I was visiting a project that we designed and installed several years ago.
It was a partial master plan in that we did not site the house or driveway, but we did set the grades, design all the hardscaping, softscaping , irrigation and lighting systems.
Welcoming guests to the front door is a stone fountain sculpted by Edwin Hamilton.
Walking through the house, one enters out to the back yard via the New England slate terrace.
This two tiered terrace looks over the garden and out to the San Francisco Bay.
A horse shoe shaped path links the various garden rooms together.
The view from the upper terrace dining table
The lower terrace with a simple bbq and food prep area
Adjacent to the lower terrace is a sweetly scented jasmine covered hammock.
The curved path leads you out to the sunken spa overlooking the bay. A shower is set into the hedge . A beautifully hand sculpted stone surround set with a teak deck offers a pleasant place to enjoy the view.
Looking back to the house and dining terraces from the sunken spa deck.
The surrounding gardens adjacent to the spa
A wind sculpture set in the garden adds a playful touch.
There is a small herb garden next to the house
Along the south side of the path is a pine apple guava hedge with an opening that leads to the orchard , cymbidium orchid holding area, berry boxes and raise vegetable area.
Leaving this area , we are taken to the lower side yard that has another wind sculpture.
Thanks for taking a tour of a garden we designed and installed several years ago in Marin County.
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8 comments:
Thanks...the sunken spa area is great, esp the stone wall that steps down. But my favorite is that from the house, with the trees and hedge to provide scale and frame views...so much better than keeping the entire view open, but "blah".
yawn.
Oooh, can I appropriate the hammock/trellis idea?
To the 'yawn' and 'blah' comments,
On several levels I have to agree.
There is nothing cutting edge, innovative or unique to this project.
It is simply a well built/ constructed project that responds directly to the clients needs and the site constraints + opportunities.
An average family garden if you will, for a family who isn't pretentious and enjoys the simple things in life such as entertaining friends and family in a comfortable setting.
Thanks for your honest feedback.
Love the multi colored wind sculpture. I saw one like that at Far West a few years back. I coveted it so baldy I had to go to confession ;-).
Nice yard very usable and pleasurable.
I wish I could hire your crew to put a little of that "yawn" at my property in Coldwater. The quality of the materials and the execution are fantastic. Good, straight forward design that makes for a happy client...
Patrick, I think you hit the nail on the head in regards to this project.
The clients aren't flashy. They are into quality and providing a pleasant place for their kids and family friends to enjoy themselves on the property.
I think the most successful designs relate directly to your clients needs.
That's not to say that the design should suffer.
A lot of the detailing might be lost in these photos. There was a lot of attention to good construction and detailing such as sinking the hot tub so as not to messy up the view, installing a hot water shower , adding bull nose cast stone treads to the steps , incorporating task and ambience lighting.
Not the flashiest but well proportioned and built for the site.
Michelle, I really love the trellis over the hammock, especially draped with a vine. I can just imagine relaxing there breathing in the scent. So many people just plunk an old hammock any ol' place in the garden without thought to how it'll actually look. Really pretty and serene garden - thanks for sharing!
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