Featured Display Gardens
Nine display gardens, each with elements of sustainable design, provide inspiration to create the outdoor oasis of your dreams. Or pick and choose from the multitude of ideas to enhance a portion of your yard. The garden creators will be on hand to answer your questions and as resources for your future landscaping plans.
DENNIS' SEVEN DEES LANDSCAPING & GARDEN CENTERS
"DYNAMIC ELEMENTS"
Showcasing how an outdoor landscape can change in tandem with the seasons and how beautiful elements also perform a useful service are demonstrated in this unique display garden. Visitors will see a warm and rustic covered seating area made of recycled lumber, natural stone walls and benches, and an eco-roof. Ground-level mosaics and garden paths created from reused materials will draw visitors through a space punctuated by rain harvesting components, moving water, showy native and edible plants, lush water-wise plantings, a hard-working rain garden, and areas of respite and reflection.
PROGRASS LANDSCAPE CARE & DESIGN
"BALCONY LIVING, FROM BOTANICAL IMPRESSIONS"
This garden creates a beautiful and sustainable outdoor living environment in a limited space, perfect for inspiring city dwellers living in condos and townhouses with ways to create an oasis on their deck or balcony. A rainwater catchment system and bioswale filter built into a rain garden, eco roof, raised kitchen garden and herb beds, and patio plantings for shade, color and privacy are key elements of this diminutive garden. In addition, the pergola and small outdoor kitchen are designed for entertaining and providing a quiet, relaxing space in which to connect with nature within the city.
MATT SANDER LANDSCAPING INC.
"RAINY DAY, DREAM AWAY"
Summer is not the only season for outdoor living in the Portland area. Pacific Northwesterners will learn ways to turn rainy weather into a useful and sustainable source for creating the perfect, comfortable outdoor pavilion. A cozy outdoor living room will be tucked under a metal pavilion roof while artistic flair and practical screening are added with custom-designed metal trellises. A fire pit patio encourages entertaining under the stars on a clear night. Simulated rainfall will be captured in a stormwater planter and filtered in adjacent beds planted with rushes and sedges. Reliance on native plants will be a key feature of this sustainable, low maintenance design.
DINSDALE LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS & BARBARA SIMON LANDSCAPE DESIGN
"CULTIVATE & GATHER"
In the spirit of sustainability, our garden reflects upon the the beauty of cultivating one's own food and the enjoyment of gathering together to celebrate the harvest.
Materials for our garden are reused, recycled, gleaned from here and there or selected for their environmental benefit.
Come join our beggar's banquet.
CLASSIC GARDEN CREATIONS, INC.
"WELCOME WILDLIFE!"
Certified by The Audubon Society of Portland as part of their new 'Backyard Habitat Certification Program,' this garden integrates natural elements to attract and create a safe environment for birds and other wildlife by providing the necessary elements of food, water, and shelter. Inviting insect-eating wildlife into a garden provides natural pest control, an added benefit to creating a healthy environment. A natural-style water feature provides animal life necessary water for drinking and cooling off during warmer temperatures and, for the human inhabitants, it adds tranquility to the yard. Native plants will be a food source and nest boxes will provide shelter. A unique hand-skinned log cover over the paver patio will be set up for rainwater capture and water conservation.
J.P. STONE CONTRACTORS
"BACK TO EARTH"
Compost, (water) collection, and chicken coops are the essence of this garden's design. Permaculture practices establish highly productive environments that provide food, energy, shelter, and other natural needs, including relaxation and recreation. This intricate garden embraces the permaculture philosophy by using permeable pavers, water barrels and cisterns to recharge aquifers; chickens housed in a beautifully crafted coop and an attractive compost bin will help build soil nutrition; and raised beds using recycled materials, winter crops and crop covers will be attractive year 'round. This garden proves that functionality can be pleasing to the eye.
ALL NATURAL LANDSCAPE
"ELEMENTS OF NATURE IN BALANCE"
Creating an environment in balance is a sustainable choice we all can make. This garden represents the "Elements of Nature in Balance": water, air, earth, and fire. Trees and plants cool and purify the air we breathe. The patio and roof collects water and returns it to the earth using an under the patio reservoir and a bog in the landscape. The fireplace provides warmth and represents the energy we use to live. Together these elements create a harmonious space.
AUTUMN LEAF LANDSCAPING
"THE HYBRID GARDEN"
Just like hybrid cars, sustainable landscape practices are becoming more common among eco-friendly homeowners of the Pacific Northwest. The "Hybrid Garden" highlights simple ways that landscape design can be more sustainable without sacrificing the style and design that makes the garden a fabulous place to be. A rain garden, gravel and natural stone paths and entertaining areas, a bubbling fountain, and an arbor and pergola provide the structure for this garden.
LANDSCAPE OREGON INC.
"SUSTAIN, MAINTAIN & ENTERTAIN"
Inspired by the relationship between sustainable design and functional spaces, this garden display incorporates elements of green design and encourages social activity. Key features in this display will include a green wall for privacy, a vegetable garden, native vegetation, the use of natural stone, a focal water display, a rain chain and water filtration system, solar outdoor lights, permeable pavers, a no mow lawn, and a secluded fire pit area. Your inner senses will be stimulated with the use of light water and texture as you meander on the garden paths.
