This home in San Diego’s Kensington neighborhood presented several challenges. At the outset a 50’ Cottonwood tree loomed over the humble single-story house, unnecessarily shading too much of the house and threatening to undermine the structure with its invasive root system. The tree’s roots infiltrated ever square inch of the property, destroying the porch, driveway, and creating a seasonal mess. The porch was arguably out of scale with the rest of the house, and a rusted iron railing was equally uninviting. The 8’ wide driveway proved to be too narrow for vehicle access.

The front yard landscape was transformed by removing the overgrown tree and giving the home a facelift, with new paint and a new entry off the sidewalk. By bringing in two 40 year old Olive trees we framed the new entry. Plantings of ornamental grasses, Yucca rostrata, Agaves, and specimen Aloes compliment the subdued color palette.

In the rear courtyard four separate doorways open up to a modest – but little used – space. The client wanted a seamless indoor-outdoor experience with a wish list including a deck space, fire-pit, water feature, increased privacy, and integrated seating. Ipe, a Brazilian hardwood from the Tabebuia tree was used for the decking and privacy screens. Syndecrete tiles (www.syndecrete.com) make up the fascia of the small pond. The fire feature is constructed out of poured in place concrete juxtaposed against black polished concrete. The space is punctuated with fiber cement planters by Green-Form (www.green-form.com) and an outdoor grill by Fuego™.

Designed by San Diego Architect John Mock in 1963, this Mid-Century home on Mt. Helix was painstakingly restored over a 12 month period. Falling Waters was asked to interpret a conceptual plan by a Landscape Architect. The result has been a seamless indoor-outdoor experience, with the garden undergoing a massive renovation itself.

Sitting on close to a full acre, the Snyder house presented many challenges. Extreme grade changes and poor soil conditions were only the beginning. During the design phase the home was granted historical status which confined the renovation to certain materials and construction techniques. These restrictions encouraged all those involved to be more creative and conscious of the environment and the site.

A laundry list of specimen plants were brought in to highlight the homes clean lines and existing boulders. Simple masonry block walls, seeded aggregate decking, poured in place concrete coping, and railroad tie stairs make up the hard-scape.

The garden has evolved since completion in late 2007 to now include a Chicken coop, expanded vegetable garden, a modest grove of Citrus, and its latest addition; three 80 year old Manzanillo Olive trees to shade a deck space at the top of the property.

The home has been featured in numerous publications in print and online. It was named San Diego Home and Garden “Home of the Year” in 2009, and featured in Sunset magazine in October of the same year.

A 28 year old spa and redwood deck were falling apart in this garden in Encinitas. The homeowners had already removed a decaying wood arbor and additional deck underneath a towering Podocarpus tree. The resulting garden has a Neo-Asian feel incorporating a glass tile fountain and reflecting pool, a new overhead structure with UV filtering shade cloth that protects but doesn’t overpower the space, and a synthetic turf area. The Podocarpus tree was thinned out aggressively to allow more sun to penetrate down to a new raised garden bed with Sago palms, various varieties of Ophiopogon (Mondo grass), and ‘Yellow Wave’ Phormiums.

While the backyard was under construction, we were retained to redesign the front yard. A new entryway and retaining walls invite guests to the front door. A custom rock fountain was constructed on-site to add sound and movement to the new front porch. A Chinese Flame tree was craned in to provide shade over a ‘lawn’ of Sedges (Carex albula, Carex testacea) ground junipers and Blue Fescue. A Bonsai professional pruned the three small Black Pines (Pinus thunbergii) on the property.

An existing concrete trough with interesting angles provided the bones for the fountain at the Coate residence in Kensington. No defined space for the trash cans and a stark white wall were addressed with Podocarpus gracilior, a useful and hardy hedge plant. A poured in place concrete wall with a handmade galvanized steel scupper spills into the renovated trough. An Asian inspired plant scheme, including creeping ground Juniper and Heavenly Bamboo surround the fountain and complete the scene.

Theme: “Coastal Retreat”
Falling Waters participated in the 2009 Spring Home and Garden Show in San Diego. A Modern Cabana with mid-century furniture punctuates a ‘Dune-scape’ garden. A serpentine wall defines an entertaining area, and a custom ‘Beach Sand’ mixture evokes a coastal garden. Plant material includes: Arbutus unedo, Aeoniums, Stipa tenuisima, Helictotrichon sempervirons, Aloes, Manzanitas, Carex pansa, and Armeria maritima.

Sponsors:
Modern Cabana
Terra Sculpture
Green-Form
KRC Rock
Miramar Wholesale Nursery

Project brief:
Create a simple low maintenance garden that focuses on a modern aesthetic with Asian overtones.

This project presented some interesting challenges. The home is in located in a newer development with a preset design that is arguably not Modern. This is typical here in San Diego. Not everyone owns a mid-century modern home, but this shouldn’t deter people from creating gardens that appeal to their sensibilities regardless of where they live or the Architecture of their home. We approached the project with a fixed budget in mind and allowed for expansion of the garden as the plants (and children) grow. The monolithic concrete pour was a challenge and every detail needed to be discussed before construction could begin. The pond connects to the decking, and the copper spouts are imbedded into the poured-in-place concrete walls which were honed and polished. The plant pallete is controlled and complimentary. The movement of the grasses contrasts well with the static tone of the walls. The deciduous trees recall the seasons, while the rest of the flora fill the space without demanding too much time or attention. The archway at the entrance of the house was closed off with a Custom door designed by the owners in conjunction with Pacific Coast Gates. (www.pacificcoastgates.com)

Plant highlights:
Chondropetalum tectorum – Cape Rush
Acer palmatum ‘Sangu Kaku’ – Coral Bark Maple
Helictotrichon sempervirons – Blue Oat Grass

To achieve the desired look in the backyard at the Bluemer Residence, several designs were produced. The wish list included a new Fireplace, BBQ, entertaining area, water feature, and vegetable garden.

The existing garden included a steep slope punctuated by an assortment of overgrown trees and iceplant. An underused and much maligned grass area was ditched in favor of a zero-maintenance combo of saw-cut concrete and Decomposed Granite patio. A stuccoed retaining wall holds back the newly graded slope, planted with a mix of ornamental grasses, Agave Americana, and Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis ‘Pigeon Point’). The water feature serves multiple purposes, connecting the side and back yards by way of ‘floating’ exposed aggregate pavers. A poured in place concrete formation holds a galvanized steel scupper that spills into the reflecting pool. Three ‘Desert Museum’ Hybrid Palo Verde trees trucked in from Palm Springs complete the theme for this garden.

A couple with two young kids needed a safe yard with plenty of room to entertain friends and family. Two stately Fruitless Olive trees provide much needed privacy, while drifts of Mexican Feather Grass (Stipa tenuisima) provide movement underneath. A grid of concrete pavers invites guests to pull up a chair to sit around the fountain. For the younger guests, a ‘kid-safe’ sand-box is set within view of the kitchen. Poured concrete was used for the sand box to avoid any chemically treated wood.

Fencing was needed to screen the front patio of this Row home Pacific Beach. Horizontal Cedar was used with wide gaps to allow light into the shady patio. A sliding gate was designed to maximize space and add visual interest. Modern style house numbers were added to complete the look. Existing boulders were resituated to created a Zen inspired garden.

Garden Title: ‘The Modern Patio’
The secret to the Modern Patio is not so much in the elements one uses, but how these elements are used together to complete the scene. Incidentally, modern gardening is just that; using available and affordable materials in a way that makes sense for the region, location, and times we are living in. San Diego is home to an eclectic mix of flora and fauna and with its many micro-climates come many opportunities to use not just ‘Native’ plant material, but a panoply of interesting and extraordinary plants. The ‘Outdoor Room’ is becoming increasingly popular, and here in San Diego we are perfectly suited for the outdoor lifestyle, and since most of us don’t have unlimited real-estate, our outdoor spaces demand to be utilized.

“The Modern Patio” is meant to be experienced, not gazed at from afar. It’s a destination, a place to relax and forget about your worries. This space shouldn’t be burdensome or require more time to maintain than one can afford. Here in San Diego it should be planned to use water in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

This design is intended to surprise and delight. The quadratic ubiquity is broken by the curves in the concrete and the natural planter beds. The vertical succulent garden draws the eye up, while the water feature, with its sound and movement brings us back to the space. The visual relationship between the elements should compliment, not compete. This show garden was designed to be experienced, and refresh the fair-goer.

Sponsors:
Pigment Design
Bamboo Headquarters
Miramar Wholesale Nursery
KRC Rock
Unique Lighting San Marcos
Green-Form
Western Cactus


Thank you to all our sponsors and construction team.

Garden Title: ‘Art and Texture’
The garden for the 2008 San Diego Fair was designed and built to favor clean lines, minimalist spaces, and one very large tree. A 100 year old Sevillano Olive tree was trucked in from Northern California. Olive trees have a unique capacity to be relocated with minimal damage to the tree. The tree was placed first, directly on top of the asphalt parking lot, and the next 10 days the garden was constructed. An unfinished ‘single score’ block wall with a 36” sheet of water spilled into a runnel-style pond. A stained redwood deck with custom concrete fire feature represented the ‘entertaining area’. The Olive tree was surrounded by Palm Springs Gold Decomposed Granite. To give dimension and enclosure to the garden, Bamboo (Bambusa textilis gracilis) was used on one side, while a raised planter with Miscanthus (Maiden grass) and Perovskia (Russian sage) frame the opposite side. The garden was contained by redwood borders, stucco walls, and rusted sheet metal. Custom Concrete benches provided seating for fair-goers. The display won multiple awards, including Best of Show. The Olive tree was donated to Quail Botanical Gardens for their newly inaugurated Children’s Garden.

Sponsors:
Bamboo Headquarters
Ancient Olive trees
Miramar Wholesale Nursery

An existing ‘Natural” water garden and simple fire feature with beach sand were removed in favor of a more usable sitting space and deeper pond. The owners love their prize Koi, and the existing pond was being attacked by Blue Herons and Raccoons. We designed a much larger and deeper pond that could also be used as a Spa. The fish have over 4’ of depth and sheer walls that make it almost impossible for predators. The fire feature and surrounding deck compliment the new pond’s modern feel.

This 9’x15’ courtyard offered little in the way of space, but with restrictions comes creativity. We toyed with several different layouts, knowing we needed an enclosed space for the trash can and that a water feature was a must. Being directly under the flight path, the water feature affords some noise mediation, while the space over-all is much more usable. Well lights in the planter, underwater lights, and ambient lighting under the bench make the space usable at night.

More privacy was needed for this 2 on 1 cottage in the Pacific Beach flats. A generous front yard was ‘fenced’ with a Ficus nitida hedge and two custom design gates. The sconces were custom manufactured to suit the unique and eclectic style of the client and the house. Lush plantings are balanced with water-wise succulents and permeable concrete pavers.

Reducing the lawn and getting rid of two overgrown Melaleuca quinquinervia trees informed this project in Rancho Penasquitos. A limited budget confined the project to simple and cost-effective fixes. Masses of ornamental grasses compliment two Cercis Canadensis (Western Redbud) trees. Stuccoing two brick columns a smooth gray, adding modern numbers and sconces brought this home to the next level. The use of water-saving sprinklers and underground watering techniques will reduce their water bill and be easier on the environment.

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