Eighteen years later, the Puget Sound has grown tremendously and so has our firm. Computers have replaced the drafting table for most of our commercial workload, and while much of our work is no longer residential, it is still for me one of the most gratifying parts of my practice. From start to finish, we are involved in the entire site development and landscape design process. The sheer demands of the residential design seem to insist upon a hand-drafted plan that evolves through page after page of tracing paper concept sketches and refinements until the final, most desirable form is achieved. Thus the full creative aspect is expressed, after through analysis of all possible options.

The Timmis Residence is an older waterfront home on Puget Sound in Olympia, Washington. Jeff Glander & Associates (JGA) was initially requested to provide hardscape design services that included a new entry walk from the driveway to the house, a new private patio for a spa, a new greenhouse, and a new covered porch in the front of the house facing the water. The firm suggested the entry arbor/screen feature as a way to accent the new walkway, and provide spatial separation to the guest parking area. One of the better views from the back of the house was situated near the vegetable garden. The gateway arbor was developed as an entry portal from one space to another and as a general interest garden structure. The design team's basic goals here were to include structural elements that reflected the character of the house while serving their respective functional purposes. The hardscape plan provided basic organization to the site and replaced a badly decayed existing walkway and patio configuration.

The Andrews residence is located in a tract of zero lot line homes located next to a busy road. This particular home had a larger side yard that abutted one of the development's open space areas. This fact allowed JGA to "borrow" views of some of the large oak trees outside our property boundary. The steep hillside provided an opportunity to create even more interest in the landscape design through a series of terraced planters that became "living waterfalls" of foliage. The large patio was a result of the clients desire for outdoor entertainment and living space, but no lawns to mow. The fountain provides a design focal point while masking the sound of traffic from the nearby road. The trellis fence sections in front of the property fence was another visual trick we used to break up the lineal feel of the narrow back yard while providing additional depth to the feel of the landscape and screening from the road beyond.

For the Benner Residence, the clients' main goal was to provide a moreattractive entry state-ment and screen an unattractive neighboring shop building situated very closely to the property line. JGA designed a new paver driveway that transitions into a new entry walk and deck. A new trellis arbor spans the width of the interlocking concrete paver driveway and joins the new entry deck. Screen fencing and gates that match the trellis fence detail lead around the side of the house to a new side yard patio. As the flowering clematis vines climb the fence and cover the trellis, most of the views of the neighboring building will be screened.

With the ever-increasing pressures of traffic and population in our part of the country, the importance of creating quality outdoor living spaces has become an even higher priority to our clients. Now, many of our projects are being located in more urban environments, and our choice of construction materials has sometimes changed to reflect that. But even behind the masonry walls and wooden fences of suburbia, a quiet relaxing retreat to nature can still be created. A place to rejuvenate. A place to soothe the soul and refresh the mind. lasn