Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb’s residential landscape design is featured in the September/October 2012 issue of “Exceptional Properties” Magazine.  In an article called “Localism Meets the Landscape – Creating Formal Gardens that Look Like They’ve Always Been There,” author Nanci Theoret focuses on the work of Chicago firm Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects as well as Brooks Kolb LLC.  As Theoret puts it, “…across the country, there is a stream of consciousness to use plant materials indigenous to a specific region and a concerted effort to create more sustainable gardens.”

In the article, Theoret paraphrases Brooks Kolb:

“Homes within Seattle’s city limits pack a lot into every square foot of garden space out of necessity; homesites are small, says Brooks Kolb, a landscape architect there.  Urban residents, he says, want more hardscape elements – paths, hot tubs, outdoor fireplaces, and water features – to maximize use of these smaller alfresco areas.”

“ ‘People think of a garden as a place to sit outside,’ Kolb says.  ‘They want outdoor areas for seating, dining, and entertaining.   Some of my clients are avid gardeners; others just want to enjoy the feeling of being in a garden, to enjoy the fragrance and sensory qualities.’”

Here’s a link to the full article: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/00b26966#/00b26966/10, turn to pages 6-10.
Two photographs of Brooks Kolb’s work are published in the article, as displayed below.  The top photo is from the Blue  Ridge Garden; the bottom photo is from the Matthews Beach Garden.  For more information about both garden designs, please visit the portfolio page athttp://www.brookskolbllc.com