We designed this garden over 25 years ago and continue to oversee its’ maintenance and design evolution. Green Gardening and Conservation are the core values for all to see in living form at Wilburton Hill Park in Bellevue, Washington. Stenn Design also created all of the interpretive materials and has led classes on Natural Gardening over the years.

http://www.bellevuebotanical.org/waterwise.html

This site was the last piece to be completed as a part of the new Visitor's Center in 2017. It is a "confluence place" - where several different gardens flow together: the Rain Garden, Rock Garden, Waterwise Garden, and the Main Street Frontage. It is the primary view from inside the Visitor's Center (designed by Olson Kundig) and along Main Street. It is also a point of entry into the entire garden. Drawing on the adjacent gardens for inspiration, bold brush strokes of grasses & perennials that attract birds and bees were employed, including a rock outcropping and an un-mown meadow to provide places for visitor's hang out.

At long last Vashon Island has a place for visitors to stay right in town. We worked with Eagle Rock Ventures and architect S+H Works, to develop a site plan and planting design to fit this modern, down to earth retreat destination. The landscape is comprised of NW Native Plants, with a complement of tough drought-hardy, deer tolerant ornamental plants. Conservation of water is a primary objective of this landscape, as well as providing a rich habitat for people.

As seen in Seattle Times Pacific NW Magazine

Pacific NW Magazine article

When the new Visitor's Center at the Bellevue Botanical Garden was built about 5 years ago, the Sharp's Cabin was relocated into the northwestern corner of the Waterwise Garden, perched overlooking the future Urban Meadow. It afforded us an opportunity to demonstrate plants for the full sun garden, pervious paving & how to create a modified microclimate for outdoor living.

Two family homes located side by side on a tributary of Kelsey Creek in Bellevue, Washington. Each house has it's own distinct personality woven together by a series of gardens and the riparian landscape. Both dwellings collect site storm water and convey it into Rain Gardens. Much of the site is preserved to protect salmon bearing streams!

Stenn Design has collaborated with Artist Lorna Jordan for over 15 years, contributing planting design services for several notable public works led by her studio, including the Dragonfly Garden for Seattle Parks as part of the Urban Creeks Legacy, the Justice Garden Path at the King County Regional Justice Center and Waterworks Grotto at the Waterworks Gardens in Renton, Washington.

Our six acre farm on Vashon Island is named after our first dog Daisy who really did fly! The farm has been an invaluable place to practice and test sustainable landscape practices over the last 25 years, including: drought tolerant ornamental landscapes, no-till vegetable gardening, deer-resistant plants, drip irrigation, super tough trees & shrubs, and cut-flowers from low-input perennials and shrubs.

As a gift to the community we live in, Stenn Design has given hundreds of hours of service designing and building gardens for our local schools on Vashon Island.

This garden was the vision of founding Head of School, Toby Welch. We led a community barn-raising effort to make a beautiful, vibrant learning lab for kids, teachers and families to enjoy in all seasons. Jil brought together many folks within the school community to design & build the garden. She established & led a Garden Elective program in collaboration with a strong group of dedicated parent volunteers for several years. This same group led a community Art Tile Project as a legacy gift to Toby, in collaboration with island Artists, Steve Roach and Nadine Edelstein.

Stenn Design also helped to site and create a home for the campus' new building, in collaboration with Deborah Reilly and Bob Horsley.

Our gardens in the country-ish, rural areas proximate to Seattle are a marked counterpoint to city gardens - they are spacious and encompass lovely contextual views. People seek beauty, quiet & retreat, only the adverse conditions of deer & other critters, drought or limited water supply, and the constant threat of brambles & invasive plants makes for decent challenge. All of these gardens have met the challenge while answering the clients specific programmatic needs and desires.

A multi-purpose family garden including: a play area, kitchen garden and outdoor dining room wrapping around a home which overlooks Pine Lake.

In the city a garden is a refuge, a place to find retreat and connection to nature easily right outside one's home. The feeling and materials reflect the unique architecture of a house and the neighborhood it resides within.

We worked in collaboration with a corps of devoted teachers who helm the Multi-age Program & Trish Howard to renovate an existing garden that was languishing.  Stenn Design provided oversight for the design and implementation of a Master Plan over many years. This garden is a vital outdoor learning lab and respite from the classroom.

The Native American Plant Garden was built adjacent by Mary Heath's 4th grade class, as a place for kids to learn about how Native Americans used plants indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. This garden, set within the larger school playground, takes full advantage of a gentle slope with a winding trail, a platform and a gathering circle, offering a unique opportunity for experiential play.

The Chautauqua Pond is an on-site storm water collection pond that also serves as a resource for applied Science learning. Students ranging from Elementary to High School age get the opportunity for hands-on discovery about how to restore a precious island ecosystem. Stenn Design provided Master Planning in support of the effort.