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Mediterranean
Maximalism

Contractor: Prestige Landscape and Fence Butlers

The owners of this large backyard lot had recently moved back to the US from a long stint abroad in Italy. Wanting to have some of the comforts of their former home, the planting plan relied heavily on herbs, fruit, and drought tolerant shrubs from the Mediterranean region. And of course, what is an Italian garden without plenty of room to grow tomatoes? Custom designed and built cedar raised beds allow for plenty of veggie growing room, with built-in benches to double the edible garden as a social area.

 

Lots of COLOR was another design objective, achieved by a matrix-style meadow planting in the influence of Dutch designer, Piet Oudolf. Riots of color will burst forth throughout the seasons, starting with a river of spring bulbs and ending with tall and ethereal late season flowers whose texture add a structural element to the bare winter garden. Many of the selected plants will reseed, forming a denser meadow over time, and an unfolding garden to observe with curiosity.

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Plenty of native wildflowers and groundcovers are strewn throughout the garden to provide local pollinator support and to ground the garden in the Pacific Northwest, despite its Mediterranean lean.

LOCATION

Reed Neighborhood, SE Portland

GARDEN GOALS

- No more lawn​

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- Mediterranean favorites

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- Heavy use of edibles doubling as ornamentals

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- Pollinator habitat

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- LOTS of color

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- Dedicated area for vegetable growing

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Robyn+Dave backyard late summer 2024-1_edited
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