By Jim McCausland, Sunset senior garden writer

Set well below street level, this Seattle house and garden used to have no secrets: passersby looked down the hillside garden and into the front window. Designer Octavia Chambliss solved the problem for client Alan Zarky with a combination of fence, water, patio, flowers, and grasses.

The fence is a beautiful head-high structure that looks great from both sides. Inside, a mass of flowering perennials fill it; outside, its sidewalk face is softened with tall ornamental grasses, so walkers have a pleasant path along the property, but no view in.

A lovely gate near the house’s entry takes you to a stone-paved patio that looks upslope at a mass of blue and pink flowers—a color scheme that shows up in many of Chambliss’ designs. Stone terraces hold the slope, and the sound of splashing water from a pondless fountain masks street noises above.

It’s a colorful, quiet, space now, but most important, it's very, very private.