in their home they were not able to take total advantage of its pristine location. Their backyard was not fully utilized, nor were views capitalized on to the best advantage. 

For example, if the two were sitting inside the home, wood columns and an overhang on the exterior of the house blocked a lovely backyard mountain vista. The back patio was too narrow. And the rear of the property was gated, so a large part of it—a full half-acre—could not be used.

To remedy these problems, the two called upon professionals who already had made major changes to the home, including to its front courtyard and side yard. The trio was composed of landscape designer Morgan Holt, contractor Jim Furcini, who also had built the residence, and Sandra Evans, ASID, who had done the interiors and added exterior furnishings and accessories.

With the Phoenix Mountain Preserve as a backdrop, and quartzite for flooring, this new seating area is part of a recent backyard makeover. Newly planted brittlebush, which grows naturally on the slope, joins pink penstemon in a colorful perimeter.

This go-around, the entire backyard was remodeled, including a patio expansion that gave the homeowners more room for entertaining and relaxation. The gate that had cut off access to much of the existing land was taken away, making room for another seating area and, beyond it, a meditation space. The latter was prime on AnnVan Slyck’s wish list.

But before that could happen, Holt says, “We had to tame the desert, to keep the water out.” When rainfall was heavy, a torrent of “white water” flowed down the mountain, Van Slyck says.

To ease the situation, and keep the meditation space from washing away, Holt created a “diversion”—well-situated drainage areas with pipes that carry the rainwater to a man-made wash. This allows the water to stay on the property instead of pouring into the street, he explains.

The meditation path, on once-inaccessible land adjacent to the house, is a particular joy. Van Slyck has placed inspirational statues along the way, such as one of St. Francis of Assisi.

Benches have become spots for meditation or simply enjoying nature, including the bunnies, coyotes and javelinas that wander across the land.          

Visitors who walk along the meditation pathway feel its calming nature, the homeowner says. “They have asked us if they can do family portraits out there. It has brought joy to people.”

Today, with new backyard amenities in place, she reports that she and her husband use the area more than they ever did.

With its mountain looming behind and native vegetation, the setting “is really a spiritual place,” Van Slyck offers. “There were footsteps here before we got here,” she adds, acknowledging the longstanding presence of Native Americans.

Spelled out above the front courtyard entry, Vaya Con Dios means “Go With God” in Spanish. One is enticed to linger in this setting, where red fairy duster, pink penstemon, a tall saguaro and sounds from a water feature create a naturalistic vignette. Landscape designer Morgan Holt created the recirculating runnel-type fountain and circular pool, lining them with Mexican Talavera tile. Blooming ocotillos rise behind the wall.

An exterior entry nicho is decorated with candles and a font from Mexico, upon which the homeowner hung a ceramic cross.

Accented playfully by a “Beach” sign, the spa, original to the 23-year-old home, was elevated so that those sitting in it could “enjoy all the vistas,” Holt says. New tile and decking were added as well.

Curving beams made of steel laminated with wood support a red-tiled overhang that was created to shade the pass-through window to the interior bar area.

The renovation of the backyard, which increased its patio space from about 800 square feet to 2,200 square feet, made it more usable and attractive, note the homeowners. The project allowed widening of the patio to include more seating areas, such as this one, framed by brittlebush and penstemon.

The focal-point fireplace, made of stacked moss rock, was added to the rear patio area in a previous renovation. Conceived by landscape designer Morgan Holt, its organic, layered materials “are reflective of the mountains behind,” he says. Homeowner Ann Van Slyck agrees, noting that both the rustic fireplace and the patio’s new three-toned quartzite floor, suggested by designer Sandra Evans, pay homage to the region’s earliest inhabitants. “They are a tribute to the ancients.” Iron swivel chairs in an open waffle weave await fireside chats. A row of columnar cacti overlooks a built-up planter made of salvaged rocks that are the same as those on the mountain. Stairs in the background lead to a raised putting green.

The new dining patio’s overhang was built high enough to allow one to see outside vistas from inside the house.