Tuolumne
The landscape on this property was an open canvas of weedy nothingness, with two primary site constraints: the first was the backyard slope towards the house, which caused water damage in rain storms; the second was the residential street on the front-side of the house that gave an unsettling impression of cars driving straight into the dining room.
One of the clients is an avid basketball player and coach, so he wanted a new driveway to have a smooth-court surface to play on. Using the cracked and aged concrete from the old driveway, we built a retaining wall in the back yard that enabled us to regrade the back of the property to slope away from the house. A permeable gravel surface over the grade will slow the run-off from the back of the property, so the rain soaks into the ground.
We also connected all the downspouts from the roof, directing rainwater into an infiltration swale in the front yard. Created with boulders and gravels of different shades of gray at different sizes with different textures, the infiltration swale is suggestive of Zen rock gardens.
Manzanita and olive trees planted at the front of the house changed the direct sightlines down the residential street, and a curvilinear path to the front door further broke up the sightlines on the approach to the house.
Inspired by Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite, the front garden is planted with various species of native grasses, mixed with native wildflowers including Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum) and native Narrow Leafed Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)—a plant that Monarch Butterfly caterpillars need.
We also incorporated a plant pallet of native plant material in the back yard, as well as fruit trees and herbs. Raised vegetable beds were constructed for annual vegetables, and on the north side of the back yard we planted edible and medicinal plants.
Native and Mediterranean plant material on the East and Southern perimeter of the garden mimic the textures found on the productive side of the garden: Native Leymus grass matching the Lemon Grass, the native succulent Dudleya balancing out the medicinal aloes, native sages against culinary sage—all of which created a cohesive garden full of biodiversity.
