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

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

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.

Lawn Removal Hancock Park

Mother and son are already enjoying their new yard before we've finished the installation!

Child is hidden behind his Mother. He couldn't wait to explore his new front yard.

Broken Concrete/Urbanite Pathways

Broken Concrete is also known as Urbanite. I love using the material to build pathways and walls. The cement industry produces a lot of Carbon Dioxide. Re-using existing concrete is an environmentally-friendly option for paving needs, and it can look awesome!

This pathway looks a lot like natural stone in person. It is laid permanently in mortar.




Alternatively pathways can be laid in sand or decomposed granite, or broken concrete pavers can be surrounded with pea gravel or larger stones. All of these options create permeable pathways, which are more environmentally friendly than using cement between joints. The material will look different depending on how it's installed.

Many people use gravel for pathways, and even though gravel can be very pretty and appropriate for certain situations, it is not kid friendly for scooters and trikes, etc. Here's a recent project where I suggested we replace a gravel pathway and patio with Broken Concrete in Decomposed Granite. Now the children of the house can ride their tricycles along this path.

BEFORE

AFTER

Broken concrete or any other paving material is usually more successful when installed by professionals. Laying the varied shapes in a pleasant pattern and getting a perfect level on each piece can be quite challenging for the inexperienced person. It also helps to have a pro pick out the broken concrete to make sure it is sound. Not all old concrete is worth re-using.
Here is a broken concrete pathway that serves aesthetically as a dry stream bed. The client wanted to use gravel with the broken concrete, and that is fine for this application because this is a pathway to the side of the house, and is not in constant use. It's more of a focal point from the path to the front door. The gravel gives the look she wanted, a nice contrast to the plantings in this former lawn area. However if this were a main pathway -- to the front door, for instance -- I would not suggest gravel because it can make a path along a slope like this a bit slippery. For a slope, you might want to install the broken concrete in cement. The first photo shows one way of doing that.

From Front Lawn to Low-Maintenance Front Yard

On this project, I designed a new pathway to improve the flow from the driveway and sidewalk to the front door of the home. We opened up access to the beautiful front archway for a more direct path to the front door. We planted some wonderful drought-tolerant plants, and helped the homeowner get her lawn-removal rebate.

BEFORE: Front Lawn with no path to front door

AFTER: Pathway to Door and New Plantings

Access to the front door through the previously hidden archway makes the property more inviting, brings out the Spanish architecture, and improves access from the sidewalk and driveway. The plant material will fill in over the next 2 to 3 years, giving a lot of privacy from the sidewalk and street.

AFTER: CA Native, Carex Pansa in center of DG circle

We wanted to mix some tough tropicals with ornamental grasses and succulents. It's a fun combination that wouldn't work many places outside of SoCal! As the plants grow in, the homeowner will have a beautiful, yet private view from her front windows, and a nice buffer from the street.

Los Feliz/Franklin Hills Back Yard Makeover

We started with a yard that was divided. One side is a re-purposed driveway that serves as a sunken stone patio. The other side was a large rectangle of struggling lawn with no real connection to the stone patio.

Before

After: Continuation of lower patio

We continued the steps from the lower level to the upper level, matching the existing High Desert stone work. We added River Rock boulders along a new decomposed granite pathway, all helping to create a more cohesive space, and improved flow from the lower and upper areas.

Before

After: New Plants, Gravel, DG and River Rock accents

I chose tough, drought tolerant plants, which flower and attract lots of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The shade plants will cover the repaired back wall within a year. The clients wanted quite a few places to sit, so we extended the covered patio with a gravel pad, and the decomposed granite path can serve as additional sitting area.