Landscape Design Ideas For Small Spaces

With the oncoming holidays and the passing of another year it has been a perfect time for me to reflect on the things that have helped shape and improve SEI. One of the many areas that I greatly appreciate is my employees and the variety of backgrounds that they come from. In fact, this year we have had Arabic, French, German, Flemish, Spanish, and Navaho spoken by some of the team members. An article about a landscaper turned royalty reminded me of the diversity that exists at Scot Eckley Inc. Whether laborer or king, everyone should be treated with respect and equality.

Last month Scot and our in-house landscape designer Mike attended the 2015 Association of Professional Landscape Designers’ International Conference in Washington DC. The title for the assemblage of like-minded designers, “A Monumental Conference”, was fitting for the surrounding scenery dotted with famous landmarks. As a guest speaker at the 3-day conference, Scot presented his approach to designing small outdoor spaces in Seattle, showing that within the grandeur of these landmarks lies an important role for the well-designed small garden. Stay tuned for more as we post on some of the highlights of this trip!

Garden entryways can set the tone for the whole landscape and leave a lasting impression on the avid garden-goer and passerby. This entryway, at one of our beach inspired gardens, is featured in the September issue of Sunset magazine for just that. The use of granite for soil retention and steps that lead up and through to the front door provide year-round interest, even when the plants are not at their peak. When the perennials and grasses are in full glory they help to soften the edges and provide color, texture, and even fragrance, letting the viewer know that this is a dynamic and beautiful garden throughout the year.

• It maximizes a small, sloping lot with numerous outdoor living spaces (we created 4 distinct outdoor rooms).
• It looks great all year long! The bold hardscape design and graphic, low maintenance planting are visually interesting in every season.