ABOUT

• an existing lawn near large, thirsty fir tree roots always had an unquenched thirst for water.

• we wanted to plant something that would work with the drought-induced situation,

• we wanted something low and green, not unlike the lawn.

• we couldn't block the lawnmower's path to the remaining lawn.

• the path to the area was an easy route from the parking area, which provided great access to the site

PROJECT GOALS

• replace the blonde haze that was 'dying' to be lawn with an evergreen drought-tolerant groundcover

• include a path for the lawnmower to get to the remaining lawn

• consider the garden's theme: peace through culture

• use a full-scale plan to make it easy for the contractor to transfer the design. Because Vanessa uses AutoCAD for drafting, she was able to plot a full scale plan

• we hired Jeffrey Bale, a renowned Portland pebble mosaic artist to install the mosaic

DESIGN CONCEPTS

• using the garden's theme, we found a circular symbol that would work well in the area: an ouroborus that is a multi-cultural symbol of the circle of time

• we created a pebble mosaic ring using the dragon (versus a snake) to remain in context with the Asian-themed garden

• Minding the metaphor, the pebble mosaic encircles a circle of thyme

• Now the hub of Vanessa's garden amongst other circles: like a crop circle, a meditation circle, and a blue-meadow circle