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About
Daniel M. Lowery, APLD
Owner, designer and general contractor with Queen Anne Gardens LLC in business since 1988, Daniel enjoys helping a few residential clients per month create custom designs. He and his staff oversee, build and maintain select landscape designs. Daniel was the third landscape designer in Washington certified by the international organization Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). He is the current International Communications Chair and editor of The Designer , APLD's quarterly journal. He has served as president of the Washington Chapter of APLD and is a mentor to fellow designers in the certification process.
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Past Issues
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Queen Anne Gardens LLC is proud to support the following organizations:
Queen Anne Helpline
Seattle Youth Garden Works
Sanctuary Arts Center
Cambium Arts Resources
For additional information about Queen Anne Gardens call 206-285-6770
or email us.
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NEWS 2008
Ending the Year on a Playful Note!
Wallingford Boys & Girls Club
1310 North 45th Street
Courtyard Playground Combining Art and Fun
Wallingford Boys & Girls Club Kids Watching Construction
It has been a joy to build a space where hundreds of children will run and play and grow. If you ever drive west on North 45th Street in Wallingford look to your right just before reaching Stone Way North and you will get a glimpse of the playground we are building.
Stay Tuned!
Modernism in the Garden
Drama in contrasting color
Balance in asymmetry
Bold Color Blocks melding and responding to each other.
Provided with linear one-foot wide terraces, designed by the engineer/owner of the home, we created "Plant Magic" similar to the way Mark Rothko painted his famous canvases in the 1980's.
Above photograph shows the final garden product of Queen Anne Gardens LLC. Below is a photo of our first encounter with this home's entry way.
Favorite Local Lamp Artist
Kathleen Mullaney
Specialty Lamps, Custom Lampshades
As light diminishes with the changing season,
look into usable art that shines with its own radiance.
Above photo shows two of Kathleen Mullaney's lamp creations. The ceramic tree lamps are cold finish, metallic paint with a rust patina at two sizes 24" and 26". Mullaney specializes in ceramic, rock, antique and special order lamps and lampshades. She works out of a shop on Queen Anne Avenue and West Galer Street intersection.
APLD
International Board of Director's
Summer Meeting
Tarrytown, NY
Touring gardens in Connecticut and
NewYork along the Hudson River Valley
Daniel Lowery went to Tarrytown as the International Communications Chair. These meetings provide members with a chance to explore outstanding examples of landscape design and natural landscapes as well as continue the business of the organization. Above photo is Hollister House in Washington CT and below photo is Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring NY.
Announcing an Exciting Collaboration!
Queen Anne Gardens & Yellow Mountain StoneWorks combine talents for the second time to create BEAUTY
Queen Anne Gardens is pleased to be working with Yellow Mountain StoneWorks (YMSW). Previous to founding YMSW, John Williams and Erik Nelson managed the construction of the Portland Chinese Garden (PCG). John Williams worked as the senior project manager for Schommer and Sons (General Contractors for the PCG project) and Erik Nelson, fluent in Mandarin Chinese and skilled as a landscape architect, managed the Chinese team. YMSW was conceived after this project was completed. Queen Anne Gardens had previously used YMSW's imported stone for a terrace in Kirkland and when we began to design a local residential project on Queen Anne Hill we knew who could find us the stone and provide us with the engravings we wanted. The stone design plan view for the Queen Anne project is shown below.
The stone has recently been quarried in China and the project will break ground soon. A glimpse of a hardscape detail and raw materials are the first images of an on-going newspage feature. Come back every couple of weeks for more.
The arrangement of slab materials are examined to determine how to best show off the grain and the fossils. Below: A full size template printed on mylar allows precise manufacturing.
Using a digital model, a circular portion of the paving is viewed. It will be labeled and crated to ensure precise installation.
Off the stone schematic shown at the top of this story, which displays the front entry and corner pavilion hardscape, there is a change of elevation. Along the side of the house at the end of the southern sun garden, stairs lead down to the backyard. For the stairs we ordered stone steps from the same section of the quarry to retain a strong consistent and endemic feel for the stone hardscape.
The Stone Has Arrived!
April-May
Rusty Manchu Caviar Limestone,
with pattern-perfect-design!
One must just be ready for the unexpected! It is true that the stone arrived in Tacoma, however it is equally true that the Port of Tacoma closed in sympathy of the Trucker's Strike against high fuel costs the day before delivery. Delivery trucks, extra staff and alerts to neighbors hung in the balance with the hope that it was a one day strike! However that just means everything gets pushed off a day and the stone arrived with no 
extra glitches on a Saturday! The flatbed super truck was deftly unloaded by the all-terrain fork-lift and the stone found its way down to the narrower street below to rest under the old conifer in the garden-in-waiting. Lovingly watched over by the
Fu Dogs (or dragon-dog-lions as the family calls them) the paving awaits their turn in the installation process. Then the art of puzzle-making begins, as each piece is unwrapped and fit into its proper space. There are always a few adjustments to be made on sight, yet because the stone was specially cut and arranged before it was shipped any changes need to be strategic and inventive! 
Distinctive Stonework Installed!
June
The joinery on the border of the stone
hardscape is known as mortise & tenon!
The fine detail of the limestone puzzle pieces make this a beautiful project to watch unfold. Mortise and tenon is an ancient construction detail traditionally used in Chinese architecture where wood, typically beams, brackets, struts and framing were made to interlock without glues or fasteners. Our stones are laid as traditional sand set pavers with a fourth inch spacing, however the border displays the mortise and tenon joint as a design flourish. The mortise is a cavity typically cut into wood to receive a tenon or "key".
The central path is honed smooth and displays the rich color of the limestone, while the border is roughened in a lychee finish (referring to the texture of the shell of the lychee fruit), then the square hole (mortise) cut in the joints of the border are filled with a square peg (tenon) we call the key and the key's surface is honed smooth like the central path.
Once the pieces are adjusted into level position, with pegs for proper spacing, 
all the border's square mortise are filled with the tenon-key. The alternating texture of the key and border pavers create the craftsmen flourish that accentuates the beauty of the richly colored central path. We also used the lychee texture on "transition" stones that lead into the garden (shown below). However before we placed the transition stones we needed to move the heavy stone steps.
The heaviest work was done by machines. The slabs of stone, far beyond 
what any of us would consider lifting, were cautiously removed from the packing crates and cradled into place by the muscle of a front-loader forklift and the guiding hands of our stone workers, to rise as steps from the entry walk to the upper SE terrace. The terrace will be surrounded by a dense border of plants on two sides. There will be the formal entrance by way of this path and an informal entrance through the garden. The terrace will provide a private place in the corner of the front yard where visitors can sit and visit in the garden or the garden owners can escape with a good book on a summer 
day. Here it appears to be a dirt pile and some oversized stones, 
but as it slowly comes together the design begins to show great promise.
The next step in the stone work was to lay in the engraved "transition" stones 
that lead from the formal walkways to the stepping stone paths. The stepping stones allow one to have a relaxed walk through the garden among the plants.
The homeowners chose three words to describe their connection with their garden and we had each word translated into the corresponding Chinese symbol and engraved one 
word onto each of the three transition stones. The symbols engraved on the transition stones from above right, across to the left, respectively, are representations of the words "RESPECT", "HARMONY", and "EARTH". Each of the transition stones was textured with the lychee finish and a small section was given the smooth finish for the engraved symbol.
Stay tuned for more pictures!
The Stone is Laid into Place
A gorgeous container, as tall as an adult,
acts as the new sentinel greeter.
The first of the treasured pots was put into place at the center of the entry circle and suddenly all the colors in the garden appeared richer.
Featured Garden Construction
January - June 2008
Design to installation
Plants, Plants, Plants & Plants in Pots
Plants and SOIL are the living lushness that make a garden breathe ~ bringing the garden alive. We particularly like it when the plants visually mesh with the hardscape!
Color can change a mood in a second and when the lighting is just right the juxtaposition of colors can transport one to happiness. We spent many hours with this client finding the right colors for her home and garden. One of the colors we wanted to repeat and complement in the plants was the gorgeous rich ruby red of the tall pots.
The first plant we bought was a rose. Last summer at the local Queen Anne Farmer's Market we found a rose hybrid 'Hot Cocoa' that had just the right dusky deep red that we wanted (shown at its near end below left). 
From there we became creative. 
The five trees hugging the entry circle are Acer griseum which has a deep red-orange peeling bark (shown to the right and below right). Then we chose as one of our repeated shrubs for the evergreen backbone the Lily of the Valley Shrub: Pieris japonica 'Valley Valentine'. The Pieris are most known for their spring new foliage and their sweet white 
pendulous bell flowers. This delightful variety's new growth is a coppery bronze that reflects the color in the Acer griseum trees' bark and autumn leaf color. The flowers of this variety of Pieris is the most distinguishing characteristic. The honey tasting flowers are a striking cherry-red.
The choice of these three plants were chosen early in the project to echo the richness of the red containers and have immediately helped to make the garden glow.
After the stonework was in we wanted to create a soft flowing movement of plants near the ground that would complement the flowing pattern of iron in the black limestone, 
yet we had two strikingly different sun requirements. 
In the hot sun at the entry we chose Anemanthele lessoniana, pheasant tail grass (shown in a mature planting to the right), to flow from the one bed to another. The Dahlia 'Bishop of Auckland' (shown in top photo), tall tiger lilies, 
pot-dangling clematis (to the far right) and the dark maroon flowered Chocolate Cosmos provide seasonal color. In the shade we focused 
on shade loving ferns, the Chinese Plum Yew-- Cephalotaxus harringtonia var. Duke's Garden-- and the Cast Iron Plant--Aspidistra elatior. We used Tiarella cordifolia, a deep purple Astilbe and both a white and pink ornamental Bleeding Heart for summer color in the shade. The relatively rare orange flowering Epimedium will serve as the year-round flowing groundcover for the dry bed under their large existing conifer.
There is still much work to be done. True, the large plants are planted, yet as we bring in and plant the smaller specimens we need to be cautious of hoses and electrical wire. The lights and irrigation are already installed. Low voltage lighting emphasizes particular pots and trees as well as lighting the paths. Drip lines crisscross the front garden to efficiently keep the plants lush and living.
Queen Anne Garden's Gardens in Spotlight
Used for Fashion Photography!
Actually we have several clients who choose to use their garden's to photograph merchandise.
One of our clients, who are home and garden accessory designers, have for years photographed their prototypes in the garden we designed for 
them. This year however sends a couple of our gardens into the world of HIGH Fashion! Perhaps even more prestigious we have been spotlighted in the world of Foot Toggery! You may scoff, but it is in the detail shot that the true character of a garden is revealed and we have always claimed that our gardens can be photographed 
from any angle!
Seriously Folks, these are some fun shoes, please check out the blog and comment on the styles. http://clementinewestseattle.blogspot.com/
Legislation 2008 Session Success
Keep Landscape Designers :
Contact Your Legislator
for the 2009 session
Legislation this year attempted to over regulate Landscape Designers. Because of our voices the bills died this year: Unfortunately they will be back next year!
Just as Interior Designers and Architects coexist and fill necessary niches in the market place, Landscape Designers and Landscape Architects are both valuable assets to the work force. However the American Society of Landscape Architects supports a bill with language that may greatly diminish the ability of Landscape Designers to practice their craft. The Association of Proffessional Landscape Designers asks that everyone write to their legislators and encourage them to adjust the wording of the new regulatory bill or simply vote it down www.apldwa.org. To find your legislator check out the Washington Legislature's website: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx
The link to the House Bill 2587: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2587#documents
If any of you are interested in becoming more involved please contact Lisa Port, Legislative Committee Chair, at lisaport@banyontreedesign.com or Tina Nyce, APLD-WA President, at tina@nycegardens.com for more information on how to help.
Spring
Sunshine & Dew Drops
"The Earth laughs in flowers." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Egypt Explored!
February 2008
Daniel Lowery traveled to the Egyptian Pyramids
This trip was the first travelling Daniel had done in a very long time that was not for business, these travel plans were purely for pleasure, but that does not mean he didn't come back with a myriad of new design ideas!
The formal layout of the Persian gard
en-- a walled garden alley flanked with flower beds leading to a water court featuring a range of water basins on an interlocking plan-- is often thought of as an attempt to regain Eden. Ancient and sacred Egyptian gardens had ponds, papyrus, flowers and vegetables. Design plans for elaborate gardens are represented schematically in ancient tomb drawings.
Utah Green Industry Conference
Salt Lake City 2008
Daniel Lowery delivered a talk: Art in the Garden
Queen Anne Gardens has made a practise of developing gardens that are works of functional living art. Over the years we have collaborated with some of our clients to specifically display pieces of outdoor art within their gardens. One client asked to have 9 architectural fragments from a demolished building incorporated into the hardscape.
Urban Oasis
Daniel has always kept Pablo Picasso's quote in mind when designing:
“The purpose of art
is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”
Pablo Picasso
January 2008
Welcome to the New Year!
As our days get longer our gardens begin to smile again. Look out your windows...do you have any winter blooming plants for the hummingbirds?
Hamamelis 'Dianne'