Before & After Silverlake

BEFORE

This was a fun update at a modern hillside home. We updated the landscape from top to bottom.

Here are photos mid-project after the new steps, new retaining wall and patio for the detached office were just completed.

More photos to come!

AFTER

Updating a backyard and patio

Here's a recently completed project, bringing in a lot of new plants -- mostly succulents -- and using a few existing plants to create a wonderful palette.

BEFORE/In Process

AFTER: Newly Planted/New Pavers

AFTER Detail Just Planted, Will Fill In

Traditional (Climate-Appropriate) Front Garden

AFTER DETAIL 6 months after planting

This was a fun project in a wonderful area of Pasadena. The house was lovely, but the landscape had not been updated in many years, and there was absolutely no buffer from the street.
The changes we made have had huge impact, even though it's only been six months since we planted.

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

AFTER

Planting four Crape Myrtle Trees along the sidewalk created a boundary along a rather busy intersection. I will try to catch them in bloom in a couple months!

BEFORE

AFTER

The Daylillies are just beginning to bloom, and everything is starting to fill in. When the trees grow larger, there will be even more privacy from the street.

BEFORE

AFTER

Eagle Rock Backyard

This large urban backyard was dead lawn, full sun, minimal shade, and did not give my clients any reason to spend time outdoors. They wanted a patio, fountain, drought-tolerant plantings, more shade, and a large open area for parties, etc. So we made the DG pathway serve as an open area to accommodate tables and chairs when needed, and as a generous pathway to take you through a riot of tough but beautiful trees and plants.

AFTER: New Patio and Plantings

BEFORE: Backyard at my first visit

AFTER: Newly Planted, DG just laid

AFTER: Less than 2 Years Later

AFTER: Fountain Beside New Patio

Watching A Garden Grow

AFTER DETAIL (NOW)

Three years ago, this was a dry lawn in Echo Park.
I came by recently to see how the plantings were doing after almost 3 years in the ground, and found a riot of forms and color. It's a wonderful space to walk into, and gives so much privacy and lushness, but without too much care or water, and without completely blocking out the neighborhood. It still feels welcoming, but private.

BEFORE DEAD LAWN

AFTER JUST PLANTED

2.5 YEARS AFTER PLANTING

The transformation since newly planted to a few years later, when the plants have grown in, is pretty dramatic! See next three photos for BEFORE, JUST PLANTED vs. GROWN IN: 

BEFORE

Mount Washington Transformation

The landscape at this corner house was not working. The hedge along the street decreased visibility at the corner stop sign. People often cut through the yard from back to front because there are no sidewalks. The lawn was struggling, there were old planters along the foundation filled with overgrown plants. The porch and steps were cracked and over sized.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Totally New Landscape, New Paint, New Porch, New Front Door. New Fixtures.

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER DETAIL

Before and After Echo Park Hills

Sometimes I'm called into an older yard that hasn't seen a lot of love in years. The soil is dry and dead. Watering system hasn't worked for a while, and no amendments have been brought in for many years. The plants are either long gone or overgrown. Yet there can be something charming and fun there that just needs a little encouragement.

BEFORE

AFTER Newly Planted

Verdugo Woodlands Backyard Retreat

This project was designed in close collaboration with the clients. Before we started, this space was all lawn with an existing Bamboo perimeter that we kept. This photo shows the yard right after sod was removed.

BEFORE -- Sod Removed

Now they have a raised steel veggie bed in a curved shape, fruit trees, new poured concrete pathways and patio in large rectangles with large pebbles in between, drought-tolerant plantings, and a beautiful pond with a steel scupper that matches the raised bed.

AFTER: Just Completed

A concept sketch during design process

Update: Pond plants going strong and other plants growing in.

Cactus with a Modern Twist in Mt Washington

AFTER DETAIL

On this project, my design plan included updates to the existing hardscape and new plantings in all areas of the property. It was an opportunity to make a wonderful house shine.

This was also a chance to work with cacti, which lend themselves to dramatic compositions.

Removing existing brick accents, especially brick caps on all the walls, and having a contractor replace with a simple coat of stucco, simplified the landscape and brought in a much cleaner, more modern look. Now the plantings will really pop as they grow in.

The Contractors did a beautiful job with all the aspects -- concrete work, preparation and planting, and DG installation.

The Front Yard:

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

The clients love Cactus and Succulents, so I relied heavily on varieties of those, with the addition of a few other flowering plants. I wanted to create areas of tall, vertical cactus among lower elements -- succulents, etc. to recreate some of the looks the clients were most drawn to. Some of the Cacti/Succulent combinations are in greens and yellows, others are in a blue/gray palette.

BEFORE

AFTER Newly Planted

The Patio:

BEFORE

AFTER
Newly Planted

With most of the brick accents gone, the whole property is more calm and soothing, especially in the patio. Plants are starting out a bit small here, but they will grow in over the next one to three years and soften the walls. The clients are actually enjoying the feeling of space and order that comes with new plantings.


The Back Yard:

BEFORE

AFTER

We updated the planter around the large existing tree to great effect.
The tree had problems due to the planter being too high. In my design, I lowered the planter to sitting height, and reconfigured it so that it continues along the length of the retaining wall behind it, making a more pleasing footprint.
We used DG everywhere, but only compacted it in the pathway and fire pit areas.
The contractors were able to bring my ideas to life beautifully.

Just Completed -- Ready for Some Comfy Chairs 
around that Fire Pit and some People!