We’ve all seen them. The garage turned into den/spare bedroom/office that can’t help but look like a garage that’s been turned into a den/spare bedroom/office. Sometimes the former garage door is boarded up; sometimes it becomes a big picture window. Well in this garden in NE Portland it’s become a green wall…
I know the drive way is a dead give away, but in the summer time they’ve usually got a table and chairs as well as more containers moved out. And with the big half barrels blocking the entrance it manages to have a patio vibe to it.
I think this is a very nice way to camouflage a used-to-be garage, and since I too live in a very small home and we don’t park in our garage I’m often looking at that space and thinking “what if”...what if we someday convert the garage into livable space? That line of thought always has me thinking back to an older danger garden post with photos of the BEST EVER repurposing of a garage and drive way (
click here for that); if you weren’t reading my blog back in 2010 you missed a great space.
But back to this garden…beyond the garage/driveway they’ve got a short wall that brings the front garden up from sidewalk level.
And a metal edged path leading around back (or maybe just to the recycling and yard waste containers…I tried to not get them in the picture but it was simply impossible).
The Euphorbia is doing its pre-bloom bashful nod.
And the wide hell-strip has two of the nicest Fatsia japonica I’ve seen recently.
How I'd love to do something like that with our driveway and garage, but the Mulch man finds the covered parking irresistible during our wet winters. Okay, me too. Do you think that's Trachelospermum jasminoides growing up the wall?
ReplyDeleteI wonder how those Fatsia japonica stay so nice in winter? But that ivy has me a bit worried...
I couldn't tell what it was growing against the wall...I don't know my vine plants very well. It certainly could be Trachelospermum jasminoides.
DeleteThe ivy is pretty contained by the sidewalk and street, although I suppose it could start climbing up the trees.
I think these homeowners have done a great job making the entire front of the house look beautiful. I even spotted bamboo in the 5th photo, so I'm REALLY liking these people :-).
ReplyDeleteI also clicked through to your 2010 post. WOW, what a transformation! That project should be featured in Sunset Magazine!
Gerhard
:: Bamboo and More ::
Oh yes the bamboo looks great doesn't it!? I agree about Sunset and the 2010 post, it's amazing.
DeleteI was trying to convince my partner yesterday that we should remove our garage completely to increase the size of our yard. He wasn't keen on it but this he might go for.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I know the conversation of where to store the patio furniture over the winter, the trash/recycling containers, etc...always comes up when we discuss.
DeleteThe leaves of those fatsias are huge! It looks like the wall is now covered by a climber and is virtually a vertical garden indeed, which looks better than the other options you'e mentioned above. I reckon if they change the concrete drive to stone paving it would look less of a conversion :)
ReplyDeleteYou're right of course...I wonder if they could break up the bits and plant around the big chunks they leave in place? Kind of the best of both worlds?
DeleteWonderful! I love "walking around" Portland neighborhoods with you :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad to take you along with me!
DeleteVery nice conversion, the garden looks quite good for winter. It must be very pretty in the summer.
ReplyDeleteAvoiding those blue containers is a challenge, my neighbor keeps hers right in line with some of the best views of my yard.
It's taking every bit of will power I have to not complain about my neighbors recycling and trash containers in this reply.
DeleteI remember wanting to use every inch of outdoor space too when I lived in NE Portland. However, we were some of the only people in our neighborhood that parked our car in the tiny detached garage. My husband was adamant about parking in the garage so that was off limits for me! I like how they made the "green wall" as well. And their front yard with the little gravel path is cute. I can see how it would have a patio feel in the summer. I wonder if they even put more pots around to give a more enclosed feel during summer.
ReplyDeleteThey do have more pots out in the summertime.
DeleteI don't even think my car (a VW Beetle) could fit in our garage!
Soo nice. Do you ever notice how it often looks as though we worship our garages? This speaks to me!!! You can just tell they are wonderful people!
ReplyDeleteI hate the new developments where house after house has the big gaping garage mouth is out in front and the front door and the rest of the house is set back. So ugly!!! In those developments there are never even any mature trees to break up the monotony!
DeleteLittle house, big yard: that's my idea of living. We can really see the "bones" this time of year.
ReplyDeleteWhat you mean you don't want one of those 3,000+ in-fill houses that are only 5ft from the property line on all four sides? Aren't you an American!!!???
DeletePlease visit this garden again during the summer. I'd love to see the difference!
ReplyDeleteWill do!
DeleteSpeaking from my Realtor DNA (if you are a native so Cal you get it from the water supply--its not an option) if you remove your garage you've just eliminated all potential buyers who insist on a garage.
ReplyDeleteCute house! They have put a lot of love into it.