Privacy Landscaping Ideas

Photo of a mid-sized modern privacy backyard gravel formal garden in Houston.

Photo of a large coastal privacy and partial sun backyard mulch landscaping in Other.

A small courtyard garden in San Francisco. • Creative use of space in the dense, urban fabric of hilly SF. • For the last several years the clients had carved out a make shift courtyard garden at the top of their driveway. It was one of the few flat spaces in their yard where they could sit in the sun and enjoy a cup of coffee. We turned the top of a steep driveway into a courtyard garden. • The actual courtyard design was planned for the maximum dimensions possible to host a dining table and a seating area. The space is conveniently located outside their kitchen and home offices. However we needed to save driveway space for parking the cars and getting in and out. • The design, fabrication and installation team was comprised of people we knew. I was an acquaintance to the clients having met them through good friends. The landscape contractor, Boaz Mor, http://www.boazmor.com/, is their neighbor and someone I worked with before. The metal fabricator is Murray Sandford of Moz Designs, https://mozdesigns.com/, https://www.instagram.com/moz_designs/ . Both contractors have long histories of working in the Bay Area on a variety of complex designs. • The size of this garden belies the complexity of the design. We did not want to remove any of the concrete driveway which was 12” or more in thickness, except for the area where the large planter was going. The driveway sloped in two directions. In order to get a “level”, properly, draining patio, we had to start it at around 21” tall at the outside and end it flush by the garage doors. • The fence is the artful element in the garden. It is made of power-coated aluminum. The panels match the house color; and posts match the house trim. The effect is quiet, blending into the overall property. The panels are dramatic. Each fence panel is a different size with a unique pattern. • The exterior panels that you see from the street are an abstract riff on the seasons of the Persian walnut tree in their front yard. The cut-outs illustrate spring bloom when the walnut leafs out to autumn when the nuts drop to the ground and the squirrels eats them, leaving a mess of shells everywhere. Even the pesky squirrel appears on one of the panels. • The interior panels, lining the entry into the courtyard, are an abstraction of the entire walnut tree. • Although the panel design is made of perforations, the openings are designed to retain privacy when you are inside the courtyard. • There is a large planter on one side of the courtyard, big enough for a tree to soften a harsh expanse of a neighboring wall. Light through the branches cast playful shadows on the wall behind. • The lighting, mounted on the house is a nod to the client’s love of New Orleans gas lights. • The paving is black stone from India, dark enough to absorb the warmth of the sun on a cool, summer San Francisco day.

Custom built for fire resistance. Board formed concrete seating and patio. Color added to blend into the existing granite hillside. Salt finish adds texture to camouflage into the surroundings. Custom metal pergola and under bench lighting add to the uniqueness of this hilltop hangout.

Driveway Landscape Lighting "We have four larger path lights around the circle drive to improve visibility and guide people on the property at night," explains McKay Lighting's designer. The center island landscape features an old wood log from the campground. "We hid a couple of fixtures in the landscape that highlight the log yet won't blind people as they drive by." read more: www.mckaylighting.com/blog/architectural-lighting-enhance-elkorn-home

The backyard was small and uninviting until we transformed it into a comfortable and functional area for entertaining. The front yard was leveled and converted into a play area for two small children and two large dogs. The client is very allergic to bees, so plants were selected with great care.

This modern backyard is the perfect place to entertain family and friends. Photo by Christian Cochran. Installation by Apogee Landscapes. Design by Plan-it Earth Design

Landscape by Kim Rooney
Photo of a small traditional privacy and partial sun backyard gravel formal garden in Seattle.

The entry monument greets visitors and guests while the home peeks out in the distance. The signage strongly reflects the architecture as an integrated landscape design component.

Front pathway to residence from the side walk.
Design ideas for a mid-sized drought-tolerant and privacy front yard concrete paver landscaping in Los Angeles.

Shot from beneath the pergola next to the dining table, this perspective reveals the inviting seating area just steps away, the custom addition to the back of the garage housing the teen hangout room, and the neatly maintained backyard beyond. The clean-lined plantings and open grass lawn replace the previous overgrown vegetation, creating a fresh, modern outdoor space designed for connection and relaxation.

This corner detail shows how the existing side perimeter wall meets the new sidewalk fence and new narrow stepped trellis tops. This custom trellis was designed for privacy and planted with Akebia vine which is evergreen and will add more height and screening when mature. The existing mature Ficus vines were saved on the existing stucco wall by building new small raised planters around the roots.

Photography by Stacy Bass
Photo of a large traditional privacy and partial sun backyard concrete paver formal garden in Other for fall.

This is an example of a small craftsman drought-tolerant, privacy and full sun front yard concrete paver landscaping in Seattle.

We built this beautiful fence to replace the previous, but now rotted away fence line, to keep in Ziggy the poodle pup. As always, we used screws and pressure treated framing and posts.

Inspiration for a large farmhouse privacy and full sun backyard concrete paver landscaping in Minneapolis for summer.

Inspiration for a mid-sized rustic privacy and full sun backyard stone landscaping in Other.

View of English style garden from upper deck. Mitch Shenker Photography
Photo of a mid-sized traditional shade and privacy backyard stone formal garden in San Francisco.

One-of-a-kind home veneered with New England fieldstone. Surrounded by native screening trees, stone walls and conservation land. Private pool cabana, car barn, gunite pool & hot tub, gas fire pit, grill and cantilevered granite bar.