Foliage First makeover for a Front Garden

When the homeowners of this beautiful Sammamish, WA home could no longer see out of their front windows, they knew it was time to call me. I had already re-designed their back garden (I'll share that another day) so I knew their tastes as well as the home itself.

It's a common problem: a garden has matured to the point where basic editing is no longer sufficient. It was time for an overhaul of this small space.

Key Goals

BEFORE: a green humpback monster is swallowing the left window and there is generally an excess of dark green, broadleaf evergreens

• To make the entry sequence feel and look lighter and brighter rather than a barrier to keep guests out
• Introduce four season color besides dark green
• Have filtered privacy from the neighbors to the left.

Design Approach

This sketch helped the crew understand what  had to be removed and where the lawn should be cut

Whereas I usually measure a space accurately, transfer that information to the computer and then create a drawing using software, this was such a small space I was confident a quick sketch and a few notes would be sufficient for the homeowners landscape maintenance team to understand and install the new design.

I adjusted the line of the grass to connect with a clear transition in the existing path to make better sense of it. Pro Tip: key lines should relate to something!

I also added compacted gravel 'window washing walks' immediately adjacent to the house, shown as blue fill in the above and following images. This simple adjustment means windows can be washed and/or repainted without walking on the soil, or even worse on plants.

A few notes directly onto the sketch helped the crew understand where the privacy plantings would go in relation to the newly shaped lawn

The numbers linked to a simple word document that listed the plants by common name and botanical name as well as giving recommended sizes for purchasing and the quantity needed.

NEW PLAN: Softer layers of evergreen and herbaceous foliage. The colors are loosely representative of the foliage/flower colors of the new plants

PLANTS FOR FRONT OF HOME & PRIVACY BOUNDARY

1. Fragrant sweetbox (Sarcococca ruscifolia)
2. Little Heath andromeda (Pieris japonica ‘Little Heath’)
3. Rainbow drooping fetterbush (Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow')
4. Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora)
5. Silver Heart Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla 'Silver Heart')
6. Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola')
7. Arthur Menzies Oregon grape (Mahonia × media ‘Arthur Menzies’) or similar
8. Picturata aucuba (Aucuba japonica ‘Picturata’)

PLANT SIZES TO PURCHASE:

Shrubs 3g-5g

Ferns, grasses, Siberian bugloss 1g

The Results

September 2022: Immediately after planting and already looking welcoming rather than imposing

September 2024: just two years later and thanks to good soil preparation and quality plants, everything is flourishing. This angle shows the transition to the neighboring property where a tall variety of Oregon grape has been used for some screening.

The 'window washing walk' isn't visible when approaching the home yet it makes such a difference for ongoing home maintenance.

Note the compacted gravel walkway in front of the windows. It is hidden in plain sight thanks to the evergreen plants in front of it. the gravel is held in place by black steel edging.

Six of the 8 plants used in the design are evergreen – but that doesn't mean they are 'ever-boring' or all dark green. There are three different species of variegated evergreen shrubs, evergreen ferns with orange new growth, and evergreen shrubs with large, holly-like leaves plus winter flowers and fragrance, spring blooms and easy maintenance.

Repetition is also key to this designs success. The softly cascading waterfall of Japanese forest grass sets a rhythm that draws the eye across the entire frontage of this lovely home and lights up the deeper colors.

Although the Japanese forest grass dies down in winter it is very slow to do so and takes on rich burgundy tints before turning straw-like. Watching the newly emerging blades in spring adds a sense of anticipation of the new season.

What the homeowners said

Our front garden became an attractive and lush space of textures, movement, and vibrant shades of greens and yellows. There is now an ever changing vista which we thoroughly enjoy throughout the seasons.