Landscape Design & Implementation: Small Spaces

   In the north end of Tacoma, most people have a slope to deal with. It's never any fun to mow, and besides, that much turf grass is boring.  On this job there were a couple of options: build a retaining wall and divide the yard into flat upper and lower spaces, or leave the slope and beautify it.  The second option was chosen because it provided a softer, more natural look.  A wall would provide a distinct architectural element - more formal and structured, the planted slope is more fun & casual.

   The plants are all very low maintenance including grasses like Blue Oat Grass, Feather Reed Grass, and Orange Sedge, several different Heathers that bloom or have striking foliage colors at different times of the year, several Evergreen Azaleas placed symmetrically for visual anchors and brilliant colors throughout spring and early summer, purple leafed Ajuga for ground cover, Lavenders, a few easy flowering perennials like Campanula and Hyssop, and several things to provide color in the winter like Red Twig Dogwood, Leucothoe, Nandina 'Firepower', Thuja 'Reingold', and, again, the Heathers.

   As in nearly every job I do, there are some edibles that contribute both food and beauty to the arrangement.  There are a couple of very low growing Blueberries (a variety called 'Burgundy'), an upright Rosemary, Lemon Thyme, and Lavenders.

   At the top of the slope, a row of shrubs is intended to grow up to about 2-3 feet and add a sense of privacy for the yard behind it.  It could have been a short picket fence, but these offer seasonal color changes (brilliant coppery-orange tips of bright chartreuse foliage in the colder months), and a softer look.  They can be easily trimmed once a year and kept to any size and shape.

   The photos were taken immediately after planting in early December.  The following spring and summer will see an explosion of flowers, berries, leaf colors, and textures.  We will update pictures as time progresses.  This will be a fun one to watch!

   This job was technically a 'whole yard' re-do, but it is so small, I included it in this section.  The mortared rock walls were original but only served as a stark backdrop for weeds.  The goal was to disguise the wall a bit and make the maintenance of the space minimal.  Even though it looks like there is a lot of plant material (and there is) to take care of, the only maintenance time required is maybe three times a year to pull a few weeds and cut back perennials.

   Geo-tech fabric was installed to prevent existing weeds in the ground from re-infesting the beds and to make pulling new weeds much easier.  A drip line irrigation system takes care of watering, and that's it.  Plants were chosen to provide color and interest all 12 months of the year.  Spring and summer are easy for this.  Winter is made more interesting with Dwarf Red Twig Dogwoods, Euphorbias, Lavenders, Pieris japonica, Nandina 'Firepower', and Heathers.  The stately form of the early 20th century house is complimented by elegant Italian Cypresses at the entrance.  Several especially sculptural specimen trees are included for a bit of whimsey - Contorted Black Locust, Hollywood Juniper, and Weeping Larch.

   This property suffered from too many of the same kind of ordinary shrubs that were allowed to grow too large over many years.  This homeowner believes that it's too easy for flowering plants to get attention with their blooms - flowers are cheap and easy.....accomplishing a gorgeous, colorful landscape with just foliage to work with... now THAT is a challenge.  With a few exceptions, that is what we did here.  Heuchera, Euphorbia, Carex, Fescue, Anamanthele, Pieris japonica, Berberis, Cryptomeria, Chamaecyparis, Thuja, Bergenia, and Ericas, just to name a few, contribute a wide range of color, texture, form and size throughout these beds. There are a few flowers like deep red Lilies, Daphne, Edgeworthia, and Ceanothus just because we couldn't help ourselves.  The density of planting helps crowd out most weeds, except near the front edges, and maintenance involves pruning for shape and size about 3-4 times a year.  An efficient drip line and micro sprayer irrigation system keeps everything happy automatically through the summer months.

   As you might imagine, the original grassy slope here was really unpleasant to mow.  This was, in fact, a whole yard makeover, but the spaces are so small it seemed a more appropriate example in this section.  The original concrete steps were replaced with granite that added an extra two feet of width for a much more casual & comfortable journey to the front door.  The flagstone path and rock wall are made of my favorite stone - partially metamorphosed slate from western Montana.  The two 'after' photos were taken the autumn and winter following installation.  Two years later, the perennials, grasses, ferns, and small flowering shrubs have matured into lovely little garden vignettes that make the very short trip to and from the house a delightful one.

   This was a very simple, straight-forward job.  Make an unsightly weed bed look more attractive and easy to care for.  With a small budget, we were able to remove the existing weed-infested worn-out soil, lay down geo-tech fabric to stop any remaining weeds from reappearing, install drip irrigation, and a nice collection of mostly evergreen plants.  Plants include: Pieris japonica, Evergreen Azalea, Euphorbia, Nandina, Blue Oat Grass, Evergreen Huckleberry, Day Lilies, Leucothoe, Mahonia, Ajuga, and Orange Sedge.  As these plants mature, the boulders, which look a bit stark when newly installed, will be peeking out from lush, full, colorful foliage to create a more natural, Northwest landscape.