This backyard was in need of an upgrade.
The lawn installed in the early 2000s had been purposefully neglected due to California droughts and the homeowner's lifestyle change.
The design included several planting beds, raised beds for vegetables, areas for berries, a shed, a covered deck, and several seating areas. With two Redwoods on either corner, we had to rethink the planting area in the southwest corner. Most beds feature a 1/2" minus gravel, but this area is covered with mulch.
We began by sketching the zones of the space - seating, planting beds, etc. Then we went to the nursery.
Plants were primarily chosen based on color, texture, and water needs. In addition to the plant list (above,) the backyard features Birds of Paradise, ferns, sage, clematis, Rubus spp. (raspberries and blackberries,) Vaccinium spp., various succulents, and other groundcovers.
We used landscape spray to mark the dirt divided and transplanted an existing Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia sp.) and rearranged the plants until we liked the layout. We excavated the paths and seating areas a few inches so we could add decomposed granite (DG.) We added edging to define the planting beds, adding soil to some to create mounds. Custom raised beds were made with 4x4 and 2x8 redwood boards. Landscape fabric was added to the planting beds between the soil and gravel.
The photos below show the progress from March to May 2021.
