Milwaukie Garden

4990 SE Leone court, Milwaukie 97222

Designed and Built in 2018
Installers: ANNIEBAM Landscape Solutions

Front Yard

There are few honors like designing for friends, especially those you’ve known since your children were in preschool. Chris and Lauren remodeled the outside of their home sparking the need for a beautiful garden that fit them. This family lives their life outside, especially their kids, who were 5 and 8 at the time of designing. Playing, gardening, exercising and, best of all, gathering with friends and neighbors.

The other inspiration came from the extensive composite deck that serves as a porch and brings a modern flavor to the 1960’s house. Our goal was to connect that vibe to the landscape without being out-of-sync with the neighborhood. We bridged the deck-porch to the front steps with 2 x 2 pavers and clean lines of stone-slab steps. The walls (replacing an old red lava rock wall) continued the modern look and lines while adding a bit of texture. The addition of a boulder/rockery connected the garden to the neighborhood and created a location for the kids to play and climb on.

The act of lining up the stone steps with the front door was a dance with angles! The curved curb of the cul de sac combined with the location of the front door gave us an opportunity to be both creative and precise. There was a lot of double checking of measurements!
The plantings are tough enough to survive the imagination of the children playing around them, while still being beautiful in color and texture.

Back Yard

The dream of the backyard started with a glass of bubbly in hand as Lauren and I walked the garden. How could we create an outdoor space that was private, yet inviting in a yard that sloped so dramatically?
The family required space to entertain, workout, and grill while still having room for the children to run and play. But, what to do about the harsh slope? Once again, I put on my engineer hat and leaned into my many years of designing on technically challenging, sloped sites.

The final design creates a level patio space to entertain, surrounded by horizontal fencing. A ramp gives access to the upper living area while adding a touch of playfulness. The lawn swoops around to the front so kids can run around the house. Containers and great outdoor furniture add the final touch for two cohesive living spaces that are lush, inviting, and encourage you to relax.
My crew removed over 40 cubic yards of soil to level the side of the yard that is now the living room. We repeated the stone steps and block wall from the front to create a cohesive vision around the entire home. The ceramic containers get planted 2 x a year; once in April with flower combos that explode with color all summer long and again in October with winter interest to brighten up the dull days of winter.