On the Snohomish County side of Bothell the lots sit between newer housing and the Sammamish River trail. Roofs, drives, and the trail corridor move a lot of water. The soils are urban soils: graded, compacted, and quick to grow moss where the sun is weak. Small city yards do not have a leftover lawn to hide mistakes in. The walk, the patio, and the drain are the design.
Snohomish County · ZIP 98021
The whole yard is the hardscape
We measure gates, setbacks, and the basement window. Permeable surfaces and a real outlet show up more here than a fountain ever will. One material, run cleanly, beats three patterns in a yard you can cross in eight steps.
Storage, the cans, and the hose bib stay usable. A design that looks open and blocks all three is a design we will not build.
The ground in Bothell
We work the north side of the city, not a pretend second office. Yards are a mix of older ramblers and newer houses with small planting strips and a patio poured on tight fill. Runoff is the theme. A permeable patio or a short drain does more for the foundation than a wider concrete pad.
People here ask for plantings that feed birds and do not need a sprinkler all summer. That fits. Native beds along a back fence, a bark layer that is actually thick enough to suppress weeds, and a lawn that is aerated instead of constantly reseeded. Pressure washing keeps the walks and the siding from going black under the trees. The trail is a nice neighbor and a weed source. Edges need a clean line or the brush moves in.
How we do the work
Hardscape is the permanent part of the yard: the floors you walk, the walls that hold soil, the steps between them. We design it around how water moves and how you move. A pretty patio with a stair that lands in the low spot is a collection of pieces, not a yard.
We would rather build less and have it drain than fill a lot with surfaces that all tip the wrong way. Materials stay limited. One stone, one wall type, so the place looks finished instead of like a showroom.
What we look at first
- The route from the door to the gate, the drive, and the part of the yard you use
- Every place water stands now
- Slopes that need a step or a wall before they need a plant
- What has to stay: trees, fences, the neighbor’s grade
The grade drawing
We can usually do this on site without a formal plan set, and we still mark elevations. Water is a number, not a feeling. If the fall is not there, we add a drain or we change the floor. We do not squint and hope.
One material, used honestly
Pavers, a wall block or a rock, and gravel. That is usually enough. Mixing flagstone, brick, river rock, and a second paver line makes a small yard loud and gives water more joints to exploit.
Steps
Even risers, a tread you can put a whole foot on, and a surface that is not slick when it is wet. Landscape steps are where people fall. We build them like we will use them in the dark, in January.
More from this crew
- Hardscaping across Snohomish County
- Paver installation in Bothell
- Patio installation in Bothell
- Retaining walls in Bothell
- Landscape design in Bothell
- Hardscaping in Mill Creek
- Hardscaping in Lynnwood
- Hardscaping in Brier
Sources for the climate and the water
- USDA plant hardiness map for choosing plants that can take a Snohomish County winter.
- EPA WaterSense on watering less once a lawn or a new planting is established.
- EPA Soak Up the Rain on keeping roof and yard water from becoming someone else’s problem.
