The Lindner Family Tennis Center hosts an international Association of Tennis Professionals tennis tournament—the Western & Southern Open—every year in mid August, which was a major consideration during our development of the redesign. It was imperative that we be mindful to select plants which bloom in August. We included a vast array of perennial varieties including late panicle hydrangea, shrub roses, stonecrop sedums, and ornamental grasses, among others. The result is a good variety of blooms, texture, and color corresponding to the August event.
We were also asked to provide spaces for annual displays because the Center invests in a fair amount of seasonal color for the event. With that in mind, we specified a good number of boxwood hedges in strategic locations to create backdrops to low annual borders, and to serve as foreground layering for the blooming grasses and shrubs beyond.
Where larger evergreen trees were necessary for framing or buffering spaces, we utilized strong, durable trees that are also interesting, such as the richly colored and avid blooming Bracken's Brown Beauty Magnolia. In the center food court, bar and outdoor seating area, we deemed it necessary to provide a canopy of trees that would provide shade that, while adequate, would not be too dense. We also wanted the areas beneath the trees to have a European feel, as this is an international event that brings people to Cincinnati from around the world. London Planes (Sycamore trees) were selected, as they're frequently used in congregational areas in the streets and parks of London and Paris. Honey Locust trees were chosen because, like the London Planes, they provide a light shade while allowing dappled light to scatter beneath the canopy.
The end result of our redesign was a lively mix of foliage, color, and blooms for all to enjoy, which is well-suited for our local climate, and complimentary to a world-class facility.
