This private home in Mill Valley, California has a strong contemporary style.  The owners desired a natural California landscape with room for ornamental gardening and family activities. 

The design of the plantings both in species selection and in arrangement bridges the gap between artifice and nature.  Native and adapted plants are set on the steep front slope in broken rows of color within a ground-plane of the native grass Bouteloua gracilis.  The rows were adjusted on-site to be visually straight while they crossed this uneven slope, resulting in planting that responds to the strong horizontality of the home at the top of the slope. 

The upper two terraces of this home’s garden are designed for recreation and family time with two small lawns, a veggie garden, flowers for cutting and fruit trees.

Client:  Butler Armsden Architects, San Francisco