Dreamy Backyard Oasis Blends Classical Design With Lush Gardens
A landscape architect in California thoughtfully plans her own yard with a pool, a spa and productive plantings
Growing up in California’s Central Valley, landscape architect Monica Perrone found a deep sense of calm in the region’s rows of orchard trees and cultivated fields. She drew inspiration from the structure and rhythm of those agricultural landscapes when creating her own backyard in Tracy, California. Using classical design principles such as symmetry and balance, Perrone transformed a once-disjointed outdoor space into an orderly retreat with a pool, a spa and a productive garden. The plant and material choices evoke modern Tuscan style.
The existing 5-foot-high fence left views open to passing cars and a neighbor’s bright white RV. To add depth while reducing noise and improving privacy, Perrone planted a row of Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens, zones 7 to 10) along the fence line. This striking green wall, which spans the length of the pool, nods to the Tuscan influence.
Perrone preserved many of the existing plants, including a dense xylosma (Xylosma congestum, zones 8 to 11) hedge that borders much of the backyard and mock orange (Philadelphus sp.) shrubs that soften the perimeter.
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Perrone preserved many of the existing plants, including a dense xylosma (Xylosma congestum, zones 8 to 11) hedge that borders much of the backyard and mock orange (Philadelphus sp.) shrubs that soften the perimeter.
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To further obscure views of the road, Perrone installed square welded wire mesh panels that extend 3 feet above the fence. Eventually, star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides, zones 8 to 10) will fill the grid and provide another layer of screening.
For the fence, the landscape architect used Behr’s Off Broadway paint to create a shadow-like effect that recedes behind the foliage. “This is such a great paint,” Perrone says. “It’s a brown with a wonderful green base, and it almost looks like black.”
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For the fence, the landscape architect used Behr’s Off Broadway paint to create a shadow-like effect that recedes behind the foliage. “This is such a great paint,” Perrone says. “It’s a brown with a wonderful green base, and it almost looks like black.”
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For the pool’s liner, Perrone chose PebbleSheen, a durable aggregate composed of small pebbles, in a black finish. “I wanted the pool to resemble a wetland pond,” she says. “Black is very reflective, and I find myself constantly taking photos of the shadows of the cypress trees on the pool’s surface.”
The pool surround and coping are composed of 2-by-2-foot Italian porcelain pavers installed flush with the water’s edge. “We had an overhang in another pool and found it was full of black widow spiderwebs,” Perrone says.
The pool surround and coping are composed of 2-by-2-foot Italian porcelain pavers installed flush with the water’s edge. “We had an overhang in another pool and found it was full of black widow spiderwebs,” Perrone says.
Perrone integrated the pool and patio drains into the hardscaping as discreet one-eighth-inch slots that match the width of the grout lines. “I can’t stand it when the eye is drawn to a plastic drain within a beautiful space,” she says.
Water drops into a hidden channel below and flows to two catch basins concealed by gravel on either side of the paved areas.
Water drops into a hidden channel below and flows to two catch basins concealed by gravel on either side of the paved areas.
Splashing sounds from the deck jets help soften street noise, along with the fences and trees. To preserve the clean lines of the paved area, Perrone placed the jets in gravel beds just beyond the pool surround.
The spa, located off one end of the pool, feels nestled in the landscape. Slender veldt grass (Pennisetum spathiolatum, zones 7 to 10) surrounds it, softening the concrete edges and creating a smooth transition from the structured pool hardscaping to the looser gardens behind. “These grasses do very well in the clay soil and rustle in the wind,” Perrone says.
While the grasses have a natural effect, they were carefully placed within the 2-by-2-foot grid. Height comes from ‘Frans Fontaine’ European hornbeam trees (Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’, zones 4 to 8), chosen for their columnar silhouettes, which echo the Italian cypresses.
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While the grasses have a natural effect, they were carefully placed within the 2-by-2-foot grid. Height comes from ‘Frans Fontaine’ European hornbeam trees (Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’, zones 4 to 8), chosen for their columnar silhouettes, which echo the Italian cypresses.
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“Because I grew up in an agrarian world, I wanted a productive garden,” Perrone says. Tucked off to the side, this zone includes an existing shed, two raised beds, in-ground beds filled with herbs and cutting flowers, and a variety of citrus trees.
The fruit trees include ‘Tarocco’ blood orange (Citrus x sinensis ‘Tarocco’, zones 9 to 11), ‘Nagami’ kumquat (Citrus japonica ‘Nagami’, zones 8 to 11), ‘Ruby Red’ grapefruit (Citrus x paradisi ‘Ruby Red’, zones 9 to 11), pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana, zones 8 to 10), ‘Eureka’ lemon (Citrus limon ‘Eureka’, zones 9 to 11), ‘Improved’ Meyer lemon (Citrus x meyeri ‘Improved’, zones 8 to 11) and a ‘Brown Turkey’ fig tree (Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’, zones 7 to 10).
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The fruit trees include ‘Tarocco’ blood orange (Citrus x sinensis ‘Tarocco’, zones 9 to 11), ‘Nagami’ kumquat (Citrus japonica ‘Nagami’, zones 8 to 11), ‘Ruby Red’ grapefruit (Citrus x paradisi ‘Ruby Red’, zones 9 to 11), pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana, zones 8 to 10), ‘Eureka’ lemon (Citrus limon ‘Eureka’, zones 9 to 11), ‘Improved’ Meyer lemon (Citrus x meyeri ‘Improved’, zones 8 to 11) and a ‘Brown Turkey’ fig tree (Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’, zones 7 to 10).
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The path is light-etch concrete, chosen to closely match the color of the porcelain pavers around the pool. Perrone’s husband built the two large raised beds from 6-by-6-foot redwood lumber, reinforcing them with rebar.
Native turkey tangle frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora, zones 7 to 11) carpets the corner where the light-etched concrete path meets pea gravel near the spa. “I love the ordered structure of clean lines, but I also like to loosen it up,” Perrone says. “I always give myself license to not be so perfect and uptight everywhere.”
She recommends what she calls “stylized weeds” for covering problem areas or softening the spaces between materials. Far from being a weedy nuisance, turkey tangle frogfruit is a deep-rooted native ground cover and an eco-friendly alternative to turf. Naturally low-growing, it can also be mowed for a more manicured look.
She recommends what she calls “stylized weeds” for covering problem areas or softening the spaces between materials. Far from being a weedy nuisance, turkey tangle frogfruit is a deep-rooted native ground cover and an eco-friendly alternative to turf. Naturally low-growing, it can also be mowed for a more manicured look.
The in-ground plantings opposite the raised beds include Perrone’s mother’s irises, not shown, lavender for cutting, requested by her adult daughter, and tomatoes planted by her husband.
“I stuck with a more restrained palette that was mostly yellow and green foliage, with pink and yellow blooms,” Perrone says. She relaxed that rule in this corner of the garden, where sentimentality was more important than strict adherence to a specific color grouping.
“I stuck with a more restrained palette that was mostly yellow and green foliage, with pink and yellow blooms,” Perrone says. She relaxed that rule in this corner of the garden, where sentimentality was more important than strict adherence to a specific color grouping.
An existing garden shed hides the pool equipment. Painting it the same Off Broadway color as the fence ties it to the rest of the yard, while the dark color makes the fig tree’s large, shapely leaves pop.
The round mirror beside the garden shed is the end of the invisible centerline running through the backyard and one of a few places in the design where Perrone used curves.
The round mirror beside the garden shed is the end of the invisible centerline running through the backyard and one of a few places in the design where Perrone used curves.
The property lines form a nearly perfect rectangle, except in this corner behind the existing Chinese elm. To square off the angle and help reduce noise, Perrone added a brick wall painted to match the brick on the home’s exterior. Its proportions — 8 feet high with 15-foot-long wings — suit the scale of the tree and beautifully frame a bocce court and seating area.
Wall paint: Mouse’s Back, Farrow & Ball
Wall paint: Mouse’s Back, Farrow & Ball
The backyard corner wall was painted to match this brick tower on the home’s front facade. Perrone repeated the strong linear layout in the front yard, with its centerline running parallel to the one in back.
The yard uses subsurface line-source irrigation. Perforated tubes buried in the ground deliver water directly to plant roots, reducing water loss from evaporation and transpiration.
Siding paint: Rolling Hills, Benjamin Moore
The yard uses subsurface line-source irrigation. Perforated tubes buried in the ground deliver water directly to plant roots, reducing water loss from evaporation and transpiration.
Siding paint: Rolling Hills, Benjamin Moore
A fountain sits in front of Perrone’s office window. “This fountain brings me so much joy,” she says. “I love to watch hawks land in it, and I use Alexa to turn it on when my friends are walking up to the house to surprise them.” Four European beech trees (Fagus sylvatica, zones 4 to 7) surround the fountain, creating a connection between the front and back yards.
Site plan: The two red lines represent the centerlines, with the upper one running through the fountain in the front yard, represented by the blue dot on the top right, and the lower one running from the Chinese elm, left, through the pool and spa to the mirror in the productive garden.
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Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: Landscape architect Monica Perrone and her husband
Location: Tracy, California
Size: 0.4 acres (0.2 hectares)
Landscape architect: Monica Perrone Landscape Architecture
The layout is structured around an invisible centerline that runs from an existing Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia, USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone), seen at the back of this photo, across the pool and spa to a mirror at the opposite end of the yard, behind where this picture was taken.
Perrone used a 2-by-2-foot grid to plan the symmetrical yard, with a 16-by-38-foot pool at the center. The pool runs parallel with the home’s 38-foot-long back porch.
To further connect the landscape to the architecture, she centered the spa in front of the kitchen and breakfast room windows, creating a seamless view from indoors to out.
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