Craftsman Renovation

Only architects can demolish a home and call the new home a renovation! This newly-renovated Craftsman-style bungalow came with a compacted front lawn and row of Leyland cypresses screening the neighbors. But it was the back yard which needed the most attention.

On three sides of the space a 30-year-old laurel loomed. It was cut back each year just to keep it at twenty feet tall and twelve feet wide. The laurel completely blocked neighbors and view. To some, an enclosure like this means complete privacy; but it also means continual maintenance and the inability to grow anything else. Our goal was to plan for a raised vegetable garden, create a space to enjoy meals, plant a perimeter garden dotted with hummingbirds and include a lawn large enough to play on.

After devising a planting and hardscape plan in 2006, we held off on installation for a year and then moved ahead full steam in 2008. The hedge was removed including the roots and the yard seemed to magically expand before our eyes. We discovered a retaining wall in front of a rotten cedar fence that had sunk behind it. Where the laurel hedge had grown too dense, the fence simply had not been built. The rockery was repaired and a new fence built at the proper level to enclose the yard.

Drainage was a problem. After re-grading, water is moving away from the house and down the slope naturally.

To add some instant privacy, oversized trellises measuring 9 x 7 were designed and built. Each trellis adds instant screening: one near the eating area and the other near large double windows looking into the house. The trellis insert was stained to match the fence. Surface area provides space for art; the fence above the vegetable beds displays the sun even on cloudy days and a quiet corner on the opposite side shows cool greens and blues in a tile mosaic piece.

Next, some raised beds were built for vegetables using pre-formed concrete blocks and capped to provide extra seating--for weeding or a glass of lemonade.

After adding soil amendments and edging the beds to prevent grass from creeping within, drought-tolerant plants were planted.

This has been a long, cool spring. After a couple of false starts, summer 2008 did not really arrive in the Pacific Northwest until the third week in July. People may have been grumbling, but what it meant to plants was growth. The extra moisture meant earlier, bigger blooms and the extended cooler temperatures meant the color lasted longer.

At last, summer is here. With new patio furniture in place, this yard is ready to celebrate with outdoor meals, fresh vegetables and wrestling in the grass.

View Past Projects
No Grass!
Boggy Garden
Modern Garden
The Rockery
Cottage Garden
Roof Garden
Native Mix Garden
Woodland Garden