This charming and architecturally distinctive house was in search of a landscape; this much my client knew. A member of the design community herself, she had spent a lot of time renovating the interior. She was ready to renovate the outdoor spaces. A designer always needs to pay careful attention to the architecture; this is a given. But this house had certain unique and compelling features.
The Spanish style of this house came with a beautiful and intact tile roof, and old concrete stucco painted white. The brick terrace was in considerable disrepair, but the brick itself was old and good. The remains of a previous landscape seemed neither here nor there. Some poorly performing rhododendrons and azaleas struggled in the blazing sun and no doubt highly alkaline soil. Add to this a noticeable slope from the house to the center of the rear yard, and more importantly, my client’s interest in strong clean modern lines; I had plenty to think about. Small urban properties make their own demands. Not the least of these is that every gesture needs to be right. Small spaces are unforgiving of mistakes, or leftover unresolved areas. The mistakes made in small spaces seem to be so much larger than those made in big spaces. No room for error, as they say.
So we piled up the good brick, and ripped out all the ailing plants. In the meantime I was looking for a graceful expression that also felt strong and simple. I had my answer in the wall.
I was completely enamored of the white stucco wall that completely enclosed the rear yard. Completely overrun with trumpet vine, and various other weedy plants, that wall was still so architecturally strong and interesting I could not help but make it central to the design. My client carefully and completely repaired all the shaling stucco, and repainted it-the transformation to the entire space was striking.
This old wall was certainly deserving of attention. Infilled in 2 spots with old iron grilles, it was completely unique and unusual in its design. Surely the hand of a particular person, I have never seen a wall designed like this. While walls make beautiful landscape features, whatever their height or material; I had considerable excitement about this wall. Though quite old, it had strong and unusual lines that could be interpreted in a number of ways.
Cleaning out a space takes plenty of time, as does proper grading. I planned to enlarge the existing terrace to fill the entire space off the rear door and French doors. As the original U-shaped brick terrace had a unfriendly slope to it, I decided to create a step off, into the yard. The best move: a new stucco wall, built at seat height, to set the terrace apart from the rear yard space, that could also provide casual seating for guests. This new wall would integrate the new landscape into the old; it seemed natural to repeat that stucco feature.
The happy result are two distinct and level spaces. The terrace and a rectangular grass space friendly to the dogs, and in distinct contrast to the terrace surfaces.
To come, a U-shape of columnar carpinus, mulched in gravel, which would answer the brick shape on the terrace; the center of the terrace we did in gravel.
A terrace entirely of brick would have overwhelmed the space. Sometimes switching materials can make a big space read read in a more friendly way. No home needs a parking lot for a terrace, even though a big terrace is great for furniture, dining and entertaining. We are at a good stage here. Two rectangles at right angles to each other are ready for the finishing touches.
I live in a very urban area-there are endless buildings and paving of all descriptions. Thus I am always admiring of any business that makes an effort to plant. These sassy boxes we did for a jazz club downtown out of exterior sign board board are very durable, and certainly did doll up the location. Even freshly planted, they look great.
I did this planting outside a local art museum. Public parks and the like come with land, and that land can be planted-but city businesses are typically located in an ocean of paving designed for cars, pedestrians, and delivery trucks. It just takes some ingenuity and effort to put up a little garden against all the hardscape. Business owners tell me that any effort they make to dress up their businesses outdoors gets noticed. My feeling is that the presentation of the business on the outside says a lot about how things are done on the inside.
These window boxes were made to sit on a wall that divided the restaurant parking from the sidewalk. The restaurant owner is an avid gardener herself, and she maintained these boxes herself. Her committment is obvious. She was sure that people driving by were drawn in by the flowers-and the idea that she probably maintained her restaurant with the same level of care as she did her landscape. 
Any landscape in an urban area is bound to attract attention. These boxes get a new look every season. The women who own this shop, Tender, have a considerable involvement in their community-its not hard to believe, looking at the front of their store. I really like the idea that they appreciate that the community at large keeps them in business-and they give back to that community by making trying to make their part of that community a little more beautiful. 
This gated community made a big investment in a beautiful landscape, and lots of flowers, with me. Anyone who lives there benefits. The pots at the entrance have a much more residential, than commercial look; the plantings are at eye level to whomever passes under the port cochere.
The landscape at my store is simple, and evergreen. It allows me to change out the seasonal part of the planting, and still have structure. What is most beautiful about this to my eye is how it is looked after. It speaks to my respect for the natural world, and the people who come here.
I had these boxes made of heavy gauge galvanized sheet metal from a heating and cooling contractor- very reasonably. We set them up off the ground on steel ball feet. The client was more interested in what would be in the boxes, than the boxes themselves. He says the boxes are a constant topic of conversation between he and his clients. New clients say they were interested in what kind of business would plant outside their store in this way. Even though the boxes are on the north side of the building, a lot of light is reflected from the street. The choice of plant material and colors is very much his taste. I like businesses that take the inside, out there.
This monochromaticplanting of Australia canna, red-leaved hibiscus, Gartenmeister fuchsias, and chocolate potato vine is a sophisticated statement-appropriate for an advertising agency. 
