Got Shade? Get Texture!

One of the fun things about garden design is going back and visiting the site a few years later. Our West Seattle garden clients live on the edge of a greenbelt with big trees (yea!) but sun is limited. We designed bluestone paths and main patio and planted this garden 5 years ago. They’ve done…

Read More

Summer color and site visits underway!

Time to refresh these colorful glazed pots and make a site visit to our entry renovation in Blueridge.  Loving these Abbotsford dominion pavers in the trio blend. We’re keeping the bunnies out of the new rabbit resistant plantings with exclosure fencing for this year so they can get established. Putting key colorful ‘tasty’ plants into…

Read More

Big Time Fig time!

Love ’em or hate ’em…that’s how people seem to feel about fresh figs.  There’s a limited window of time that figs are ripe in Seattle, and if you are fig lover you should plant ‘Desert King’ Fig to add to your edible landscape .  This is a semi-cold tolerant  green skinned fig that has pink flesh…

Read More

Can you add that new garage or nice covered kitchen?

  Here in Seattle, I’ve been spending some time downtown reviewing Land Use and Permit code questions for our clients at the newly renamed Department of Construction and Inspections (formally known as DPD).Question: What’s the code on adding that new outdoor covered kitchen area, or new garages?  Here’s a quick cheat sheet to help you…

Read More

U of Washington Cherry Bloom–Showtime!

Its time! Take the annual pilgrimage to U of Washington Quad to see the 80 year old Yoshino Cherries/ Prunus Yeodensis in bloom. They are in max bloom now…’snow’ should be starting!  The campus Landscape Architect & horticulturists keep this loved tree tradition going by growing replacement trees in a Skagit nursery, so as the old…

Read More

Feel the heat! Outdoor fire pits 101

  We love the idea of year round outdoor living, but lets face it, its damn chilly here in Seattle at nights until July 5th or later.  My sister just moved here from Philly, and I advised her recently not to put away winter clothes…ever.   In the last couple years, I’ve gotten more calls…

Read More