Cinderella makeover: how a barren backyard in Oregon became a dreamy space - Garden & Outdoor Living

Not too long ago, this backyard in Beaverton, Oregon, looked so bleak that the homeowners admit they used to leave the curtains down all the time "because it was so gross Out there." Then one day, Oprah Winfrey announced that she was searching for a "nightmare yard" to transform as a topic on her show. So the homeowners submitted a video of the barren 86- by 35-foot backyard, showing a dead fir surrounded by straggly grass (above). Then they crossed their fingers.

Their wish came true. The yard was chosen for an instant garden makeover. To accomplish a swift transformation, the Oprah Winfrey Show's producers enlisted the help of Los Angeles landscape designer Nicholas Walker of Jardin du Jour and Portland-based Craig Prunty of All Oregon Landscaping.

"I'd done a makeover before in three days," Walker explains, "but Oprah's people said, 'You have to do it in two.' We made it happen because we all worked together as a team."

In those two whirlwind days, a 20-person team regraded the hillside, forming wide berms for borders around the perimeter; planted trees and flowering shrubs; added finishing touches like a garden bench; and installed a lawn of perennial rye grass sod. They even installed a cheerful 4- by 4-foot playhouse in one corner for the couple's daughter.

By choosing plants the owners could maintain easily, the design team ensured that this wonder garden wouldn't disappear once the television crew departed. The designers relied mainly on trees and shrubs with striking foliage color and texture, plus a few seasonal bloomers like rhododendrons. Plants needing more maintenance, like annuals, perennials, and roses, were used only as accents.

Two years later, the yard looks more lush than the day it was planted. Instead of shunning it as they once did, the homeowners say they now plan events around the garden.

The landscape is filled with ideas, like the multilayered plantings on the berms, a dry creek bed that runs from the fence and spills into the lawn, and a boulder that forms a gently bubbling fountain near the patio.

Unless you have a fairy godmother (or Oprah) with a magic wand, expect that a major garden remodel like this would take a contractor three to four weeks from planning to installation, according to Prunty.

DESIGN TEAM: Nicholas Walker, Jardin du Jour, Los Angeles (310/557-2700); Mario Navarro, All Oregon Landscaping, Portland (503/646-6426)

INSTALLATION: Craig Prunty, All Oregon Landscaping (see above)

PLAYHOUSE: Barbara Butler, Barbara Butler Artist-Builder, San Francisco (415/864-6840)

RELATED ARTICLE: 12 steps, from paper to party time

1. Draw up a basic design with separate divisions for dining or just relaxing.

2. Order paving materials, plants, and furnishings.

3. Remove any dead or unwanted plants. Strip sod from old lawns.

4. Form berms around fences to create a raised planting area with greeter visual interest. Use the flat area near the house for lawn and beds.

5. Enrich the soil. The remodel team amended the existing heavy clay soil with sandy loam, lime, and mushroom compost.

6. Place stonework, including boulders. The team laid basalt slabs as steps leading up to a bench.

7. Install electrical or irrigation lines.

8. Put down paths.

9. Lay out all trees and shrubs atop the soil to find the best arrangement, then plant them.

10. Move in furnishings and structures such as playhouses or storage sheds.

11. Install sod lawn.

12. Spread mulch over the beds. The remodel team here used dark hemlock bark mulch. Relax and enjoy the garden.

Plant palette

TREES AND SHRUBS

Deciduous

Azalea White Lights'. Sunset Western Garden Book climate zones A2, A3, 1-7.

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergil Aurea', 'Crimson Pygmy', 'Rose Glow'). Zones A3, 2a-24.

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'). Zones A3, 2-10,12,14-24.

Japanese snowdrop tree (Styraxjaponicus). Zones 4-9, 14-21. Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa). Zones 2-9,14-17.

Norway maple (Acer platanoides 'Crimson Sentry'). Zones A2, A3, 1-9,14-17.

Spiraea japonica 'Goldflame'. Zones A2, A3, 2-10,14-21.

Weeping beach (Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula'). Zones A3, 28-9, 14-21.

Weigela 'Briant Rubidor', W. florida 'Java Red'. Zones 1-11, 14-21.

Evergreen

Azalea 'Girard's Fuchsia', 'Glacier'. Zones 4-9,14-24,

Golden deodar cedar (Cedrus deodora 'Aurea'). Zones 3B-10, 14-24.

Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream'). Zones 3 (with protection), 4-24.

Hinoki false cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa). Zones A3, 2B-6, 15-17.

Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens). Zones 2-12,14-24.

Rhododendron 'Cunningham's White' (hardy to -15[degrees]), 'Purple Gem' (hardy to -25[degrees]), 'Rosamundi' (hardy to -5[degrees]). Zones 4-6, 15-17.

Thuja occidentalis 'Emerald Green'. Zones A2, A3, 1-9, 15-17.

VINE

Clematis montana. Zones 3B-9, 14-17, 21-23.

PERENNIALS

Dwarf periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Bowles' Variety'). Zones 1-24. Hosts 'Patriot'. Zones 1-10,14-21.

Leather leaf sedge (Carex buchananii). Zones 2B-9, 14-24, Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum). Zones A3, 2-9, 14-24.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Sunset Publishing Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group