As a landscape designer, Elise Everett Keely envisions more than yards and gardens.
She sees a connection between the architectural style of a home or business and the surrounding outdoor spaces.
Sketch pad in hand, she walks into the space and takes in every detail. She begins to draw what she sees in her mind — and then she brings that vision to life.
“It is my job to settle a house into the landscape,” said Keely, owner of e.k. smith landscape design, who has lived in Sewickley for 38 years. “The landscape brings out the best in the architecture. It is about the marriage of those two elements. Sometimes you frame a view and sometimes you don’t want to offer the entire view. It’s like a river meandering. When you see where it takes you, you’re like ‘wow, what a view.’ With a house or business, it’s like when you walk around the back, you get this ‘wow’ effect.”
Keely, 75, often begins from the inside and works her way out. She will take the time to go inside a building to get a glimpse of what people see when they look out to a yard or patio or from their front door.
“It’s about creating vistas, scenic views,” she said. “It’s all about the view. A walk through a garden is an experience. ”
Those breathtaking views begin with understanding what a client needs and wants for a garden or patio or green space, she said, before planting anything.
And sometimes, less is more.
If you have gorgeous architecture, don’t cover it up; let it be part of the design. And, plans can change during the design and installation process, so it is important to be flexible, she said.
Keely is meticulous in every detail of her design and transforms a space to be both beautiful and functional, said a client who hired her for a home in Fox Chapel. The house was being remodeled and Keely completely transformed a stone patio, creating a larger area for more seating and space to entertain. She updated the steps and installed a decorative railing.
Keely becomes the project manager for every job because she wants to be involved throughout the entire process.
When discussing which flowers and plants to include, Keely said she sees those as lipstick and jewelry, the finishing touches of a design.
To Keely, every job is the most important one she’s ever done, said Tony Guy, owner of Tony Guy Lawn & Garden Services in Sewickley.
He has been collaborating with Keely since the mid-1990s. Guy said she is bright and articulate and builds a rapport with everyone. She appreciates everyone on the team, he said.
He said she’s been known to bring homemade baked goods to a site for his employees.
And she thinks about her work constantly.
Even when Keely’s traveling, she sends Guy photos of gardens she’s visited from across the world. Keely never stops learning, Guy said.
Keely will also visit a job after it’s finished to make sure years later that it still looks good.
“She has a complete vision,” Guy said. “And she listens. If I or a client tells her we have a concern about something, she is open to finding another way. She is not set in stone. She is flexible.”
Keely’s business grew organically in 1990. A mother of two children and grandmother of five, she said that when her children were older, she began giving lectures about landscapes.
In 1993, she was invited to give a talk at Art in the Landscape at Penn State University.
Her landscaping ability expanded to include hardscape such as swimming pools, patios and terraces. She can consult about lighting and irrigation suggestions. As a way to pay it forward, she invites interns to learn the craft. Her formal education includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. She also studied at Silvermine Arts Center in Connecticut.
For those with an interest in landscaping, she recommends taking a class either at Pittsburgh Botanical Garden or Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Keely was born and raised on the Upper East Side in New York City. She attended The Dalton School in New York City and it was not unusual for her to spend time at Carnegie Hall. Her mother was bilingual and the family traveled to Europe, which Keely still does today. She moved to Sewickley with her family from New Hampshire.
“I was immersed in art my entire life,” she said.
She thrives on challenge and her artistry extends to all elements of her life, including interior design and culinary skills. One of her most interesting projects was when she purchased a four-car garage and turned it into a house in Sewickley Heights. Her ability to create extends to the kitchen, where she will try a new recipe, and not only does the food taste good, it looks good on the plate.
Keely has been hired for projects all over Western Pennsylvania and a few out of state. Two private locations in the Sewickley area that Keely designed have been accepted into the archives of the Smithsonian Historic Landscapes, including a compound of four residences created by well-known architect Benno Janssen and a house designed by well-known architect Brandon Smith.
Keely received the 2023 Preservation Award for Historic Landscape Design by the Sewickley Valley Historical Society.
One of the most recent spaces she collaborated with Guy on was the Broadside Terrace at the Sewickley Public Library, which opened in October. She has also done work for Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley.
“I love being part of the Sewickley community,” Keely said. “And it is cool to have my work part of two historic buildings in Sewickley … both with views from Broad Street — because it’s about creating a view.”