NEWS
Featured Garden Construction 2008
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.
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 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! Stay Tuned!
Announcing an Exciting Collaboration!
Queen Anne Gardens & Yellow Mountain StoneWorks combine talents for the second time to create BEAUTY
The f ounders of Yellow Mountain StoneWorks (YMSW) were the general contractors on the Portland Chinese Garden construction project. Using connections and expertise gained from that project, they began importing stone. Queen Anne Gardens used YMSW's 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.

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.
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 (see Urban Oasis below). 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
An Urban Oasis


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?
Hammamellis 'Dianne'

Sunshine & Dew Drops
"The Earth laughs in flowers." Ralph Waldo Emerson ^ top of page ^
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