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Irvington Backyard Landscape Design Creates Haven for Entertaining

After Irvington landscape design.

Irvington Backyard Landscape Design Creates Haven for Entertaining

My clients, Dan and Patti, moved to Portland to be close to family, especially their grandchildren. The previous owner of this sweet 1920 bungalow in the Irvington neighborhood had used the backyard primarily as a place to park a large RV. The shed was located to face the driveway and a concrete pad for parking the RV was the main focus of the backyard. My new clients like to live and entertain in their back yard. Irvington property looking for help with landscape design.They would be providing childcare for a handful of grand kids several days a week so room for kids to run and play was critical but knew they didn’t want any lawn.

The collaborative style of a Landscape Design in a Day was very attractive to them. They were happy to measure and draft their existing property for me. Most clients do their own measuring. If the lot is sloped or especially difficult, we will do the measuring and drafting. We talked about their goals and possibilities of their site.  Their backyard abuts a large Portland park. They can watch movies that are played in the park from their backyard. They enjoy the sound of soccer games and kids playing. The park also provides two large shade trees near the property line that are well placed and provide cooling and privacy. As we talked we created a scope for the landscape design.

Want List

Integrate functional play space for the kids into a garden design

They didn’t want the landscape to look like a play yard

Keep the large shed (more about the shed later)

Custom sandbox in Portland Irvington area backyard. A large custom-built sandbox

(They had a construction design for a big sand box to incorporate into the design.)

Outdoor dining for large fourth of July family gatherings and summer birthdays

A lounging area for just the two of them with a heat source

Lots of flower power and foliage leaf color for Patty who loves the NW green foliage but misses the colorful exuberance of a sunny California flower garden

Designer Solutions:

Irvington backyard shed required in new landscape design.Existing Shed:  There was a large existing shed and when they said they wanted to keep it but were willing to relocate it, I breathed a sigh of relief. The sheds existing location was a roadblock to a successful use of the space. I’m happy to accommodate my clients requests unless the request conflicts with having what they want. It’s my job to know when someone’s good idea is going to be a problem so I would have gone into my best persuasive methods but happily I did not have to.

Relocating shed in Irvington backyard landscape design.The outdoor dining room: The sheds new location made a perfect wall that defined the dining room and gave us a place to hang a buffet board that would serve food and beverages for both the lounging and dining room area. It helps with screening out an unwanted view.

I added further definition to the dining room with a stone planter that also separated the large (very cool) sandbox from the dining area.

We created a large curved berm which serves 3 functions:

1. The path around the berm is great for kids running around.

2. We created a kids play area behind the berm. Their grandparents added a sun sail to protect them from the hot sun and to make it feel even more like a fort or hidey hole. The corner area is big enough for many kid activities.

3. Berming up the soil makes it a perfect place to plant Japanese Maples. They can get verticillium wilt here in Portland but rarely do when planted on a berm.

Kids corner in Irvington landscape design.The spacious lounging area is conveniently located off the back door.

In addition to using colorful plants in the backyard, the south side of the backyard has an edibles area and flowers for cutting.

They hired my favorite landscape contractor Donna Burdick to install and Donna and I worked together on various issues for a fantastic installation experience.

Patti’s Review

“We are thrilled with the designs she created for both our front and backyards, which were executed and installed by D & J Landscape Contractors (another highly recommended company).  The yards have been transformed into welcoming, beautiful spaces that we appreciate every day, whether we’re looking at our new views out the windows, or enjoying dinner outside”.Mixed materials for Irvington hardscapes in landscape design.

Hardscape Materials

We used mutual materials for the patio pavers and the paths were compacted 1/4 minus crushed rock with steel edging. The soil was prepped and irrigation was installed. The stone planter walls are mortar set basalt locally sourced.

Colorful Plants for Patti

Here are a few of the more colorful plants we used

Specialty hydrangeas from Joy Creek Nursery

Coreopsis ‘Big Bang’

Crocosmia  ‘Lucifer’

Echinacea ‘Kim’s Knee High’

Fuschia magellinica – Hardy fuchsia ‘Golden Gate’ and ‘Beacon Red’ and ‘Double Otto’

Locally sourced basalt mortared planters in Irvington landscape design.Heuchera – Coral Bell ‘Purple Petticoat’, ‘Lime Marmalade’, ‘Havana’, ‘Paris’ and ‘Fire Chief’ for hot foliage colors and flowers

Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’ Japanese Forest Grass- stone planter

Berginia C ‘Baby Doll’ – stone planter

Hosta ‘Halcyon’ (blue foliage)

A trio of classic Peony, ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, ‘Red Charm’ and ‘Duchess de Nemours’

Dicentra ‘Goldheart’ – gold leafed bleeding heart

Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’-gold leafed mexican orange shrub

If you’re looking in the Portland area for a new landscape, contact me to see how we can work to design your property.

 

 

Portland Landscape Design Remodel

A Garden Redesign for Family & Dog

Echo Chamber water feature in NE Portland designed by Landscape Design in a Day and D and J Landscape Contracting for people and family dog.

Freshly installed echo chamber water feature will reduce traffic sound from nearby NE 33rd.

Lynda and Michael live in a sweet old Northeast Portland Grant Neighborhood House.  It’s a classic with a big front porch and several mature large trees including an amazing 40′ tall Japanese Maple.   They raised their kids and more than one wonderful dog in this house. Their landscape adventure began with the loss of their old plum tree – okay kind of sad but it was so big it ate the backyard space.  It also blocked most of the morning light.  Their dining area was crammed up against the hot tub.   Once the plum was gone they realized a golden opportunity had landed in their laps. They wanted a good designer to look at the possibilities and create a landscape design that would utilize every square inch of their small backyard.

Clients Enjoy Gardening

They didn’t want a “perfect” garden.  Lynda and Michael have some gardening chops so the plants didn’t need to be extreme low maintenance but it did need to be simple. The existing landscape was overgrown after 20 plus years.  They were happy to let a lot of the plantings go so they could have a new look. They selected NW Natural and low water landscapes from my list.  A touch of cottage style fit the old house nicely so that was included.

Their Wish List:

Before landscape design in Grant Park: Dining took place next to hot tub. Without dog garden space.

Before: Dining took place next to hot tub.

◊Privacy for dining

◊A separate room for the  hot tub, their current landscape had the dining table next to the hot tub.

◊Plenty of patio space for entertaining

◊ A bit of lawn for their sweet dog Mira.

◊Michael especially wanted a water feature for the sound. The traffic sounds from NE 33rd interrupted conversations and the ability to relax in the back yard.

Installing the patio Grant Park N. E. Portland Landscape Design in a Day in this dog friendly garden.

Sam of D & J Landscape Contractors installing the new plantings.

Water Features:  Over the years I’ve noticed people have  very different experiences with traffic noise and other urban background sounds.  My own family is a good example;  my husband can tune out background noise and carry on a conversation but I often can’t. Some people can have their TV or radio going on in the background and carry on with language based activities.   Some people have filters and some people don’t.

The Benefits of Echo Chambers:

My favorite design element, a water feature solves this problem and adds an elegant visual focal point.  An echo chamber water feature triples the water noise but is safe for kids because there is no need for a pond,  not even a tiny one.   Standing water is dangerous for kids, birds and provides an environment for mosquitoes.  Birds can drown in ponds that they can’t get out of.  The echo chamber is a buried steel box, it is easy to clean and you can control the volume of water.   My sister turns her water volume up so the water leaps from the pot.   This is attractive but results in quite a bit of splash and the evaporation that results uses a lot of water.  Other clients keep the water volume  turned down so it slowly spills from the drilled rock or plumbed  pot.  It still makes that wonderful water sound because first the water noise is produced when water drops onto the rocks around the pot or rock.  Then the water goes through the surface rocks, through the steel grid and into the chamber.  As it hits the rocks that line the chamber the sound is amplified inside the box.  It is so simple.

Landscape Design in a Day creates a garden echo chamber water feature or is it a water bowl for family dog?

Jack Hofmann and his new water bowl

Placing Water Features:

The echo chamber was designed by Lew Smith of Smith Rock on Johnson Creek Blvd.  It creates more sound out of the water available so it’s also environmental. For perfection itself another small plug-in water feature,  something you might pick up at Portland Nursery or Cornell Farms, as a second water sound creates the effect of a water based duet.  We typically locate the 2nd small water feature in another part of the landscape. The sound of water helps people attune to their immediate environment and filter out the background noise.  For the best sound I placed the water feature on the side of the garage wall to add more amplification.   By design it can easily be heard from most areas.

Flowering Tree with plantings underneath

Japanese Snowbell Tree flowering in North Portland residential landscape

Plantings:  So much of the landscape was overgrown, after all it had served for over 20 years.  We kept the mature Japanese Snowbell Tree, a December blooming Chinese camellia which serves as Lynda’s view from her office.  The overwintering Anna hummingbirds  love this simple 7 petaled deep red camellia flower and together they put on a show for 3 months. We planted easy care Beesia Deltoides near the bird bath because it will appreciate the splashes of water and has glossy heart shaped leaves that will reflect the light.  Saxifraga ‘London Pride’,  Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ and a mass of Wood Fern will add year round color under the Snowbell Tree.  A sterile variety of Russian Olive, Eleagnus ‘Gilt Edge’ will be trained into a small evergreen tree, giving more  privacy to the hot tub room and fragrance in the fall.

We will show off this garden in a blog next year when the plantings have filled in.  The client, Michael Shay,  is a professional photographer and has promised photos for us. For more information on how I can help you with your garden remodel, contact me for more information on dog friendly and other landscaping.