Sammamish sits on a plateau above Lake Sammamish, and most of it was built out as subdivisions in the last thirty years. Under a thin layer of topsoil is glacial till, a hardpan that water barely soaks into, and many lots back onto tall stands of Douglas fir. Landscaping a wooded lot by removing every fern and laying sod is a fight you will lose. We edit. We do not clear for the sake of a suburban before-and-after.
King County · ZIP 98074
Work with the canopy
Paths, a sitting place, pruning for light and roof clearance, bark where the lawn has failed, and shrubs that belong in shade. The lawn, if it stays, is the size the light allows. Irrigation is modest. Shade plants in this climate often fail from too much water, not too little.
Privacy is kept. The design should feel like the trees were invited.
The ground in Sammamish
The till is the reason so many yards here stay soggy in winter and dry out fast in summer. Water sits on top of the hardpan, so a new lawn or patio needs drainage planned in from the start. We put in French drains, grade the yard away from the house, and build patio bases deep enough that they do not heave.
Many neighborhoods have HOA rules for fences, front yards, and plant choices, and we work to those standards. Lots along the greenbelts get heavy shade and needle drop, so we use shade-tolerant planting and bark where grass has given up. Larger backyards here are a good fit for a full redesign: a paver patio, a low retaining wall to level the slope, and irrigation on a timer for the dry months.
How we do the work
Landscaping, the way we mean it, is building the yard: dirt moved, water handled, plants in the ground, bark and edges finished. It is not a mow, and it is not only a patio. When a project is really just a patio or just a drain, we call it that and we price that.
We plant what can live through a wet winter and a dry August without a full-time gardener. The sequence is always the same. Get the water right, set the hard surfaces, then plant. Plants first is how they get buried or stood in a puddle.
What we look at first
- What you want to be able to do in the yard
- The thing that is failing now: water, a slope, a dead lawn, an empty bed
- Trees that stay
- A budget, so we phase instead of half-building everything
Plants we will not specify
Anything that wants a dry summer and no rain in winter, unless you understand it is a gamble. We plant for zone and for the wet. A plant you loved in California can be attempted in a pot. It should not be the backbone of the yard.
Warranty, plainly
We stand behind the build: pitch, drainage, and plants installed correctly. We do not warranty a plant against no water in August, a deer, or a freeze that splits a species we told you was marginal. Establishment watering is your job unless we are contracted to do it.
Phasing
If the whole yard does not fit the budget, we finish a piece that works: the drainage and the door area, for example. An even layer of unfinished everything looks like we left. A finished half looks like a plan. We prefer the second.
More from this crew
- Landscaping across the region
- Landscape design in Sammamish
- Yard cleanup in Sammamish
- Paver installation in Sammamish
- French drain installation in Sammamish
- Landscaping in Mercer Island
Sources for the climate and the water
- USDA plant hardiness map for choosing plants that can take a King 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.
