Category: Arbor

Mid-Century to this century

4/27/2017

Sometimes all it takes is a few well placed features to make the garden feel a more like home. With this lovely mid-century, drainage was a bit of an issue. The house sits at the bottom of a slope, and ends in a cul-de-sac. In order to alleviate this, we created raingardens on each side of the house in a couple of small pocket garden spaces. This will help funnel water and keep it from pooling in the yard. The raingardens will also filter the water from the driveway runoff which is essential since Lake Washington is just a short stroll away.

We also installed a plank board fence and arbor along the west side of the property which will provide privacy and a safe play space for the kids, while creating an area for trailing plants in the shadier areas of the backyard.

A lovely project, lovely clients, and a lovely home, what more could we ask for?

Arbor Arborduct

5/16/2016

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Talk about a cute little front yard. These clients were looking to maximize their garden space, while adding interest through the use of arbors. We do so love to build arbors. The arbor running along the side of the house is actually an arborduct. It houses the pipes running from the gutters of the home into the raingarden, which will filter the roof runoff before heading into the Puget Sound.

The second arbor is simply to provide a bit of architectural interest to the front yard while mimicking the shape of the windows on the house, and providing a bit of screening from the neighbors.

For both arbors, we used the same stain as the garage door, which ties the look of the house and the garden together nicely. Soon we will be returning to finish out the pathways leading up to the house, and from the house to the garage.

A raingarden is a fantastic addition to a landscape, and can be customized to fit your needs, your wants, and your budget. Whether you want a small streambed, shallow pool, or a simple swale, these features will reduce toxic roof runoff into the side sewer and help protect our valuable Puget Sound.

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An Artful Roman Arbor

3/20/2015

Happy Vernal Equinox! The first day of spring is officially upon us. The Stone Soup Crew has been busy this spring, in fact, it is our busiest spring on record. All of this fine warm weather provides lots of opportunities for garden improvements.

Recently, we were approached by a client who had already imagined and designed his garden space, and brought us this illustration to execute.

As it turns out, the client had several family heirloom stained glass panels in his possession, and he had a very specific vision of how the stained glass would fit into his existing landscape. The windows had originally been a part of his dad and stepmom's outdoor cabana. The cabana was built by his dad, and the stained glass windows were made by his stepmom. They were both in their 90's when they passed away in 2013, and the people who bought their house offered our client and his brother the stained glass panels. It was a wonderful gesture, as the new home owners were redesigning the home and wanted to ensure the windows were safely returned. It also provided our client and his brother a chance to decorate their own spaces while keeping those beautiful family memories alive.

Here are the glass panels in the cabana built by our client's father.

The client has a very specific Roman style for his garden space, and he wanted to build the arbors as a way to safely display the stained glass, while staying true to his design aesthetic. It was a wonderful project to be able to walk into and complete. Here is the original garden space, as well as the start of the arbor installation.

The lovely finished arbor, complete with a grape kiwi on one end, boxwoods in the containers, winter jasmine on the other end, and columnar cypresses to lend height and drama to the column effect of the arbor. These plants will help provide privacy along the fence line with his neighbors, and attract some fluttering friends to the garden.

Creative carpentry to the rescue!

7/31/2014

Fencing is a great way to keep things out or in, depending on your point of view. In many cases, we love to tear down fencing, as it helps create a more shared space between neighbors, which certainly builds better neighbor relations. However, sometimes we need to build a fence to help protect our friends, be they of the feathered or the four-legged variety.

For this project we built a hog wire fence to help contain chickens in the backyard, which provides a much safer environment for them. The client also wanted to protect her plants from her scratching hens by installing an arbor. This approach allowed her to net out the chickens, while providing her climbing vegetables and plants with a bike wheel trellis and arbor to climb. It looks great and compliments her clapboard chicken coop.

Mid-Century to this century

Arbor Arborduct

An Artful Roman Arbor

Creative carpentry to the rescue!

Author Susan MacLaren

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