Brooks Kolb LLC Landscape Architecture

01/02/2023

Recent Work by Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb: A Windermere Garden

Designed for art-loving clients with young children, this landscape in Seattle’s Windermere neighborhood features a broad lawn overlooking Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains, surrounded by colorful perennial borders. After demolishing a covered swimming pool, the site was filled several feet, minimizing the number of steps down from the main floor to the garden level. A custom, linear fire feature graces a bluestone terrace outside the living room, overlooking the lawn. To the right of the fire feature, a custom children’s play area was installed over an artificial-turf safety zone. To the left, the roof of the pool equipment room was re-purposed as an outdoor dining terrace and a sculpture garden featuring three totem poles by acclaimed Seattle artist, Steve Jensen.

In the front, a new driveway was installed, leading to a new auto-court of pre-cast permeable pavers was installed, and a curving bluestone walk leads through a circular lawn to the front door. Care was taken to preserve several towering conifers and a number of large rhododendrons were moved to flank the new driveway. Low, shade-tolerant plantings border the lawn, welcoming the owners and visitors alike.

Large photo by Brooks Kolb; other photos by Ben Benschneider

12/07/2021

Seattle Landscape Architect | Seattle Garden Design | Brooks Kolb LLC - Landscape Architecture - A Satellite Dish Gazebo

In 2016, Seattle landscape architect Brooks Kolb had the opportunity to design a large garden on a beautiful, 5-acre wooded property in Redmond, Washington. Out in the woodland surrounding the house, Brooks came upon an old satellite dish. Long disused, it reminded him of an ancient technological ar...

12/07/2021

Seattle Landscape Architect | Seattle Garden Design | Brooks Kolb LLC - Landscape Architecture - 25,000 Daffodils for Seattle's Volunteer Park

In his role as chair of the landscape committee of the Volunteer Park Trust, Seattle landscape architect Brooks Kolb recently co-led a volunteer effort to plant 25,000 daffodil bulbs on the western slopes of Volunteer Park. Installed on October 9 and October 23, 2021 in tribute to Volunteer Park Tru...

12/07/2021

Seattle Landscape Architect | Seattle Garden Design | Brooks Kolb LLC - Landscape Architecture - A Labyrinth for Walking Meditation

In 2014, Seattle landscape architect Brooks Kolb received an intriguing design challenge from a client in Bellevue, Washington: to incorporate a labyrinth in her garden for her daily walking meditation practice. While the history of labyrinths is somewhat obscure, as graphic images or symbols they d...

12/07/2021

Seattle Landscape Architect | Seattle Garden Design | Brooks Kolb LLC - Landscape Architecture - Restoring a Salmon Stream

For a client with a wooded, shoreline property in the village of Holly on Hood Canal, Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb generated a landscape master plan that included restoring a salmon stream. While salmon had been entering the creek for several years on their journey to spawn, they were blo...

04/23/2020

Creating Curb Appeal for House Sale
by Clara Beaufort, garden writer, for Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb

Any good real estate agent will tell you that creating curb appeal is an essential step when you plan on putting your home on the market. Your home’s interior could be completely remodeled with all the best upgrades, but if the exterior is lackluster, many buyers won’t even walk through the door. The good news is that investing in curb appeal does more than just help sell your house faster. It also improves your home’s value, so you can be confident that it’s money well spent.

Lawn and Garden 101
When you’re ready to invest in improved curb appeal, the hardest part for most homeowners is figuring out what to do first. Think of this step as Lawn and Garden 101 - you’re getting a feel for what it takes to get your yard in tip top shape. The first tasks to do will vary by season, so we suggest starting with a seasonal checklist. For example, Martha Stewart’s spring gardening tips include surveying your yard first, then deciding how to fill any gaps, reseeding grass, pruning, and preparing flower beds.

Starting with these tips will help you come up with a lawn and garden plan, plus it will help ensure you’re choosing the right plants for the season. Timing and choosing plants carefully is always important with landscaping, but especially when you want to sell your house. This is because plants that are in bloom and have lots of color will make the biggest impact on buyers. To get this maximum effect, The Spruce recommends that spring sellers plant early bloomers, hardy annuals, and flowering shrubs.

Creating and maintaining a beautiful lawn and garden is a lot of work, but you don’t have to do it all on your own. Whether you don’t have a green thumb or you simply don’t have the time it takes, hiring a gardening service is an easy way to get (and keep) the results you’re looking for. These pros specialize in all aspects of landscaping, whether you need help with the planning stage, planting, weeding, or other maintenance needs. And, remember, spring is the ideal time to make your exterior shine.

Tackle Other Exterior Projects
Curb appeal is about more than just your lawn and garden, which is why the next item on your to-do list should be addressing other exterior issues. This includes fixing anything that’s broken or worn looking, plus making cosmetic improvements strategically. Look at things like making repairs, such as fixing a broken deck board, along with cleaning spots you wouldn’t normally think about, such as your home’s roof and siding.

Inexpensive Extras
In addition to doing the necessary work of repairs and cleaning, buyers will be even more impressed if you go the extra mile with curb appeal. This doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune or a ton of time. Our suggestion is to pick just a few “extra” projects that will make the biggest impact, such as creating a more welcoming front entryway.

If your front door is looking shabby, give it a fresh coat of paint, and don’t forget about house trim and shutters. Along with a spruced up front door, make your front porch even more inviting with a container garden, adding a seasonal wreath, and a new welcome mat.

It’s also smart to think about making the most of your home’s outdoor spaces for the season you’re in. If you’re selling in spring, a birdhouse is a great seasonal accent for your garden, and the beautiful birds you attract are an added bonus. Or if you’re selling in summer, consider staging outdoor spaces to highlight the potential for backyard barbeques.

When you’re getting your home ready to sell, you want to highlight its best features while making house hunters feel welcome. Don’t underestimate the value of curb appeal, which affects your home’s appraisal value, to give that warm impression! From a neat and tidy lawn to seasonal accents, every improvement you make outside will help get buyers through the door - AND a better price at closing.

01/24/2019

New post added at Seattle Landscape Architect | Seattle Garden Design | Brooks Kolb LLC - Landscape Architecture - Recent Work: A Cascadia Avenue Garden

Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb is proud to announce the completion of an extensive new garden on Cascadia Avenue in the Mount Baker garden. The front garden features six rectangular perennial beds flanking the central front walk, while the much larger back garden boasts a substantial number...

01/14/2019

Recent Work: A Mount Baker Garden,Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb is proud to announce the completion of a substantial new hillside garden in the Mount Baker Garden. Since the main floor of the house is at a much lower elevation than the street, an elegant concrete stair winds down past a dramatic waterfall to the front door. From the main stair landing, a wide gravel path loops around to the back garden, which features a tranquil koi pond and a mahogany observation deck with sweeping views of Lake Washington and the Cascades. On the north side of the house, a second stair descends to a lower level rental unit which has its own lawn. Lush plantings of trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses and perennials are distributed throughout the garden, while a variety of erosion control shrubs anchor the steep slope below the deck. Brooks collaborated with Turnstone Construction on the two contrasting water features.

Photographs by Miranda Estes Photography

01/14/2019

Recent Work: A Cascadia Avenue Garden,Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb is proud to announce the completion of an extensive new garden on Cascadia Avenue in the Mount Baker garden. The front garden features six rectangular perennial beds flanking the central front walk, while the much larger back garden boasts a substantial number of amenities: a swimming pool, shed with kitchenette, sports court and children’s play area. A raised hot tub is situated to look out over the flames of a custom, natural gas-fed fire feature to views of Lake Washington beyond. In addition, a custom tree house nestles in an Evergreen Magnolia tree for the owner’s young children. More than thirteen varieties of fruiting trees, shrubs, vines and espaliers are distributed throughout the garden, all without blocking views of the lake. Brooks collaborated with architect Kim Lavacot for the shed and tree house.

Photographs by Miranda Estes Photography

01/14/2019

Recent Work: A Mount Baker Garden

Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb is proud to announce the completion of a substantial new hillside garden in the Mount Baker Garden. Since the main floor of the house is at a much lower elevation than the street, an elegant concrete stair winds down past a dramatic waterfall to the front door. From the main stair landing, a wide gravel path loops around to the back garden, which features a tranquil koi pond and a mahogany observation deck with sweeping views of Lake Washington and the Cascades. On the north side of the house, a second stair descends to a lower level rental unit which has its own lawn. Lush plantings of trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses and perennials are distributed throughout the garden, while a variety of erosion control shrubs anchor the steep slope below the deck. Brooks collaborated with Turnstone Construction on the two contrasting water features.

Photographs by Miranda Estes Photography

02/26/2018

Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb's Inverness Garden published in "New Landscaping Ideas That Work",Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb is thrilled to report that his Inverness Garden was just published as a case study in the new book, "New Landscaping Ideas That Work," by Julia Moir Messervy (Taunton Press.) Titled "A Backyard Retreat," Brooks' garden design is honored with a two-page spread on pages 154-155 in the book, which show-cases nation-wide garden designs. It is also featured in a full-page photograph chapter heading, "Spaces that Work," on page 20. Julia Moir Messervy is also the author of "Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love" and "Outside the Not So Big House" (with Sarah Susanka.)

Quoting Messervy, "Seattle landscape architect Brooks Kolb created an elegant landscape to meld beautifully with a mid-century modern home built in 1962. The new owners wanted a private dining terrace on the east side of the house.* Bands of white Texada concrete pavers alternate with fields of charcoal Texada to give interest to the flat plane around three sides of the house."

*it is actually on the south side of the house.

For more information, please visit the Inverness Garden project page, http://www.brookskolbllc.net/projects/inverness-garden/.

Photographs by Ken Gutmaker