Little Urban Gem

I'm currently working on a yard in Seattle that needs to have a new life. The family is growing up and the kids are leaving so Mom wants a renewed and more useful yard for this. We started this project back in October...well, September, really - but due to weather and the busy schedule of the client it really got off the ground right after the big Halloween party that she and her neighbors have at her house each year. The goal is to make an urban garden on the south side of the house, fix the not-too-effective middle yard that drains into the outside basement stairway and provide a new outdoor room on the north side of the house for repose and contemplation and to help extend the deck area.

The client wanted to do a lot of the work herself and agreed to tackle the hard work of putting cardboard on the old lawn and covering it with about 4" of mulch to sit there all winter generating itself into the best garden soil ever! This house sits about 12 steps up off the street so hauling all that mulch up to the yard to some time and effort. You can see the before and after shots of the three parts of the yard here - the grassy areas are the old yard, the muddy shots are the new mulch and cardboard turning into new soil. Kind of messy right now but it will be great when it all gets replanted.

We also had a small garden shed built in the north yard which will add charm to the new outdoor room. When spring rolls around we'll put the new plants in and fix the middle area by terracing and creating effective drainage. The north yard with the shed will have a circular seating area surrounded by native plantings that will give it an enclosed feel - the outdoor room! It will look great.