Each spring, I follow the same path through our Pacific Northwest garden to document how the landscape changes over time. What began as an overgrown and neglected property has slowly evolved, season by season, into an ongoing study in gardening, landscape design, and learning through observation.

This video was filmed in May 2026 during our fourth year living on the property in Washington State (Zone 9A). Returning to the same walk each year has become a way of noticing gradual change — trees gaining presence, pathways softening, layers filling in, and certain areas beginning to feel less planted and more established.

This year feels quieter and more cohesive than the years before. Some earlier experiments have succeeded, others have disappeared entirely, and the garden is beginning to reveal its own preferences. Rather than chasing perfection, this project has increasingly become about paying attention: to light, seasonality, growth, failure, and the slow formation of place over time.

Filmed largely in one continuous shot, this annual walk is intended as a kind of living timelapse — a repeated journey through the same evolving landscape.

In this video:

Year 4 garden walk in the Pacific Northwest Zone 9A garden transformation over time Evolving woodland and naturalistic planting Layered landscape design and garden structure Reflective walk through an establishing garden Seasonal atmosphere and slow observation Continuous-shot garden walk with aerial perspectives