This week we completed the installation of 6 cedar raised beds for our permaculture client. While cedar is a more expensive material to work with, it is rot-resistant, holds up well to weather extremes, and is easy and light to work with. Our team member Trevor was the lead on the bed construction. He did a fantastic job with the help of Joe, and the rest of the crew who filled and prepped the beds with garden soil. Next up is the installation of the desert stone patio around the sides of the home. Stay tuned for more pictures!
Over the last month, Stone Soup Gardens has been immersed in a new construction job on the west side of Seattle. We came to the project when the new house was 90% complete, and began working with the owner and designer to create a gorgeous garden and outdoor retreat. The design was done by Jenny Pell, a well known and respected founding member of Permaculture Now! When we began, the landscape was a giant dirt pile. Our first week on the job involved grading and prepping the area around the house for the Desert Stone Patio installation. We prepped and installed a flagstone pathway from the driveway to the front door, and we began the process of grading and prepping the different areas of the garden, including a rockery, raingarden, and raised beds. Next up is laying the Desert Stone patio, completing the rockery and log accents for the beds, as well as building the cedar raised beds for the side of the house.
There are more pictures to come as we progress on this awesome project. Stay tuned! One of our designers, Aaron Buchholz, had a great idea for this contemporary space. The backyard was simply a patch of grass, but our clients wanted something that spoke more to the design of the home. By adding a brick patio, we created a more useful area for year round entertaining, while the addition of the raised planting beds will give an accessible way to incorporate different levels of planting space. Taking the boxy shape of the house, Aaron created the patio using hexagons and gently curving paths to create a more eye-catching landscape. To mimic this, he included a couple of seating areas in the hexagon shape, while also creating rectangular beds with a similar hexagon point. Now that we've completed the patio and beds, we'll plant out the space to enhance the curves and angles which will create a dynamic new backyard oasis. As many of you know, now is the time for planting vegetables and getting your garden growing. For many of our clients, raised beds are an ideal solution for producing food. Whether you are new to gardening or have been at it for years, raised beds are an economical yet impactful element to any space.
Raised beds are great for many reasons. They keep pathway weeds from your garden soil (less weeding!), they prevent soil compaction, provide good drainage, and serve as a barrier to pests such as slugs and snails. Raised beds can also be made out of many different materials including finished wood, logs, cement blocks, or composite materials. At Stone Soup Gardens, we can design and install a raised bed for any style garden. Here is an example of a clever way to get the most out of limited space for gardening. We just completed these wonderful beds for a client in Columbia City. It is a wonderful focal piece for the property, and provides a lovely space for sitting and relaxing with neighbors, friends, or for tending your plants without having to crouch. Interested in having raised beds for your garden? Contact Stone Soup today!
At the end of last year, Stone Soup Gardens had the pleasure of being chosen to create new urbanite retaining walls at the Judkins Park P-Patch. The walls were part of a larger vision the community and the Department of Neighborhoods had for the P-Patch, and they wanted someone skilled with using recycled materials for the job. (See previous post HERE.) This year, the Department of Neighborhoods and the folks at the P-Patch came back and asked us to install a community patio space, as well as a space for ADA accessible raised garden beds at the Norman St entrance to the P-Patch. We've been busy for the last week working on this project, and we are excited to share with you how things are shaping up! Take a look below to see the newly laid patio space, and the finishing of our retaining walls. Next up, ground cover installation and a hand-made inlay welcoming you to Judkins P-Patch. Check back, there are more photos to come! Every so often we get to do a really awesome project that benefits the community at large, rather than just a single home in the neighborhood. Recently we completed a new set of stairs and a short wall for the Judkins Park P-patch. It was a great project, and will be a nice feature as they continue to invigorate the existing space. From the Judkins Park Website: "Judkins has a lot of natural habitat, including as all natives planting in the parking strip. There's a small pond, wetland habitat as well. The borders are planted richly with additional northwest natives and beneficial flowers and herbs. Judkins is rare, it's permanently preserved for community gardening! |
This is how Stone Soup Gardens rolls - check out our blog for current, upcoming, and past projects, events, and other super cool stuff worth mentioning.
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