Hardscape Solutions: Tiered up

Location: Portland, Ore.
Company: Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping & Garden Center

With a tight deadline, Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping & Garden Center helped this client meet her goal of hosting an event following a home remodel.

The primary focus was planting, installing boulders and creating the pathways in the front and backyards. The backyard features Mediterranean-style plantings on several tiers. Another highlight is a bocce ball court with a decomposed granite playing surface.

The property includes an edible garden area. Eric Hagberg, a landscape designer with Dennis’ 7 Dees, says the idea was to contrast the acid-washed concrete and steel with colorful plants with a Mediterranean feel. He chose red twig dogwoods and bright yellow evergreen grasses.

“Seasonally, there’s not a dull moment in terms of what’s blooming or the foliage,” he says. “I think that makes the concrete work so much more effective.”

Dennis’ 7 Dees used Barreto trenchers to dig and a combination of Hunter components and Rain Bird controllers for the irrigation system. One challenge was trying to work around the home remodel crews. “We ended up putting more guys on the job to speed up the man-hours and make that go quicker,” Hagberg says.

This project earned Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping & Garden Center a 2020 Silver Award from the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence program.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

This project features plantings on several different tiers and a bocce ball court which features a playing surface of decomposed granite.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

Construction of the outdoor kitchen and dining area with cover.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

In the middle tier, perennial concrete planters create a rustic garden area. The edible garden features steel planters and espalier apple trees to contrast the stark lines of the concrete finishes.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

The stairway to each tier features concrete slabs.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

Lush perennials and grasses highlight concrete planters. The client preferred ornamental grasses and perennial color. Tiers feature plantings of lavender, catmint and yuccas to create a Mediterranean feel.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

The completed outdoor kitchen and dining area with cover matches the house remodeling. The lower tier of the outdoor space includes a wood-burning fireplace and seating area.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

The lower tier of the outdoor space includes a wood burning fireplace and seating area.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

A recessed wood-burning fireplace and seating area are on the lowest tier of the backyard space.

(Photo: Kaitlin Green)

A small patch of turf on the second tier is the only grass on the property.