Butner had been saving photos of gardens she liked, and had compiled a long list of what she wanted — drought-tolerant and low-maintenance plantings, some separation and privacy from the street, but not a solid wall. Never before having a garden, Butner didn't have specific plants in mind, but knew she wanted plenty of green, purple, blue and yellow. She and Kimelman interviewed several landscape architects and designers, but felt no particular rapport with any of them. Their front garden was small, and they wanted to economize by doing much of the work themselves. The professionals they spoke with seemed put off by the modest budget and scope of the project.

But Butner and Kimelman were as persistent as one might expect from a couple who had spent six years redoing a house top to bottom and were eager to launch into a garden remodel. They'd seen garden architect David Pfeiffer's work in magazines, and despite being a little intimidated, decided to call him. (For more about Pfeiffer, see Plant Life, page 4.)

BARRY WONG / THE SEATTLE TIMES		ANDREW DRAKE / COURTESY OF DAVID PFEIFFER
		Above: After years spent remodeling their turn-of-the-century home in Wallingford, Karen Butner and David Kimelman still had a bleak front garden to deal with. Left: The courtyard is centered by a stone fish-scale pot planted in tulips and pansies for spring, followed by statuesque silvery cardoons in summer.

With plenty of experience designing small urban spaces, Pfeiffer wasn't put off by a front garden only 25 feet deep. "David gave us detailed plans and talked us through it," says Butner of the design process she obviously enjoyed.

ANDREW DRAKE / COURTESY OF DAVID PFEIFFER
The planted parking strip adds another layer between street and house, effectively widening the small front garden. Draped in golden hops and a dark purple clematis, the arbor offers a sense of entry. 'My liking for gardens to be lavish is an inherent part of my garden philosophy. Even the smallest garden can be prodigal within its limitations.' Vita Sackville-West

The first concern was how to deal with a house that so dominates the lot with its big sloping roof. Pfeiffer rejected their earlier color schemes for the house, helping them choose colors that make the house less obtrusive and blend in with the garden. Pfeiffer selected a soft green for the siding; the trim is painted ivory and a dark olive green that looks nearly gray in some lights. Butner describes the color triage as being reflective, "kind of like a foggy day."

Despite the small size of the front garden, Pfeiffer began by dividing it into two distinct spaces, leveling the slope in front of the house and building a bluestone courtyard right outside the front door. An arbor entry and low dry stone walls separate the courtyard from the rest of the front garden.

"Dividing it into two makes the space seem much bigger," marvels Butner, who also appreciates all the interesting plants Pfeiffer worked into the space. "The garden is always changing," she notes, thanks to Pfeiffer's mix of structural evergreens, deciduous trees, vines and perennials. The richness of the plantings is controlled by Pfeiffer's use of formal structural elements and looser plantings. Butner and Kimelman originally didn't want too much structure — they thought it would look artificial — but ended up appreciating how the garden is organized around the formal elements.

The courtyard is anchored with four glossy burgundy pots, one in each corner, identically planted with boxwood cones skirted in white-flowering bacopa. In the center of the courtyard is a stone pot Pfeiffer ordered from England. Although it is only about 2 1/2 feet high, its central placement and lovely design of overlapping scales make this single pot a year-round focal point. The contrast of the shiny pots and this textural matte pot draw the eye, echoing the informal and formal elements of the garden. In springtime, the fish-scale pot is planted with tall yellow tulips emerging from a thicket of deep purple pansies. In summer, an elegant silvery cardoon is the centerpiece of the garden.

ANDREW DRAKE / COURTESY OF DAVID PFEIFFER		ANDREW DRAKE / COURTESY OF DAVID PFEIFFER Pfeiffer honored Butner's desire for a garden of blues, purples, greens and yellows, but added a bit of orange and pink, which she has come to appreciate.
Left: Each corner of the bluestone courtyard is anchored by a glossy burgundy pot planted formally, with a boxwood cone skirted in white flowering bacopa.

A little boxwood hedge trims the outer section of the front garden, lending a year-round structure that disappears in summer beneath purple sage, a dark smoke bush, witch hazel and variegated dogwood. A river of thyme softens the stepping stones that lead from sidewalk to arbor. The parking strip broadens the garden, providing another layer of plantings between the house and the street.

A mature, multistemmed Japanese maple and the burgundy leaves of a smoke bush shelter the west-facing front windows. In summer, Butner and Kimelman view their garden through a haze of leaves.

While Pfeiffer stuck pretty closely to Butner's original garden-color scheme of green, blue, purple and yellow, a few more shades and tints have entered the mix. "David squeezed some pink and orange in there," laughs Butner, "but I like it." Ornamental grasses, lavender, wallflowers, euphorbia, lady's mantle, sedum, asters and roses thrive despite, and in some cases because of, the exposed streetside conditions.

Butner and Kimelman worked with Pfeiffer to complete the garden. They did the stonework and built the arbor themselves. Pfeiffer ordered the plants and directed their placement. Once he got the plants on site he moved them about "like he was making a painting," says Butner. Now it is the integration of plants, how they all work together, that she appreciates most about the garden — and the intensely fragrant Daphne odora by the front door.

Despite the open and colorful feel of the garden, the owner's original privacy concerns have been well taken care of. A solid green curtain of fast-growing Leylandii cypress, pruned flat, define the north property line, blocking out the view of the tall neighboring building. A mature, multistemmed Japanese maple was brought in to preside over the courtyard, and golden hops, clematis and akebia vines climb the arbor and porch supports. The trees and vines not only help create a veil between house and street, but also visually tie the house to its garden. The maple and a smoke bush are planted close to the house so the west-facing windows are cooled by leafiness in summer, and the garden can be viewed through the haze of plantings.

And how about the owner's desire for low-maintenance? A drip and microspray system is turned off each October and on in June to water the front garden as well as the parking strip. Butner enjoys cleaning up and pruning, estimating she spends a couple of hours each week working in this, her very first garden.

"It brings me lots of pleasure, and coming in through the garden transforms how I feel when I walk into the house."