Small Backyard from Blah to Beautiful!

These clients had a boring and not very inviting small backyard that they wanted to upgrade to better fit their style and needs.  

Here are the before pictures:

                                 Backyard East

                                 Backyard West

My design included hardy, colorful and bee friendly plants to provide year round interest and for an extension of the paver patio for the BBQ area.  The far corner of the west end we wanted to screen the view of the houses and initially planned for a small corner pergola but supply issues had the clients looking elsewhere and they found some gorgeous panels in an antique shop that really helps that corner pop!

After: 

Here is the back corner, just perfect for a little getaway!

In the east side of the back yard I added a Hydrangea tree to anchor the corner overlooking a water feature surrounded by bee friendly hardy perennials.  Within hours of installation the clients were happily surprised by how many bees and other beneficial insects were visiting, it really livened up their yard!

In the years to come the clematis vines will cover the trellis's and the plants will fill in to create a hardy but lush and inviting backyard oasis.

2019 Landscape Projects - Bend

2019 Landscape Projects - Bend Backyard Make-over

During the winter of 2018/2019 a wonderful family contacted me to make-over their backyard, they had an old paver patio that had warped over the years and some lawn.  The clients hired me to help them create a more functional, modern backyard with kitchen, fire pit, dining area and water feature.  

Before:  A tired backyard with a warped old paver patio and a not very functional lawn and surrounding beds.

 After:  A modern luxurious backyard with a large patio, Zen fire pit from Cement Elegance, bubbling boulder water feature, enticing outdoor kitchen and subtle lighting.  The surrounding planting includes a layered selection of perennials, shrubs and trees that create seasonal interest and a lush paradise made for the Central Oregon climate.

After:  The patio is now large enough to be multi-functional with fire pit, dining area and outdoor kitchen easily accessible from inside.

After:  A modern, state of the art outdoor kitchen with grill and smoker, with integrated sink and counters custom made by Cement Elegance.  The Light Smoke color of the cement counters and cladding complement the grey of the large pavers in the patio creating a unified color palette for the backyard.

After:  The Zen firepit from Cement Elegance is the perfect size for the backyard creating a twilight gathering place for the family to enjoy their beautiful backyard and watch the stars twinkle.

After:  The Bubbling Boulder water feature installed by Brian O'Keefe of Ripple Effect creates a soothing sound to the garden bringing in birds and butterflies who drink or bathe in the waters.

Frontyard Before:  The family spends a lot of time in the front yard with the children playing on the sidewalk or in the street with the rest of the neighborhood.  The homeowners desired a better place to sit, socialize and watch their children.  

Frontyard After:  Using the same large pavers from the backyard, we create a seating area with layered textural plantings to create an inviting and stunning front yard area that can now be used to socialize with neighbors, watch the children and enjoy a glass of wine.

Landscape designed by Carlseng Designs

Hardscape installed by Brian O'Keefe of Ripple Effect

Plants installed by Anna Vacca of Flower Power 

Outdoor kitchen built by Sunset Outdoor Living

Outdoor kitchen cladding and counters by Cement Elegance

Irrigation and lighting by Miller Irrigation

2019 Landscape Projects - Tetherow

Landscape Projects 2019

2019 was another year of wonderful projects and gorgeous landscape transformations  and I continue to work with incredible clients and contractors.  Following are pictures of some of my projects that got installed this year:

Tetherow Backyard Upgrade Extraordinaire! 

Before: Most of the pre-existing backyard was a slight slope of native grasses.

After: A revamped, upgraded backyard for all sorts of enjoyment!  A clean modern concrete wall contains a lush lawn with native perennials and grasses to soften the transition to the native landscape beyond.  Good Life Landscaping found a stunning Juniper 'Ghost Tree' which creates a gorgeous focal point when viewed from the patio.

 After:  From the northeast corner of the property and the Tetherow Golf Course, the new perennials and grasses will soften the view.  We can also see the landscape boulders creating additional interest and texture, unifying the modern patio/lawn area and the soft native landscape beyond.

   After:  Previously this area was bumpy dirt and grass from the rain and snow melt from the roof-line above.  Now it is a modern and stylish path down into the landscape that will stand up to any rain or snow storms.

  After:  The landscape contractor Good Life Landscaping installed these large boulders as seating surrounding the Desert Stone gravel patio and path area.  The boulders are actually quite comfortable and provide a great somewhat tucked away area for the teenagers to gather.

  After:  The pre-existing patio was already cut at an angle and so we played with those lines to make the new lawn with diagonal lines to keep it fresh and interesting.  The home owners now enjoy a lush, level lawn to further enjoy the outdoors and the gorgeous views from their Tetherow home.

Landscape designed by Carlseng Designs 

Landscape installed by Good Life Landscaping

More New Landscape Design Projects in Bend!

Another gorgeous project creating a patio using New York Bluestone pavers for clients wanted a low maintenance, easy, elegant and beautiful landscape.  It is so fun working with clients with a strong sense of what they want, we worked together creating many different renditions of the plant to finally create something that balanced the off center backyard with the pavers. 
Surrounded by evergreen trees for a sense of place and privacy, complemented by choice deciduous plants for a seasonal effect.

The clients had selected these ornamental evergreen trees to create a stunning effect in their front yard.  To work with the slight slope we used more New York Bluestone to create a low terrace.

Cottage Style Garden in Central Oregon

A few years ago a client approached me needing help with her rectangular backyard.  It was straight and narrow and not at all appealing. 
This is what I started with:

The client wanted an interesting, lawn free backyard to sit and enjoy the sun with a lower patio area with color, texture and year-round interest. 
Whenever I am dealing with a narrow yard I add curves and hidden paths with overflowing plants to disguise the shape. 

Here is the jewel out of the rough:

Wow what a difference a good design can make!  It doesn't even look like the same yard!


Here is how it looks when entering from the alleyway, hmm I wonder what is behind that gate?

Open the gate and you see.......

Oh yes I want to travel down that path!  Curving paths encourage exploration and can help to screen the destination making it more exciting and revealing as you get closer to the end.


Textures:

A variety of textures create texture no what is in flower.

A view of the classic white stone stone bench in the shade of the Crabapple tree surrounded by garden phlox and backed by Hydrangea. 

Certified Wildlife Habitat at Deschutes Brewery

What a garden!  I have been honored this year to upgrade the flower beds at Deschutes Brewery's brewing facility on SW Simpson in Bend, Oregon.  It had been cared for previously by Maureen Klecker, one of Bend's long time amazing gardeners and many of the plants there were planted by her.  When I took on the design work to upgrade the gardens Deschutes stated they wanted to make the gardens more sustainable which sounded great to me!  I took that idea and decided we could create not only a more sustainable landscape but a Certified Wildlife Habitat at the same time!
To create Certified Wildlife Habitat garden I added old logs for habitat, a "puddling bath" for the bees and butterflies, a Mason Bee house for habitat and lots of native plants and other important plants for pollinators species as well as plants that are crucial hosts for butterflies.

Habitat Log

Pollinator Garden

Pollinating Bee on Liatris at the Deschutes Brewery garden

Puddling Bath for bees and butterflies

Relevant plants got labels indicating their purpose in the garden. 

Gorgeous Narrow Yard Update!

Last post about a narrow backyard makeover needs to be updated as the house is for sale and new pictures are posted!  A garden usually looks better after a couple of seasons so check it out now:


What a difference a professionally designed landscape can make, this house has fantastic curb appeal!

 A narrow backyard can look beautiful and be functional when designed well!