At first glance, it looks like a dry creek bed somewhere in the Cascades. Actually, it's a cleverly designed footpath that leads from a driveway to Bob Riebe's house on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Conceived by Riebe and constructed by Jeff Pryde and Dan Blossom, the path is composed of flat stone slabs edged by rocks that shore up planting beds.
Pryde dug a 15-inch-deep channel for the path and filled it with a 1-foot-deep layer of sand. He loosely laid High Cascade granite slabs in the sand, then filled the spaces between them with pebbles. When it rains, water doesn't pool up on the surface but percolates down through the pebbles and sand.
The pathway is edged by a low wall (front left) and along most of its length by rocks backfilled with planting mix amended with compost. Riebe selects the seasonal blends of annuals and perennials that grow in the beds. Pictured here in late summer are petunias and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' (front right), whose chartreuse flower heads are just about to turn pink, and silver mountain gum (Eucalyptus pulverulenta) with silver dollar-shaped leaves. At right rear, a specimen rhododendron canopies a carpet of bright green Scotch moss. Installation: Jeff Pryde and Dan Blossom, Forest Pryde Landscape Design, Poulsbo, WA (360/779-9494)
