Mystical Habitat Garden
Here is an aerial look at this garden: https://vimeo.com/110584123
This property went from a 'typical' tract home to a 'mystical' retreat. And the impact of the new landscape set in motion a chain of uplifting make-overs inside the house. This family has a deep appreciation for nature and wanted a garden to support the native habitat and attract birds and butterflies. The natural warmth and comfort of grasses and a native landscape in this Woodland Hills garden was inspired by terrain in nearby Calabasas, and local vineyards in the adjacent Santa Monica Mountains.
The existing heavy concrete work, brick planters and water thirsty lawns did not reflect their values. So we removed it all and created underground storage for rainwater harvested on both sides of the house. We added many new trees to develop lots of shade and mitigate climate change. The lawn was replaced with a no-mow meadow and drought tolerant plants. We gave the exterior an uplift too with new lights, trimmed off a fake buttress, added a small attached pergola over the garage, and rebuilt the wrap around corner serving counter. Adding short retaining walls in areas across the back slope gave us an opportunity to make a curved to bench with a perfect view to the valley, the back and side gardens, and the hillside slope across the street. We also got a few more feet of space to make two long benches across from the pool. Our clients had the great idea for the two-way double bench, and the blue color of the fire pit and table as a reflection of the water and sky. We sunk the fire pit and seating to make it less obtrusive and gave it a yin-yang shape to keep the energy moving in that corner. The switchback trail makes the space seem much larger that its former version as a brick-laced concrete patio and lawn. The gardens became a transcendent nature scape full of magic. A retaining wall wrapping around the south-east corner can be seen in the concept drawing at the end. Its smooth stucco and flagstone cap repeats the aesthetic of other walls and the fire pit. The wall provides more places to sit and most importantly removing the slope provided more garden floor and an overall larger space. (That wall was another great idea from the clients ! ) We love to work collaboratively.
This property went from a 'typical' tract home to a 'mystical' retreat. And the impact of the new landscape set in motion a chain of uplifting make-overs inside the house. This family has a deep appreciation for nature and wanted a garden to support the native habitat and attract birds and butterflies. The natural warmth and comfort of grasses and a native landscape in this Woodland Hills garden was inspired by terrain in nearby Calabasas, and local vineyards in the adjacent Santa Monica Mountains.
The existing heavy concrete work, brick planters and water thirsty lawns did not reflect their values. So we removed it all and created underground storage for rainwater harvested on both sides of the house. We added many new trees to develop lots of shade and mitigate climate change. The lawn was replaced with a no-mow meadow and drought tolerant plants. We gave the exterior an uplift too with new lights, trimmed off a fake buttress, added a small attached pergola over the garage, and rebuilt the wrap around corner serving counter. Adding short retaining walls in areas across the back slope gave us an opportunity to make a curved to bench with a perfect view to the valley, the back and side gardens, and the hillside slope across the street. We also got a few more feet of space to make two long benches across from the pool. Our clients had the great idea for the two-way double bench, and the blue color of the fire pit and table as a reflection of the water and sky. We sunk the fire pit and seating to make it less obtrusive and gave it a yin-yang shape to keep the energy moving in that corner. The switchback trail makes the space seem much larger that its former version as a brick-laced concrete patio and lawn. The gardens became a transcendent nature scape full of magic. A retaining wall wrapping around the south-east corner can be seen in the concept drawing at the end. Its smooth stucco and flagstone cap repeats the aesthetic of other walls and the fire pit. The wall provides more places to sit and most importantly removing the slope provided more garden floor and an overall larger space. (That wall was another great idea from the clients ! ) We love to work collaboratively.
Project Year: 2013
Project Cost: $200,001 - $500,000
Country: United States
Zip Code: 91364
