Landscape Design Articles
Modern Landscape Design for Family and Dogs
How to Adapt When the Modern Landscape Design Changes My new clients are a family of six, four humans and two dogs. Their home near Portland's Mt Tabor is three stories (2 plus a daylight basement) of mid century modern. It’s what I call a sleeper home. The front...
Mid Century Modern Landscape Design Starts With the Right Fence
Woodstock Mid Century Modern Landscape Design Remodel Starts with the Right Fence Mid century modern landscape in Woodstock neighborhood I got a phone call from Larry and Jan. I could tell we were a great match from the first phone call. This 1955 home sits on...
Landscape Remodel for Woodlawn Neighborhood Back Yard
Affordable Landscape Remodel for Woodlawn Neighborhood Back Yard My new clients have a corner lot in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. They were referred by their friend Julia whose Rose City neighborhood landscape I had designed. The flow of this back...
Laurelhurst Neighborhood Home Gets a New Backyard
Updated Hardscape With Existing Native Oregon Plants Clients Wish List This client is a gardener extraordinaire. She had several beloved existing plants to work into the design, and a list of favorite plants. The planting plan would be a collaborative design effort...
No Lawn Backyard for the Whole Family
Concordia Backyard Re-Design Clients Wish List Josh and Gina lived in this NE Portland home in the Concordia neighborhood for many years before deciding it was time to hire a landscape designer to redo the backyard. They wanted to convert the garage into an...
Grant Park Georgian Style House Gets an Entry Landscape Makeover
Residential Landscape Design Makeover for Portland Front Lawn Clients Wish List Mark and Mary have a beautiful double lot in NE Portland and their large backyard is dreamy. They have lived in their Georgian style home for decades. They felt their front yard didn't...
Vancouver No Lawn Front Yard Landscape Design
Vancouver No Lawn Front Yard Landscape Design Steve found Landscape Design in a Day after the remodel of their front porch and driveway walkway. The grass was patchy at best and the plants were overgrown. Steve’s wife recently passed away; she was the gardener in the...
Custom Landscape Design for Your Portland ADU: Part 1
Landscaping Your Custom Portland ADU Are you thinking about turning your home or property into an income producing situation with an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit)? Is your ADU a long term investment or a way to add value to your home for re sale? These are some of the...
Privacy for Tiny Urban Back Yard in Buckman Neighborhood
Tiny Buckman Neighborhood Backyard needs Hardscape Landscaping My client’s 1909 house fills most of his 36’ by 100’ lot. My mission? Transform his tiny narrow utilitarian “yard” into a private and relaxing place to be for summer. He was especially interested in...
No Lawn Back Yard Landscape Design in Grant Park
Outdoor Living Back Yard Landscape Design in Grant Park Chris and Stacey found me via Neighbor Next Door and having read my blog about dog friendly landscapes they called me. Their new home had an interesting garden. While it was more attractive and well tended than...
Deck Design for West Slope Modern Home is a Perfect Fit
Deck Design for West Slope Modern Home is a Perfect Fit My new clients love architecture and have a great appreciation of modern design. Their new home is a beautifully designed ultra modern split level in the West Slope neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. If...
Portland Landscape Designer Alana Chau
Portland Landscape Designer Alana Chau Hi I'm Alana and I love being a Landscape Designer. I met Carol one December day at Cistus Nursery on Sauvie Island. I was a sales associate and she wanted a unique plant gift for her sister. She was the only customer there...
Sloped Front Yard Landscape Design for Foster Powell Neighborhood Home
Landscape Design Solutions for Sloped Front Yard in Foster Powell Residential Home Peter and Lynn are patient people and maybe even a little old fashioned. They purchased their home, made some repairs and updates, waited a bit, then hired me to create a landscape...
Portland Backyard Landscape Design Renovation in Foster Powell Neighborhood
Portland Backyard Landscape Design Renovation Making a backyard heaven the DIY way started with Peter and Lynn contacting me for a landscape design in the Foster Powell neighborhood. While they are solid DIYers, they also believe in getting professional help where it...
Kenton Mid Century Modern Landscape Design
Kenton Mid Century Modern Landscape Design My client Wendy, in the Kenton neighborhood of North Portland, wanted a landscape designer to help her realize a mid century modern landscape design style vision. Her mid century modern was built in 1957. She had a lot of...
Selecting Dwarf Apple Trees for Small City Landscapes
Selecting Dwarf Apple Trees for Small City Landscapes Recently I specified apple trees for a client with a small yard. I chose 'Liberty' for disease resistance and flavor and 'Akane'. Along with the name of the apple I wanted, I also specified which dwarfing root...
Rose City Front Yard Landscaping With No Grass
Rose City Front Yard Landscaping With No Grass Here is a classic Rose City Portland bungalow with a tiny front yard. My clients Julia and Bruce wanted a welcoming no lawn entry garden. They were planning to raise their family in this home so they wanted a landscape...
Irvington Backyard Landscape Design Creates Haven for Entertaining
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...
Water Features for Dog Friendly Landscapes
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...
Mud Free Dogs-Dog Friendly Landscape Designer
Options for Dog Friendly Landscaping in Portland Oregon In my years working with my clients designing dog friendly yards, I've come up with many strategies to prevent my client's dogs from bringing the outside in. In the summer it might be a stick which you can...
Modern Entry Landscape for Portland Hillside Home
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...
Garden Remodel in a Rose City Park’s Craftsman Home
Garden Remodel in a Rose City Park’s Craftsman Home Kay hired me to design her garden remodel in the Rose City Park Neighborhood after she had a seismic upgrade done to the foundation of her old Portland craftsman home. The construction process destroyed much of her...
Portland Landscape Design creates privacy for small city backyard in Woodstock neighborhood
Portland Landscape Design creates privacy for small city backyard in Woodstock neighborhood Case History: Portland infill home in Woodstock neighborhood needs a professional landscape design. The biggest problem for new infill homes with tiny yards is privacy....
Designers List of Shade Plants for Root Weevil Resistance
Designers List of Shade Plants for Root Weevil Resistance Root weevil disfigure so many shade garden plants and can make a garden look ravaged. It’s disappointing to see hosta and other plant leaves looking all chewed up. Can we design a shade garden with beauty and...
