January 2011 Project of the Month

The back yard of this Napa Valley residence, seen here in a "Before" shot, is only about 8,000 sq. ft. But Carlin notes that it was blessed with a stunning old Quercus agrifolia, a small grove of redwoods that were planted soon after the home was constructed, two red-leafed Japanese maples, and a 10-year-old Chinese pistache. Besides these wonderful attributes, the yard was dominated by a lawn with no definition, some straggly shrubs, two small contractor-built concrete patios, and a pathway made from small flagstones set in the turf. The ground under the oaks, visible from the master bedroom through a set of French doors, was mostly bare earth with a leggy abutilon, a few camellias, and a concrete fountain. Under the redwoods, and visible from the living room through two sets of French doors, was a mix of coppery-orange azaleas and some leggy, green pieris. Against the house were some Pittosporum tobira trying to reach their mature height, but constantly being hedged to 3.5 ft. to keep them from covering the window. The soil throughout the yard was a heavy native clay loam.

The client desired to use the garden, again seen here in a "Before" shot, primarily for entertaining and relaxing. Maintenance was to be done by a local landscape maintenance company. The trees were all keepers, as they shaded the yard and provided wonderful screening from the neighbors. Carlin chose to move one of the Japanese maples (a red-leafed variety, possibly Bloodgood about 7 ft. tall), to bring it into the garden, as it was jammed up against the back fence. With its mix of sun and shade, Carlin wanted the garden to be relaxing and evergreen and to look good year round, and she wanted to concentrate on foliage rather than flower color.

The client wanted to keep the coppery-orange azaleas, so Carlin was challenged to come up with a color palette that would blend with them. She decided on Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola,' "which works wonderfully in front of the azaleas and also provide a sense of season as they disappear in the winter and reappear in their chartreuse glory in the spring," she notes. Liriope, variegated Pieris, and Sarcoccocca humilis hookeriana provide evergreen color and different textures under the redwoods, and Heuchera and Polystichum munitum provide more drought-tolerant plantings under the shade of the native oak. The lawn was replaced with a mix of variegated dwarf Pittosporum, star jasmine, Liriope, and Vinca minor 'Bowles.' Behind this, Carlin planted Prunus laurocerasus and the evergreen climbing rose, Rosa fortuniana, to cover an old wooden fence. The existing flagstone path was re-laid with larger stones and inter-planted with Thymus serphyllum because of its hot afternoon sun exposure. The existing concrete fountain was moved to the outdoor dining area, and in its original location a smaller "urn fountain" was fashioned from a terra cotta pot. In this fountain, the water is allowed to overflow into a reservoir under a bed of river rock, providing a soothing sound audible from the master bedroom and a sense of mystery as to how the fountain works. The overgrown Pittosporum under the windows was replaced with three Daphne odora to provide fragrance in late winter, and in front of the daphne "hedge," Carlin planted a mix of Stella d’Oro daylilies, dwarf agapanthus and star jasmine.