Yard of the Week: Places for Growing, Working and Playing
A landscape architect transforms a sloped Seattle yard into a beautiful and usable space for a family and its dogs
The homeowners, a couple with a teenage daughter and two dogs, each had a must-have feature for the backyard redesign of their Seattle home. The wife wanted a place where she could work from home that would feel separate from the main house. The husband wanted a place where he could put his gardening skills to work growing food. When approaching the design, landscape architect Kim Rooney carefully considered functionality, sustainability, style and how everything would flow together in this sloped site. The result is a beautiful and usable outdoor space for the whole family.
Before Photo
After: Rooney reorganized the yard and added terraces to address the slope. “I tried to work with the existing grading as much as possible,” she says. Both of the retaining walls seen here are new, though Rooney repurposed existing boulders to form the upper wall. Two paths with bluestone steps make it easy to navigate the yard.
There’s a new outdoor kitchen next to the house, located beneath the deck, and edible gardens to the right of it. The middle level features a croquet lawn, while the bottom level has an entertaining patio and a freestanding office studio.
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There’s a new outdoor kitchen next to the house, located beneath the deck, and edible gardens to the right of it. The middle level features a croquet lawn, while the bottom level has an entertaining patio and a freestanding office studio.
Work with a landscape architect near you
The new outdoor kitchen and entertainment space sit directly off the house. The colorful kitchen includes a fridge, a gas grill, burners and storage. The counter is 2-inch-thick bluestone with a thermal top. The veneer below is Silver Falls ledgestone.
Built-in grill: Aspire, Hestan Grills
What to Know About Adding an Outdoor Kitchen
Built-in grill: Aspire, Hestan Grills
What to Know About Adding an Outdoor Kitchen
“The husband picked out the orange on the outdoor kitchen appliances, so we matched it with these stools. It’s a playful space,” Rooney says. The new patio area up here is mortar-set bluestone. The designer repeated this natural material throughout the yard, including on two patios in the lower yard.
They’re not shown in the photos, but Rooney added two espaliered ‘Bartlett’ European pear trees (Pyrus communis ‘Bartlett’, USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone) on the far side of the patio.
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They’re not shown in the photos, but Rooney added two espaliered ‘Bartlett’ European pear trees (Pyrus communis ‘Bartlett’, USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone) on the far side of the patio.
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The new kitchen garden is next to the patio; it’s composed of Cor-Ten steel planting beds with very necessary rabbit fencing. “We took out a lot of lawn and replaced it with edible plants here,” Rooney says. She used crushed gravel in between the beds. The Ivory Spear crabapple trees along the fence were existing.
The beds are filled with vegetables, strawberries and sunflowers. ‘Sunshine Blue’ southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium ‘Sunshine Blue’, zones 7 to 10) line the side of the house, and the trellis on the right side of the photo is for raspberries. The husband “is really good at gardening and is having lots of fun with it,” Rooney says.
The beds are filled with vegetables, strawberries and sunflowers. ‘Sunshine Blue’ southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium ‘Sunshine Blue’, zones 7 to 10) line the side of the house, and the trellis on the right side of the photo is for raspberries. The husband “is really good at gardening and is having lots of fun with it,” Rooney says.
An urn fountain in the garden’s center provides the sound of bubbling water. This is also a popular spot for the hummingbirds the new design attracts.
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Shop for fountains on Houzz
This photo shows the kitchen garden as the plants were just getting started (the other photos in this story were taken approximately one year after construction was complete).
“There was just a big blank wall here, so I designed a trellis for climbing roses,” Rooney says. She had metal artisan William Varela of All Custom Metal Arts fabricate the metalwork she designed for the site.
“There was just a big blank wall here, so I designed a trellis for climbing roses,” Rooney says. She had metal artisan William Varela of All Custom Metal Arts fabricate the metalwork she designed for the site.
Florentina Arborose climbing roses (Rosa x ‘KORtrameilo’, zones 5 to 9) add color and beauty to the garden, and also provide shelter for birds. “These roses create a wonderful habitat where birds can hide from predators,” Rooney says.
How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Garden
How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Garden
Before: The view from the deck to the lower yard was partially blocked by overgrown plants. The view from where the outdoor kitchen is now was almost completely blocked. However, the view of the dilapidated sports court was uninspiring anyway.
After: The new — very worthy — view Rooney created is through the sloped garden down to the patio for entertaining. The tall arborvitae hedge seen here behind the fire pit patio was existing. Most of the fence was existing, but Rooney added simple hog wire fencing along the hedge to keep the dogs contained. “This fence visually will disappear into the landscape,” she says.
Rooney left the original concrete pad from the sports court beneath the paved areas in the new design, placing the structures and pavers on top of it. “This cut down on waste from the project, so it was a cool adaptive reuse of the dilapidated sports court,” she says. She also used as many of the existing trees and shrubs on the site as possible, planning around some while transplanting others.
8 Approaches to Sustainable Landscape Construction
Rooney left the original concrete pad from the sports court beneath the paved areas in the new design, placing the structures and pavers on top of it. “This cut down on waste from the project, so it was a cool adaptive reuse of the dilapidated sports court,” she says. She also used as many of the existing trees and shrubs on the site as possible, planning around some while transplanting others.
8 Approaches to Sustainable Landscape Construction
Bluestone steps wind through the landscape to the yard’s lowest level. (This path is now the wife’s commute to her new office outbuilding.) Rooney worked with fabricator Varela on-site to determine the right curves for the custom iron handrails that line the path.
The new gardens are a mix of native and nonnative plants that require very little, if any, watering. Rooney planted creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum, zones 4 to 8) between each step. The plants seen to the left of the path are ‘Big Ears’ lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina ‘Big Ears’, zones 4 to 9). “The steps are 5 to 6 feet wide, but planting the edges like this makes them feel less wide,” the designer says. Softening the steps with plants also made the journey through the garden feel more immersive.
Rooney used many flowering shrubs and perennials that can be cut for bouquets. She chose lots of pollinator attractors to help the garden thrive, including:
The new gardens are a mix of native and nonnative plants that require very little, if any, watering. Rooney planted creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum, zones 4 to 8) between each step. The plants seen to the left of the path are ‘Big Ears’ lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina ‘Big Ears’, zones 4 to 9). “The steps are 5 to 6 feet wide, but planting the edges like this makes them feel less wide,” the designer says. Softening the steps with plants also made the journey through the garden feel more immersive.
Rooney used many flowering shrubs and perennials that can be cut for bouquets. She chose lots of pollinator attractors to help the garden thrive, including:
- ‘Autumn Brilliance’ serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’, zones 4 to 9)
- ‘Big Ears’ lamb’s ears
- ‘Blue Spire’ Russian sage (Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’, zones 5 to 9)
- Creeping thyme
- ‘Goldsturm’ black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’, zones 3 to 9)
- ‘Hidcote Superior’ English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote Superior’, zones 5 to 8)
- ‘Mae-jima’ variegated winter Daphne (Daphne odora ‘Mae-jima’, zones 7 to 9)
- ‘Magnus’ purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’, zones 3 to 9)
- ‘Walker’s Low’ catmint (Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’, zones 3 to 8)
In addition to the entertaining patio, the lowest level of the yard features the new office outbuilding and a lawn.
A small patio located directly off the office gives the wife a spot where she can come out and catch some sunlight and fresh air during a work call or a break.
Outbuilding: Studio Shed
A small patio located directly off the office gives the wife a spot where she can come out and catch some sunlight and fresh air during a work call or a break.
Outbuilding: Studio Shed
“I made sure the scale of the new office would not overpower the space,” Rooney says. The office shed is prefabricated and has a green roof. “A neighbor behind the house looks down on this building, and a metal roof might have created a reflective glare,” the designer says. The planted roof catches water and provides a nicer view for the neighbors.
Glass doors, a clerestory and windows along the side of the office fill it with light.
“The garden feels casual, but it also has clean lines that work with the architecture of the house,” Rooney says.
Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
“The garden feels casual, but it also has clean lines that work with the architecture of the house,” Rooney says.
Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
Before: The existing retaining walls were rotting, toxic railroad ties.
After: It’s about a 4-foot change in grade from the house to the upper lawn, then 21 inches down to the office and entertainment patio’s level. The steps are monolithic bluestone. The plants that line the bottom of the lower wall are white bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum ‘Album’, zones 4 to 8).
Besides new cafe lighting on the entertainment patio, almost all of the new landscape lighting fixtures on the property are path lights that allow for safely traversing the stairs.
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Shop for outdoor lighting
Before: The sports court was in bad shape, with weeds growing up through it.
After: It’s hard to believe this is the same space now. “I wanted the entertainment patio to feel comfortable for one, two or three people as well as for larger groups,” Rooney says. She placed patio furniture around a large fire table and added cafe lights for a romantic ambiance. The stairs and wall where this photo was taken from serve as extra seats during parties.
A garden bed along one side of the fire pit patio includes ‘Limelight’ panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’, zones 3 to 8), ‘New Hampshire’ bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum ‘New Hampshire’, zones 4 to 8) and ‘Immortality’ tall bearded iris (Iris ‘Immortality’, zones 3 to 9). “It is unbelievable how many birds are here now, especially the hummingbirds. It’s wonderful,” Rooney says.
‘Goldsturm’ black-eyed Susans extend the adjacent garden bed’s edge to the bottom of the stone plinth seen here. This and another plinth support posts for the patio’s string lighting. Rooney capped the plinths with thermal bluestone.
‘Goldsturm’ black-eyed Susans extend the adjacent garden bed’s edge to the bottom of the stone plinth seen here. This and another plinth support posts for the patio’s string lighting. Rooney capped the plinths with thermal bluestone.
Landscape plan: The house runs along the right side of this plan, with the outdoor kitchen and kitchen garden to its left. At the top-left corner is the entertainment patio, with the office beneath it.
Sustainable elements of this project include:
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Sustainable elements of this project include:
- Eliminating waste by repurposing as much of the sports court’s concrete as possible
- Planning around and transplanting existing trees and shrubs
- Reusing existing boulders and other rocks on the site
- Attracting pollinators
- Providing food and habitat for wildlife
- Including edible plants
- Using low-maintenance plants with little to no extra watering requirements
- Removing toxic railroad ties
- Using a green roof on the office
More on Houzz
Read more stories about patios
Browse thousands of patio photos
Hire a landscape contractor
Shop for your outdoor spaces
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple, their teenage daughter and three dogs
Location: Seattle
Size: 4,200 square feet (390 square meters)
Landscape architect: Kim Rooney Design
Before: The yard had this lawn next to the house, then a slope between this area and a dilapidated sports court in the lower portion. The family lacked a safe and easy way to get from the house down to the sports court. There also were some unattractive retaining walls made of boulders and railroad ties.