Western Garden Design Awards: 17 winning gardens celebrate outdoor living in the West - Special Award Section - Cover Story

Sunset, Feb, 1999 by Lauren Bonar Swezey

Designer: Chris Jacobson, Gardenart, San Francisco and Los Gatos, CA (415/664-5913)

GARDEN DECORATION: BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON

FOREST FANTASY

Picture this: You're hiking through a forest when you come upon an isolated natural hot spring surrounded by boulders and lush greenery. You step in, letting the hot water envelop you and soothe your aching muscles. Just a dream, you say? Not to Mike and Brandy Galos, who built their fantasy hot spring right in their own garden with the help of landscape designer and contractor Hendrikus Schraven. Jurors were bowled over by the substantial rock work and the spa's very natural appearance. "Most spas are sterile-looking," noted a juror. "This one feels very secluded and natural."

Secluded it may look, but secluded it isn't: this 12- to 10-foot-wide spa is tucked into the Galoses' front yard below a grove of Douglas fir trees. TO screen the spa from the street, existing woodland vegetation was enhanced with cedars, enkianthus, hemlocks, and tall rhododendrons. An angled granite path leads to the spa; large, flat rocks stair-step down into it. This is the ultimate spa, jurors agreed.

Designer: Hendrikus Schraven Landscape Construction & Design, Issaquah, WA (425/392-9977)

REGIONAL: TUCSON, ARIZONA

RANCH DRESSING

This Tucson garden, shaded by mesquite trees and a eucalyptus and lushly planted with desert-adapted shrubs and grasses, has the look and feel of a historic Southwest rancho. "This hands-down favorite really achieves the look of the southern Sonoran Desert, and all in an urban setting," said an impressed juror. "The ocotillo fencing, stone ramada, and lush plantings feel very original."

Though the garden looks mellowed by time, landscape designer Jeffrey Trent completed the work just three years ago. He removed old sheds, crumbling walls, railroad ties, paving, and most shrubs. In their place he built a stone ramada and entry arbor to resemble a 1930s WPA structure.

A preexisting fountain encircled by brick paving became the garden's focal point, connected by a flagstone patio to the house. Low seat walls define the patio's perimeter. Behind them are beds of lush-looking desert plants. Ocotillo fencing protects the pool area at the rear of the property.

"This designer had a real sensitivity to the color and feel of the desert," summed up one juror. Designer: Jeffrey Trent, Tucson (520/792-9274)

SMALL SPACE: LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA

GRIDS GALORE

Elegant simplicity made jurors take note of this 1,500-square-foot front garden in Los Altos, California, designed for Bill Truxell by his brother, Robert.

Before the remodel, trees and shrubs camouflaged the entry. Now, a new gate and fence make it easy for visitors to find their way to the front door. "The clever grid design of the fence and gate provides privacy and a sense of openness at the same time," remarked one juror. "It's very welcoming." The design also created an outdoor room. Here, a pathway that leads to the gate jogs under the canopy of crape myrtles. The trees provide four seasons of drama: bronzy red-tinged leaves in spring, flowers in summer, brightly colored leaves in fall, and a sculptural branch structure in winter. Designer: Truxell & Valentino Landscape Development, Clovis, CA (559/292-2871)