Archive for Echo Chamber Water Feature

Transforming Outdoor Living Space Dreams Into Reality: Part Two

Posted by Landscape Design in a Day 
· July 26, 2024 

New Backyard Combines Function & Beauty in NE Portland

Weigela shrubs were incorporated into this NE Portland dream outdoor living space design.

The weigela shrubs were mature and covered the fence on the south side beautifully and these plants will stay in the new garden. Here is a close up of the flower cluster on a May day.

The custom design process of my NE Portland clients’ backyard checked off a lot of their wish list. I was also able to incorporate existing plantings into the new design. Let’s look at a few details of the transformation process and see how their outdoor living dream became a reality.

  1. Studio Space: My thinking through the use of the property and how my clients would walk to the studio was one big factor on final placement.  Setting the 12′ x 16′ studio on an angle softened the view of the structure and allowed for better use of the small yard.  We also needed a larger than typical patio without sacrificing planting areas and again the angle worked to our benefit giving us more room for the patio.  It also gave us a small very private corner garden room, with (lots of ferns) and the existing Mountain Ash tree remains in this corner.  I could imagine curious grandkids playing back there away from the grown-ups.

    Perennial Hellebore was used in the dream outdoor living space backyard design in NE Portland.

    Hellebore is a perennial that flowers in early spring. This one was still in flower late May.

  2. Curved Pathways and Dog-Friendly Zones: We designed gentle, curved pathways that connect all sitting areas and create a sense of exploration.  There are shady areas for their dog to explore or snooze in.
  3. They chose a prefabricated shed from Better Built Barns out of Salem, customizing it to become their creative studio. Choosing the pre fabricated shed saved quite a bit of money over a custom.
  4. Outdoor Cooking Area: Its amazing how tricky placing the BBQ can be.  We tried many different locations but ultimately convenience of use won out with the location near the door to the backyard.  There were many location options for the pizza oven.
  5. Privacy and Views: To address privacy concerns and improve views, we carefully planned the placement of a small berm to place a tree. The added height of the berm creates privacy from south side neighbors more quickly.
  6. Removing Laurel Hedge: Our clients gave up the old laurel hedge because it was taking so much square footage.  This change opened up a significant amount of space to add more lush plantings.  The lush plantings help balance the large faux flagstone patio paver area and second seating area.
  7. Water Management: Donna Burdick of D & J Landscape Contractors created a simple irrigation system designed for low water as part of the overall landscape installation.
  8. Faux Flagstone Patio:  We needed a larger than typical primary dining patio and to keep it looking natural my clients chose flagstone.  Donna Burdick and I looked at the possibility of using Mega-Arbel which is actually a concrete paver which loosely quotes the visual look of flagstone, (from Belgard which we have used in the past).  The color range and the ease of installation sold us all and this is the paver we used-Belgard Mega-Arbel flagstone pavers.

The Transformation Process

I introduced my clients to one of my top landscape contractors, Donna Burdick of D & J Landscape Contractors.  My clients connected with Donna and we embarked on a journey to bring our vision to life.

Construction of hardscape is pictured for the NE Portland backyard. Including a fall crape myrtle.

Photo credit: Donna Burdick, D & J Landscape Contractors. Crape myrtle showing off fall colors, crushed rock paths laid and the flagstone pavers were installed for the patio next to the house. Nothing else would happen until the studio was built.

The project kicked off with the installation of the landscape layout (paths and base for the paver patio) and the foundation slab for the studio where a few last minute nudges were made to the studio location. Once the slab-on-grade foundation was poured, the studio was installed, painted, and finalized. Donna Burdick’s team then returned to bring the planting plan to life and finish all the details.

Outdoor Living Space

California Lilac flowering in May – love that blue.

A New Lifestyle Unveiled

On a sunny April day, I came by to visit. The transformation was nothing short of spectacular. Amy was entertaining a guest in the studio, and told me how the studio was used daily and was an integral part of their daily life. The backyard was now a happy blend of function and beauty, perfectly suited to their needs.

Get Inspired

If you’re dreaming of a great backyard, one that fits all your wishes check us out. At Landscape Design In A Day, we’re passionate about turning dreams into tangible functional realities. Whether you need a dream backyard makeover, or a full property transformation, we’re here to help you get it just right.

Your dreams can also become a reality, whether large or small, when sitting down to work with me and create a beautiful outdoor living space.

Categories : Backyard Office or Studio, Before and Afters, Garden Tips, No lawn back yard, Privacy, Water features
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Native Garden Design in Portland

Posted by Alana Chau 
· August 28, 2021 

Native Garden Design Gardening for Birds

NW Garden design for birds

Two lounge chairs have the perfect view of the new bird friendly garden and water feature.

Gardening for Birds

Alan and Paula’s home backs to a wildlife haven, a park managed by the city. Before Landscape Design in a Day, they set up many bird feeders and thoroughly enjoyed watching the various species visit.  From day one, we knew this would be a garden for the birds. Our mission is to make better places for the humans to enjoy watching the birds.  They already loved their back yard but spent all their time up on their deck.  They wanted a professional garden designer who would care about their desires and have the skills to pull it all together.   We knew we would create multiple sitting areas that get our clients out into the property and bring more of what birds love to the property to entice them to visit and further enhance bird watching.

Portland backyard designed to attract more birds.

Before Design in a Day the deck was the sit spot.

Portland backyard invites clients to garden to watch birds.

After: Lounge chairs invite us to sit and enjoy watching the birds.

Better views into a native garden design

The homeowners spend a lot of time in an office that looks directly into the barren side garden toward the park. The foreground view was rough lawn and a lot of fence. That window led some of the important design decisions, such as where to put the focal point water feature. Now every outdoor sit spot AND the indoor office chairs can see and hear the cascading water.

Water – Bring the birds in – native garden design

Native plants are important, but the best feature to attract birds and keep them coming back is water. This naturalistic water feature brings so much delight to the homeowners. In our native garden design, a large pre-drilled boulder is placed on a steel box called an echo chamber, which is then covered in smaller stones to hide the chamber. The echo chamber under the boulder amplifies that beautiful bubbling water sound so that it can be heard from the deck and inside the office.

Gardening for birds requires a water source to attract wilidlife.

The homeowners water feature attracts and provides for birds year-round. Photo taken by Alan M.

Shelter and safety for birds

The next item needed for a bird paradise is shelter – usually in the form of trees. All birds need to be able to hide from sky predators like hawks and ground predators like cats.

We kept plants low around the water feature with native plants like Indian plum nearby for fast escape. The  birds also use the top of the fence to survey for ground predators like cats. (Keep birds safe with a catio.)  The adjacent park provides perfect trees for nesting. This park already had an upper canopy of native Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) and Doug Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) as well as a mid canopy of Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) and others. Paula and Alan provide fresh water and food plants plus their multiple feeding stations of seed,  suet and more.

This Portland garden attracts wildlife with bird food and water.

Deer visit this garden from the adjacent park.

Gardening for Birds

Native garden design – plants that provide food for birds

Of course, the last big element to attract birds to the yard is food. For example, the homeowners love the band-tailed pigeon visitors, so we were sure to add native Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa). These birds also love madrone berries but we didn’t have the right spot in our native garden design for madrone but there was a large 50′ tall madrone 500′ away in the park. Perfect for band-tails and also for band-tail pigeons here are other native plants that provide food for birds; Indian Plum (Oemleria ceraciformis), and Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia). Paula and Alan also maintain multiple feeding stations of various seeds, suet and more.

NW native plant for birds

Indian Plum (Oemleria ceraciformis), is one of the first PNW natives to bloom often as early as March.

A nw native plant that provides food for the birds.

Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is an important food for birds. The berry is a good backyard snack for people as well, if you can beat the birds to it.

Hardscape Landscaping Construction

The hardscape landscape was completed by Lewis Landscape. Check out the amazing execution of the stairs and wall we designed.

Before the garden was redesigned to attract more birds.

Before: Old wood wall was crumbling, stairs were skinny and uninviting.

Hardscape is part of the garden design in this Portland backyard.

During: Building the new curved wall and more inviting stairs.

Portland backyard gardening for birds.

After: the finished hardscape landscaping results in open, wide stairs in the perfect location to allow easy access to lower garden.

The old wall and stairs were falling apart, which gave me the perfect opportunity to redesign it entirely. The old stairs were too narrow and right up against the underbelly of the deck.  It was fine for a utility work area but not for a sit spot. The new design creates the opportunity to create two comfortable sit spots where the homeowners can enjoy their natural surroundings.  Room for plants and the new wide stairs make movement between the spaces gracious and inviting.

Client Testimonial

“Carol and Alana, I cannot tell you how much we enjoy the yard.  The path we asked you to widen just enough to contain pots (to which you added more width to) became big enough to put two lounge chairs and a little table.  This is now our favorite sitting spot.”

“The water feature was perfectly placed as we can see it from the deck, from the yard, (some from the dining room) and very well from the office.  The birds LOVE it – all from bandtailed pigeons to hummingbirds.  We get the biggest kick out of watching them enjoy it.  Not to mention, the sound is perfect and the natural look goes well with the our new more woodsy landscape.”

“We love the yard, the steps, the new plants, the walkways, the fountain and so do the birds and bees and woodland creatures.  It was a perfect design for us.”

“Creating our own base map of our yard (with the kit) made us better design partners. We felt like we helped create our paradise too.”

Paula M

 

 

Please note our clients provided to us most of the after photos in this blog.

Are you ready to create a garden full of life? Contact us today to learn about our collaborative design process.

Categories : Before and Afters, Gardening Green, Plants I Recommend, Water features
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Water Features for Dog Friendly Landscapes

Posted by Alana Chau 
· April 3, 2019 
Dog friendly water feature in Willamette Heights neighborhood Portland Oregon

Jack and his water bowl

Water Features for Dog Friendly Landscapes

Lots of dogs love water.  It’s just a fact of life.

And sometimes, or maybe all of the time, when I have clients with a furry friend, the dogs “opinions” are part of the equation when designing a new landscape for the whole family.  There are many aspects of  a landscape design to consider when creating a compatible situation for two species.  Water features are one aspect.  People and dogs want to enjoy the water feature but they have different ideas about what is fun.  For people the sound of water can make a landscape feel like a garden and has a way of taking a space and turning it into a place.  Dogs have different ideas.

I started using echo chambers to create water features for my clients some 20 years ago when the echo chamber (designed by local Lew Smith) was a new thing.  They were safe for kids and easier to care for but then I saw how much the dogs loved them and that if I planned well most dogs could interact with the echo chamber water feature without harming it or themselves.

Take Jack Hofmann, a dog who knew a good thing when he saw it.

Jack and his Echo Chamber

I was hired to create a new entry design for a sweet old Portland craftsman home.  Technically the water feature was designed and placed to enhance the  new entry and to see it from inside the dining room.  Now Jack is kind of a one person dog, so he never fawned over me, much as I would have liked that. He would remember me politely when I came to check on his guardians landscape but when the water feature was installed, he claimed it immediately as his own and posed for me. He knows where his new toy came from.

I wasn’t the only one smitten by Jack’s photo. I was interviewed for an article in Houzz (check it out!) and his mug was featured in  “Protecting Your Pet From Your Yard and Your Yard From Your Pet”  a comprehensive article about dog friendly landscapes.

Jack’s “water bowl” is pottery plumbed into an Echo Chamber, which is a steel box under the pottery.  It creates an easy to care for water feature with great sound and because it has a dry return instead of a pond, it’s safer for kids.  There is no pond to worry about or a liner you need to keep safe from dog claws.  Read more about Echo Chambers in this blog post.

Water Feature for dog friendly landscape Portland, Oregon

This black lab thinks the water feature was set up to quench her thirst.

Zoey’s Spitting Frog Fountain

Some dogs specifically like to drink the water and make a game of it.  Does your dog love it when you get out the garden hose?  Your dog would love a water feature.  Zoey, a plump black lab loves water. This frog spitter fountain is an  inexpensive water feature that pleases people and the pups.  It’s safe for kids because no pond. The water pump recirculates the water through the frog and is under the round rock surface safe from doggy attention.

Remember to design access to the water for the dog and for kids too. If you plant all around it, expect those plants to be trampled.

Water Feature hydrant for dog friendly landscapeFireplug Water Feature

My client Patrick is a retired firefighter. He plumbed an old fire hydrant to use with his echo chamber.  The water feature was specifically designed for his dogs to drink out of.  The dogs loved their fire hydrant water feature and their new back yard which had two fences running parallel at the back property line.  This plant-less space between the fences was their  daily race way.

The Big Rock

Standard poodles and the neighbors kids loved the big rock (Montana Mud 8′ across) water feature which was a focal point for a home in Raliegh Hills.   I would find tiny little plastic toys and tennis balls tucked here and there, evidence of neighbor kids and tennis ball obsessed poodles who played in this water feature.  My clients thought this was adorable and loved how this unusual water feature looked with their NW Natural style front yard.

Water feature for dog friendly landscape in Raliegh Hills Portland Oregon

A fun water feature for two poodles.

 

For many people, life is better with a dog and designing a happy outdoor life for two species, not just one, is what makes happiness for this designer too.

 

Categories : Dog and Cat Friendly Gardens, Summer Garden Tips, Water features
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Modern Entry Landscape for Portland Hillside Home

Posted by Carol 
· February 6, 2019 
Modern style fencing creates courtyard style landscape design for West Hills home in Portland Oregon . Dyed concrete walls and wood fence

A modern fence creates a stylish entry and enclosure for the dog.

Modern Entry for Portland Hillside Home

Unique Front Entry Needed a Creative Solution

My client has a good design eye and she loves modern architectural style and modern style landscapes. However, her new home in Portland’s West Hills had a boatload of difficulties and she wanted a collaborative garden designer who would value her vision and strive to enhance it.

The first view of the house as you approach from the street is the roof.  It’s a classic landscape problem for hillside homes.  This is as far from welcoming as you can get.  You can’t see the front door at all.   The amazing view is in the back and the front yard is small, shallow and often below the road.

Basset Hound with Echinacea flower in his teeth Portland Oregon

Basset Hounds are adorable, but not made for multiple flights of stairs! Source

Courtyard for Curb Appeal

An modern styled entry courtyard would solve curb appeal, make a private sunny sitting area and give us an architecturally interesting entry appeal.  I was prepared for hours of preliminary design to create the perfect enclosure for the courtyard. Instead my client found a photo that was the perfect inspiration and the design came to life.

Courtyard is Dog Friendly

My client loves her dog.  We needed to accommodate the family Basset hound.  The entry area is the only easily accessible outdoor place for the dog.  The idea of a Basset hound with such short legs going down three sets of stairs, so he can potty in the backyard is torturous and potentially harmful for his back and hips. The enclosed courtyard is perfect for keeping the dog safe from cars and predators.

Designer’s Solutions

The fence would cut off  views of the entry from the street even if it was a short fence.  We accepted this and made the fence an attractive, visually strong presence on its own.  We went taller with the fence to block the view of any parked cars and headlights.

Client's choice of modern fencing inspired landscape design in Portland hillside home.The courtyard fence needed to be subordinate to the house. This meant it could not be too visually powerful.

  1. Using the concrete wall at the base of the wood fence gave us two materials which adds interest and lessened the feeling of height from the street view. The height also steps down to follow the slope which makes softens the effect of it’s length.
  2. The fence line also steps back (or bumps out) to break up what would otherwise be a long straight line. Each section that steps back is the length of the 10 foot long entry windows. By repeating the 10 foot length in the fence sections, we easily integrate the house and courtyard fence.
  3. Repeating a line that is prominent in the architecture of the house in the landscape is a classic way to integrate the two together. The step back also creates valuable planting space along the inside of the courtyard walls.
  4. We removed the 1970’s  brick facade on the house entry and replaced the tired aggregate and brick concrete walk with mortar set square  paving stone.

Before photo of entry landscape in West Hills neighborhood of Portland, Oregon

Plantings for the Courtyard Walls.

The plantings for the exterior of the courtyard walls (out on the street side) are tricky. The first section has crushed rock. It’s designed for guest parking. The other step back sections create room for a mass planting of  evergreen ornamental grass.  Carex Morrowi ‘Ice Dance’ was the most low maintenance option.

The entry gate area plantings are very simple and rely on two pots, one larger, one smaller and a very low bright lime colored evergreen ground cover to go around the pots such as cushion bolax, Azorella trifurcata ‘Nana’ . The  charcoal colored dyed concrete base of the fence needs the relief of  bright and light colored plants.

We created the planting plan for the courtyard interior, and designed an echo chamber water feature to enhance the entry experience and to enjoy while sitting outside on sunny days.

overgrown entry landscape in west hills neighborhood of Portland, OregonThe existing rockery style walls inside the courtyard were built with stone that was too small.  It doesn’t look great with the new modern style. Our design replaces 1/3rd of the retaining wall with large boulders. It is surprising to see that large boulders look and feel so good even in small spaces.  Small rock jumbled together to make a wall is rarely attractive and is far from a modern style landscape.

The final touches of the design are still in progress and I am looking forward to seeing the plantings completed.

If your hillside home is in need of a remodel, make an appointment today!Contact

 

Categories : Before and Afters, Dog and Cat Friendly Gardens, Garden Tips, Low Maintenance Landscape Examples, No Lawn Front Yards
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Portland Landscape Design Remodel

Posted by Carol 
· September 7, 2016 

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.

Categories : Before and Afters, Dog and Cat Friendly Gardens, Low Maintenance Landscape Examples, Plants I Recommend, Shade Plants
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Portland landscaper Carol Lindsay, Landscape Design In A Day on HOUZZ, 2018 awardPortland landscaper Carol Lindsay, Landscape Design In A Day on HOUZZ, 2017 awardPortland landscaper Carol Lindsay, Landscape Design In A Day on HOUZZ, 2016 award

Houzz

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