It is amazing how you can change the view with plants in just a few years. When I bought my house in Ballard, Seattle, in the fall of 1991, the yard was just a weedy lawn with a few small shrubs sticking up from among quackgrass, blackberries and bindweed. In less than 10 years, I "revegetated" my yard, with the vision of creating a lush look with plenty of evergreen broadleaf plants.

This is a view of my front yard in Ballard from across the street in 1992 and 2000. Both pictures are taken from the very same spot. My laurel hedge (Prunus laurocerasus var. Compacta) provides complete privacy from my nosy neighbors. Behind the hedge is a chestnut tree and an arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis).

The view along my street in 1992 and 2000. My Himalayan birch (Betula jacquemontii) grows 2 feet (60 cm) a year. Note that my Volvo is parked in the same spot in both pictures, and so is the car in front of the big house in the background.

My front entrance in the spring of 1997 and fall of 2000. The grape vine over the arch (var. Interlaken) produces over 100 clusters of sweet, aromatic and seedless grapes each October. The tall narrow tree is a Swedish aspen.