Heidi Skievaski and Kryssie Maybay of Sublime Garden Design transformed a two-acre property that was essentially a blank canvas—a hillside with a few junipers and rhododendron and a sea of lawn—into a backyard retreat with several gardens and distinct areas for entertaining.
The property’s former owner was an architect who designed and built the home, which features intriguing shapes and angles. The home offers 360-degree views over the entire landscape, with large floor-to-ceiling windows in many of the rooms. Skievaski and Maybay worked with the current homeowners to maximize the one-of-a-kind property and its views.
The stipa gigantea, or giant feather grass, really catches the light.
“Our clients really enjoy hiking, traveling, and the feeling of being out-doors and wanted a natural, mountain campground setting for the landscape design. They also really wanted a water feature,” Maybay said.
The design team spent time in each of the home’s rooms to study the views and plan the landscape accordingly. The living room, kitchen, and dining area offer views of the pond, as does the master bedroom.
The home is surrounded by a greenbelt, so it offers a secluded, wooded feeling, even while being in close proximity to Snohomish and its amenities.
“It’s possible for the homeowners to wake up and see the falls from the bedroom window, which is such a wonderful feature,” Skievaski said.
The property includes a cutting and vegetable garden, which the homeowners designed; a pond with a small waterfall; and a moonlit garden with white flowering plants, natural grasses, and transitional plantings where the ornamental landscape meets a natural wetland area. Skievaski and Maybay were also happy to incorporate the homeowners’ favorite plants, which they had brought with them from their previous home.
The homeowners share a love of geology, so they accompanied Skievaski and Maybay to the quarry to hand select rocks and boulders for the water feature. The project was so enjoyable that one of the homeowners started working on water features and added water plants and koi to the pond.
Since the landscape design, the property has become a wonderful place for entertaining, and the homeowners have hosted a private wedding as well as a recent work gathering, inviting more than 150 families.
Landscape Design | Heidi Skievaski, Owner and Landscape Designer, and Kryssie Maybay, Landscape Architect, Sublime Garden Design
Water Feature | Bear Creek Landscaping
Stone | Simply Rocks
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