Spring 2023 has started out with an exciting garden design project. Our client wanted to re-do her front garden bed to be a Japanese Garden Experience.

Day 1:

We started out by digging out all existing plant material in her garden and transplanting the plants to new spots around the garden.

Day 2:

Next, we created a new bed-line and dug out the turf to extend the bed-line out further into the lawn to create a seamless garden instead of having two beds that flanked the existing stone porch. We wanted it to feel like you were within the entire garden bed when you stood on the patio instead of being in-between two garden beds. Once we dug out the turf out, we realized how poor the soil quality was so we brought in 1.5 yards of yummy compost to improve the soil quality.

Day 3:

Now for the fun part: we went to several nurseries and tree farms around Portland, Oregon to shop for statement trees and sun loving plants that resembled Japanese Garden plants. Our three statement trees were: A Whistle's Saguaro Cypress Tree, an Austrian Pine that we pruned to be in the style of a Japanese Cloud Pine, and lastly a weeping Blue Atlas Cedar. We kept our plant color palate to shades of green, pops of reds and whites. 

Day 4:

After we created the new garden bed and brought in additional soil, we used the client's existing stones and placed them throughout the garden as "statement pieces". We also used one large stone as a stepping stone off the stone patio to make you feel like you were walking within the garden. We also created a trench and laid down landscaping fabric for her existing river rock. We wanted to create a dry riverbed for additional drainage and to bring her existing river rock into this portion of the garden. We set two flagstones into the dry river bed and made sure they were level and cemented in. 

Day 5:

Lastly, was the installation process. We created mounded beds with the new soil to create topographic interest within the garden bed. Then we planted all of the plants, pruned the trees and shrubs, and planted 5 statement potted plants for the patio. The potted plants were a Japanese Maple Tree, Equisetum, Globe Evergreen, an existing arborvitae that the client had and a Nandina. 

This was the first of many garden design projects to come. We will keep you updated here. During this project we exclusively used Skyhaven Harvest tools. So please always feel free to reach out to us with any Gardening or plant questions. We are always accepting new gardening projects so feel free to connect with us on our Contact Page! You can also see more project photos on our Outdoor Gardening Page.