Garden of the Three Turtles

The Opportunity

Clients David and Laurie called about their Seattle craftsman style home on the east side of Greenlake. They wished to expand upon a small waterfall surrounded by a moss garden, which they have in the front yard.

The remaining front yard and side yard was a blank slate with grass and dirt, and a few key plants worth keeping, including a large camellia bush and Japanese maples.

The Design

Using my experience of visiting Zen gardens in Japan, my client inspirations around the moss garden, and the proximity to Greenlake, we began a collaborative process to bring life to this small space.

I came up with with suggestions for using the ‘turtle island’ concept from traditional gardens, to create three distinct turtles to lend form, movement, and imagination to the space.

The smallest turtle was represented by a single stone reminiscent of a turtle shell, the second was the turtle island outlined by stones with bermed planting on his back, and the third was a single large greenish colored stone emanating from a berm as if he’d just stuck his head out of the water.

Other main features included steps and walkways of tumbled Pennsylvania bluestone inspired by a Kyoto garden. A key focal point was a basalt pedestal for placing ‘viewing stones’ (Suiseki in Japanese), that the owners were fond of collecting. Plants such as dwarf mondo grass were used to create the ‘ocean’ in which the turtle swims. And moss collected from the wild added extra visual appeal.

The Result

The garden has a magnetic contemplative quality to it, and a sense of spaciousness belying its small size. Laurie found herself arising in the morning and going to the front windows to just gaze at her garden. Passersby frequently stop on the front sidewalk to take in the garden before moving on. The trickle of the small waterfall from their original garden provides a ambient sound. David finds it a pleasant challenge to nurture the moss along by repairing squirrel damage and keeping the leaves and needles in check, as though he were a Zen monk himself.

Though a small garden, it plays with ones sense of scale and depth for anyone willing to stop and gaze into it.