Shades of Green Landscape Architecture
On the Beach For the garden of this modern home, we sought inspiration from the nearby coastline. Layered drifts of golden and blue grasses create dynamic movement and textures; invoking the feeling of coastal dunes. The calm-hued plantings step up as they approach the home, softly nestling the residence into the landscape. Raw concrete and […]
Waters Edge An existing house underwent a complete remodel, and so did the garden. Existing mature trees were kept in the front and side yard, screening the house from the street. A beautiful existing fig tree welcomes you as you enter the home. A new, low wood fence was added along the street, and large
In the Vineyard The extensive remodel of a Napa Valley estate allowed us to create a beautiful farm garden that retains its identity as part of the productive Napa Valley landscape. The existing swimming pool and massive palms at its corners were integrated into the design and became an organizing feature of the design. The
Sierra Towers The two office towers share an entrance plaza that was in need of updating. The plaza presented several challenges: it is shaded by the towers for most of the day and the two towers create a wind tunnel through the plaza. The area is on bay fill and the soil is unstable and
LEED Platinum by the Bay A certified LEED-H Platinum building, the Tiburon Bay House features an innovative and sustainable landscape. Native lawn, permeable surfaces, and a graywater system were all integrated into the landscape design. Great care was taken to reuse existing materials and drought-tolerant plants. Reused broken concrete slabs were transformed into a new
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Terraced Garden The owner of this beautiful, modern house asked us to design a new planting plan to withstand the browsing deer that had eaten the existing plants down to the ground. We created a new planting scheme utilizing a variety of low-water use, deer-resistant grasses all around the property. In the terraces next to
An Artist’s Garden When the family added a guesthouse, a garage and reconfigured the driveway, it was also time to rethink the landscape. The lot is steep and studded with oak trees, and there was already a strong use of natural materials such as stone, wood and metal. We created a geometric paving pattern in
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Sonoma Lifestyle This new vacation home was built on a hilltop with great views. The outdoor areas closest to the house are level, and there was room for a pool, lawn, and an entrance court in addition to a gravel parking area with a carport. Traditional Mediterranean plants placed in a grid pattern combined with
Garden Sanctuary The client wanted a fabulous and stylish garden setting appropriate for entertainment and play. The entry to the house was redesigned with new steps and oversized rectangular pavers as well as softly textured, drought-tolerant plantings. We used a simple and clean color palette of white, grey, pink and greens in both planting and
Hotel Casa Madrona When the iconic Casa Madrona Hotel in Sausalito remodeled its historic mansion and cottages, Shades of Green was offered the challenge of designing a unifying hillside landscape. A series of bluestone stairs and concrete walls make their way up the hillside, leading guests to their cottages. Along the way, colorful plantings help
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