This artful patio garden provides a sunny outdoor perch for residents in a dense and hilly city. We worked within limited space to create a refuge that drew inspiration from the seasonal cycle of the stately Persian Walnut tree in the owner’s front yard.

K. Dakin Design won the 2018 CARE award from the Custom Builder and Remodeler Council of Denver for the reimagination of the landscape around this classic organic-modernist home designed by Rocky Mountain architect Charles Haertling.

This second home outside of Sebastopol, CA is perched on a ridge with sweeping views of Bodega Bay. The stunning scale of this environment also provides challenges to creating the feeling of shelter - making the house a home.

Rock walls and flagstone patio create a sheltered outdoor living room in this lush fairy garden. A window-well view is transformed into a painterly scene backed by a stone wall that extends into the rest of the garden.

This terraced flower garden in Boulder was designed to convey the blooming liveliness of a traditional English garden for the climate of Colorado. Flowers take center stage

The owners of this modern home in Denver, Colorado wanted beautiful, drought tolerant native plants in a xeriscape front yard combined with a backyard garden perfect for entertaining.

Dakin designed beds and sourced a greenhouse so elegant that vegetable production ended up taking center stage, showcasing beauty and abundance. 

Dakin designed beds and sourced a greenhouse so elegant that vegetable production ended up taking center stage, showcasing beauty and abundance.

Dakin designed beds and sourced a greenhouse so elegant that vegetable production ended up taking center stage, showcasing beauty and abundance. 

This garden of gray greens and hot-colored blossoms incorporates a sculptural fountain as well as a green roof prairie that melds with dramatic views of the syncline mountain beyond. Excess bluestone paving was turned on its side to create an undulating, sculptural rain garden planted with moisture-loving plants.

This garden mirrored the rugged landscape of the site, located in the rain shadow of Long’s Peak.

This garden centers on the elemental forces of water and fire. Both fountain and fire pit are outdoor sculptures with built-in seating. 

This net zero energy Architect’s house and garden were designed around existing trees. 

Inspired by Victorian gardens, we added a shade pergola with decorative screens and planted climbing Wisteria to provide a verdant backdrop for outdoor gatherings or breakfast on the deck.

The reimagination of this garden for a stately Tudor house in an old neighborhood in Denver turned the front yard into the backyard and transformed tired lawn monoculture into a diversified Parterre food and flower garden. 

This garden for a Midcentury home includes a berm that wraps around the house, screening the front of the home from the street and serving as seating for an amphitheater in the back.

The narrow backyard of this tiny, modernistic cottage is shaded by mature trees. Playful geometric paving in the front yard extends the character of this high-design, low footprint living space.

Dakin was hired to transform this garden into a Japanese sculpture garden that contrasts geometric formality with sweeping views of mountain wilderness beyond.

K. Dakin Design transformed this shaded walkway into a lush fern garden inspired by the renowned 20th Century California landscape architect Thomas Church. This project demonstrates how small spaces can become the highlight of the garden.

This home garden included ground-level design as well as an award-winning green roof. This design turned storm water runoff on a site prone to flooding in heavy rains into an opportunity for natural water features.