Eco-Friendly Home
The homeowner wanted to transform the small (about 25’ x 50’) front yard into an eco-friendly garden that suited the style of her small Craftsman-styled cottage. Aesthetically, the homeowner wanted a garden with Northwest Asian flair.
The homeowner’s wish list included:
- A new entry gate to give a sense of privacy
- A flagstone front walk and small patio
- A rain garden to channel roof runoff
- Plantings to provide bird and insect habitat
- Pathways to provide flow through the small space
The desire for a rain garden was the key element upon which the rest of the design evolved. Three elements make up this eco-friendly feature:
- Collecting rain runoff from the roof
- Channeling the runoff under a decorative dry stream bed
- A bowl-shaped space to allow the runoff to slowly percolate into the ground
Appropriate plantings for the wet, intermediate and dry zones of the rain garden provided the starting point for choosing the remaining plant palette.
Pennsylvania blue stone hardscapes, an Asian-influenced gate, a calming color palette and an impressive statue were integrated into the garden.
Sustainable garden features include:
- Recycled concrete gravel for hardscapes foundation.
- Native and drought-tolerant plants to attract wildlife and conserve water.
- Organic soil amendments and mulch.
- Rain garden to eliminate roof runoff from entering the storm sewer system. Instead, the stormwater percolates into the ground, thus protecting local lakes, stream and Puget Sound habitats.
The homeowner wanted to transform the small (about 25’ x 50’) front yard into an eco-friendly garden that suited the style of her small Craftsman-styled cottage. Aesthetically, the homeowner wanted a garden with Northwest Asian flair.
The homeowner’s wish list included:
- A new entry gate to give a sense of privacy
- A flagstone front walk and small patio
- A rain garden to channel roof runoff
- Plantings to provide bird and insect habitat
- Pathways to provide flow through the small space
The desire for a rain garden was the key element upon which the rest of the design evolved. Three elements make up this eco-friendly feature:
- Collecting rain runoff from the roof
- Channeling the runoff under a decorative dry stream bed
- A bowl-shaped space to allow the runoff to slowly percolate into the ground
Appropriate plantings for the wet, intermediate and dry zones of the rain garden provided the starting point for choosing the remaining plant palette.
Pennsylvania blue stone hardscapes, an Asian-influenced gate, a calming color palette and an impressive statue were integrated into the garden.
Sustainable garden features include:
- Recycled concrete gravel for hardscapes foundation.
- Native and drought-tolerant plants to attract wildlife and conserve water.
- Organic soil amendments and mulch.
- Rain garden to eliminate roof runoff from entering the storm sewer system. Instead, the stormwater percolates into the ground, thus protecting local lakes, stream and Puget Sound habitats.
