On a critical slope at the top of Lake Washington, we were asked to design a garden around a concrete slab poured in the 90’s. We think it was originally designed as a sport court, loungey area, very California. Western Washington’s climate had other plans. It had become a beautiful mossy haven, with a few complications.

The clients told us they wanted to remove the concrete at least a little…but were open to ideas, which created a lot of possibilities. One of the best parts of this project is that the whole site is a steep slope and access was terrible. Rather than that being a PITA, it helped us keep things on site in creative ways. Of course, we wanted to depave big areas for planting, but the concrete was too heavy to haul up the hill, so all depaved areas were cut into concrete strips for seating features.

On top of all that, the whole lower hillside was covered in English Ivy. We all knew that this was our main planting opportunity and wanted to transform this zone into a dreamy northwest understory. Removing this is in process now, we will compost the ivy on site.

We continue to gush about this project in progress. Incredible clients and talented builders.

More pictures coming soon.