From Lawn to Japanese-Inspired Garden: A Slow the Flow Makeover

A front yard can be a place to pause. In Sandy, Utah, Sheldon and Kat turned theirs into a garden with winding paths, flowering beds, a dry stream bed, and room to sit beneath the trees.

Slow the Flow follows their project in Rethinking Landscapes, Season 1, Episode 2, “A Japanese Garden in Utah? They Pulled It Off.” Hosted by Cynthia Bee and Cameron Allcott, the episode brings together the homeowners, a local designer, a landscape crew, and material suppliers to show how an idea becomes a place people want to spend time.

It’s a transformation worth watching, especially if you’re trying to picture what could take the place of your own front lawn.

Watch the transformation

Sheldon and Kat’s completed front garden in Sandy, Utah, with stone paths, planted islands, and mature trees

Watch the full 22-minute episode on Slow the Flow’s YouTube channel. For the return visit, jump to the garden one year later.

A garden built around the people who live there

Sheldon wanted a Japanese-inspired garden and somewhere to meditate. Kat wanted color and a porch. Both wanted to stop mowing. Their sandy soil added another consideration to the design.

Landscape designer Kristyn Hansen of Our Nesting Space helped bring those wishes together. The result has a strong sense of place: stones, sculpted forms, open gravel, and planted islands give the front yard a quieter rhythm, while flowers bring the color Kat wanted.

Before the project: a broad lawn between the sidewalk and the home, with established trees around the property

Before: lawn occupied much of the front yard.

After the project: planted islands, stone paths, steps, and a landscaped park strip replace the front lawn

After: paths and planting beds give the front yard a new layout, with the established trees still framing the house.

Aerial view of the completed garden, showing paths, planting islands, mature trees, and the landscaped park strip

The finished layout from above. Frame from the episode at 20:00.

Look closely at the paths, planting, and stone

The wide views show the scale of the change. The closer views show why the garden is inviting.

A route through the planting gives visitors a reason to enter. Beds curve around the paths, and the park strip carries the planting out toward the street. Upright plants and small, rounded forms sit alongside low flowers, creating variety even while the garden is young.

Flowering planting islands and stone steps connect the sidewalk to the Japanese-inspired front garden

Stone appears in several forms. Large pieces give the garden weight, smaller river stones trace a dry stream bed, and pale gravel makes a distinct focal area. The dry stream bed is especially interesting up close: its mix of stone sizes feels less uniform than a single layer of matching cobbles.

Mixed river stones and larger boulders form a dry stream bed between mulched planting beds

The episode follows these decisions through construction, including the irrigation layout for sandy soil and the placement of plants. It also visits Sego Lily Garden in Sandy, an inspiration for the project. Watching the process makes the finished view more useful: you can see the choices behind it.

A community effort, with credit where it belongs

Cynthia Bee of Utah Water Ways and Cameron Allcott of Progressive Plants guide viewers through the story. The episode is a Slow the Flow / Utah Water Ways production, with local expertise and contributions from national suppliers helping bring the landscape to life.

The episode credits the project team and suppliers as follows.

Landscape design: Kristyn Hansen, Our Nesting Space.
Build: Scenic View Landscape, with Collin Larsen and LeRoy Larsen.
Plants: Glover Nursery.
Stone: Kilgore.
Stairs: Belgard.
Donated drip irrigation: Netafim.

That range of contributions is part of what makes this story worth sharing. A homeowner’s vision needs people who can draw it, build it, grow the plants, and supply the materials. Here, the video gives those contributions a face.

A red garden bench beneath a mature tree beside the planting beds and paths

A shaded place to sit brings the homeowners’ wishes into the finished garden. Frame from the episode at 17:10.

Bring an idea home

As you watch, notice the part of the garden you would actually use. Is it a shaded seat? A path through flowers? A quiet place near the front door? Start there when you think about your own yard.

At SimplyScapes, we love seeing a landscape take shape around the people who live with it. Save the details that speak to you, take a photo of your own space, and use that as the starting point for a conversation with your family or a landscape professional.

Watch Sheldon and Kat’s full garden transformation, then explore Slow the Flow’s water-wise landscaping resources. If you’re considering a lawn replacement project in Utah, check Utah Water Savers for the current requirements that apply to your location before starting work.

Video and project imagery: Slow the Flow / Utah Water Ways, Rethinking Landscapes, Season 1, Episode 2. Includes supplied screenshots and additional frames extracted from the original video. Project credits follow the original episode’s description.