Mid-Century Garden

This 1955 house sits up against a steep slope with no room for a back yard. There is a great water view from the small front yard, but it overlooks the driveway. The front door was under a large (15 X 40 foot) trellis infilled with corrugated plastic sheeting covering an exposed aggregate patio. What wasn’t paved on the level portion of the site was lawn. After several decades, plants were at the end of their lifespan and trees brutally pruned into an approximation of bonsai.

The first step was to demolish the overwhelming trellis and break up over 1,200 SF of concrete. Large format concrete pavers replaced a small portion of the existing paved areas. Gravel mulch replaced the lawns allowing rain to percolate into the ground and not sheet off the site into Puget Sound. The new landscape uses xeriscaping principals to save water with drought-resistant plants supported by an in-ground drip irrigation system until the plants become established. The irrigation system is run by a Rachio controller linked by the internet to hyper-local weather information. Its zoned according to vegetation type, sun exposure, etc. and a phone app allows quick watering if something looks dry.

All of the plantings are drought-tolerant, with a majority of them selected for their appeal to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Adding fountains and birdbaths to several spots in the garden attracts a large and diverse bird population. The garden’s support of local wildlife along with organic and sustainable practices earned it certification from the National Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat.

Painting the house a dark gray created a backdrop for the plant’s vivid colors and textural variety, as does the new black, slatted fence in the front yard. The fence is taller along the street but steps down on the waterside to allow views of the water. It surrounds a patio big enough for a dining table for summer evening dinners overlooking Puget Sound.