If you need landscaping in Lake Shore, WA, you are probably working with an established yard. Lake Shore's median home was built in 1978, and close to 4 in 10 went up during the 1970s. Those split-levels and ranches sit on the east side of Vancouver Lake, many framed by trees as old as the houses.
We make the 25-minute trip down I-5 from Woodland to renovate and maintain Lake Shore yards: paver patios in place of cracked concrete, block walls where timber ones are failing, lighting under the big trees, irrigation threaded through mature beds, and full-service care afterward. The estimate is free and done on site, and (360) 555-0142 is answered at any hour.
Lake Shore's 1970s Ranches and Split-Levels, Fifty Years On
Lake Shore first appeared as a census-designated place in 1990 and covers just 1.64 square miles between Felida, Salmon Creek, Hazel Dell and the Vancouver city limits. Nearly every home is a detached house. Local listing guides describe split-level and ranch homes on spacious lots from the late 1960s on, with some 1990s and 2000s homes mixed in and lake views from some streets.
A landscape that old has had decades to drift. The things we look for on a Lake Shore walk-through:
- Trees that outgrew the yard. Firs and maples planted as saplings now shade the lawn, lift walks and hang over roofs.
- Original hardscape. Cracked concrete patios, settled steps and railroad-tie or timber walls that have started to lean.
- Foundation shrubs past their prime. Hedges and evergreens planted with the house now block windows and walkways.
- Irrigation added piecemeal, or none at all, with lawns that brown out by August.
Renovation here usually comes in an order: tree work and removals first, then grading and drainage, then patios and walls, then irrigation, planting and landscape lighting.
Hillsboro Terraces, Sandy Pockets and Slopes Toward Vancouver Lake
A USDA soil sample across Lake Shore is mostly Hillsboro silt loam on gentle 3 to 8 percent terrace ground. Hillsboro is well drained with moderate permeability, so most Lake Shore lawns handle winter rain far better than the clay yards farther north in the county. Toward the lake, the same Hillsboro silt shows up on mapped slopes as steep as 65 percent, and a pocket of Wind River sandy loam, rated somewhat excessively drained, turns up on an 8 to 20 percent slope.
That gives Lake Shore yards a few specific needs:
- Summer water. July and August bring Vancouver less than an inch of rain between them, by NOAA's normals. Sandy and sloped spots dry first.
- Slope work on view lots. Homes along the terrace edge need retaining walls, stable planting and downspouts piped well clear of the bank.
- Pruning for light and views. Thinning and raising old canopies opens views toward the lake and lets grass grow again.
Landscaping in Lake Shore, WA: County Rules and Lake-Friendly Yards
Lake Shore addresses say Vancouver, but the area is unincorporated, so Clark County sets the rules. County code calls for a permit on any retaining wall taller than 4 feet, measured from the base of its footing, and on shorter walls that carry a load such as a sloped yard or a driveway; those walls also need an engineer's design. An old timber wall on a Lake Shore slope can sit right at that line, so we measure before quoting a replacement.
Water from these yards heads toward Vancouver Lake, a shallow lake that has dealt with recurring algal blooms fed partly by runoff and fertilizer. Washington's phosphorus limit on lawn fertilizer helps, and so do yards that hold their own water: rain gardens on the flatter Hillsboro ground, native shrubs on slopes, and lawns that are aerated so rain soaks in instead of running off.
