Design

Objective: To create a usable and inviting landscape to complement an elegant, Spanish-style home. Challenges: Large north facing lot is sloped top to bottom with a narrow terrace for the house making the landscape unapproachable and difficult to maintain. Beautiful home with vintage custom details inside and out, large plate glass windows and sweeping views . . . continue reading

Objective: To revitalize and connect a terraced landscape overlooking the Spokane River. Challenges: Blending with native river vegetation, minimizing erosion and providing a safe and friendly space for young children, dogs and entertaining. Grandfathered into a rare, riverside property, this home and garden sits on a terrace downriver from Spokane’s city center. Box Elder and . . . continue reading

Objective: To create a welcoming walk to balance and beautify house. Challenges: To redesign an awkward combination of steps and sloped concrete bridging the grade change from street to front door. To balance the top heavy architecture with landscape. This beautifully remodeled South Hill home was ill served by an entry walk with a hodge . . . continue reading

Objective: To complete the transformation of a 100 year old homestead nestled in the rolling Palouse hills and realize the owners’ dreams of a home sanctuary. Challenges: Creating era appropriate gardens to surround the renovated farmhouse, maintaining vehicular access for large farm equipment, and transitioning gracefully to the surrounding hillsides of wheat. It was essential . . . continue reading

This Old House writer Therese Ciesinski and photographer Jerry Pavia put together a lovely article in the May 2015 issue of the magazine describing the evolution of my most personal garden design - my home garden. For me it’s about the rugged beauty of our plentiful rock, the majestic Ponderosa pines, the generous sun and . . . continue reading

Nestled in a pine woodland cul de sac this modern home meticulously renovated by architect Ben Trogdon suffered from a landscape with lack of definition and lack of imagination. Unlike many connosieurs of modern style who opt for a minimalist, highly controlled landscape, these owners wished to create a naturalistic garden that would both soften . . . continue reading

Another fine collaboration with Greenscape Landscape for the 2014 Spokane Home Show creating a garden experience inspired by elements of Japanese design - shelter, stone, water and beautiful plants. The central feature of our garden is a rustic arbor constructed of repurposed telephone poles. Shaded from harsh sun and lightly enclosed with an open air . . . continue reading

Giant snowflakes are coming to repose on needles and branches out my office window but I know gardeners are starting their springtime rituals - placing catalogue orders, sprouting seeds, cleaning and sharpening diggers and clippers. One of my rites of spring is attending the Northwest Flower and Garden show in Seattle. It's a mid-winter illusion . . . continue reading

Where do we start? How does this work? These are questions often asked by folks interested in a professionally designed landscape that will stand out in beauty and performance. Landscape design, like any creative work, is rarely a linear process, but there are points along the way that are important in every design. Greenscape Landscaping . . . continue reading