“Foothill Contemporary” was the tag line used to identify another “marquee garden” included on our APLD conference tour in the San Francisco Bay area in September. The description was just about perfect. Designed by Bernard Trainor & Associates, this garden has been featured in any number of magazines and books. Understated in its plantings and simple but impressive use of low-cost hardscape materials (concrete, gravel, and stone), this garden was one of my favorites. I wish the sun had been less glaring, but it was a privilege to visit regardless of how challenging this garden was to photograph.
In planning this post, I came across a wonderful article from a 2007 issue of Fine Gardening Magazine featuring photos of Trainor’s gardens and an interview with him. In it, he speaks about negative spaces and how he strives for simplicity without being a minimalist. To read more about his vision, and to see a photograph of this particular garden at night, click here.
The entry to this garden, with simple concrete pillars and beautiful ironwork gates.
In the rear of the house, a path of broken stone pavers leads to a simple gravel patio. The poured concrete wall, in a S-curve, leads your eye to the dining area beyond, and separates the inner and outer gardens in this part of the landscape.
A screened wooden trellis overhead lets light in but also allows what looks like Virginia creeper to prove some shade from the California sun.
The S-curved wall again, with minimal plantings inside and beautiful trees with exfoliating bark outside.
A bowl with recirculating water provides a focal point.
In the front yard, a gravel and timber path and steps takes the visitor through an area planted with drought-tolerant, soft grasses.
Just beyond the dining area and another poured concrete wall lies a just-right lap pool.
Sun streaming through the trees in the front yard, which resembles more of a meadow than a manicured landscape.
Next to the front door, a vertical wall hanging with its sections filled with different native materials ranging from cork to stones welcomes visitors.
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This entry was posted on November 17, 2012 at 8:08 am and is filed under Environment, landscape, Landscape design solutions, photography, Travel. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: California gardens, D300, hardscape, Nikon 24-120mm f/4, private gardens
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November 17, 2012 at 11:21 am
Interesting, as usual, Melissa. How nice to have glaring sunshine as a problem, I guess. That wall hanging is esp. intriguing.
November 17, 2012 at 1:41 pm
The wall hanging is actually a habitat wall sculpture by Kevin Smith – to attract bees, birds and bugs! Read more at this link to Flora Grubb:
http://floragrubb.com/florasblog/?p=1114
November 17, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Can’t thank you enough for the information and the link! Flora Grubb’s shop was our first stop on the conference tour – perhaps there was one of these sculptures around and I missed it.
November 18, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Thank you so much for sharing this garden. I love it. And I really enjoyed the Fine Gardening article you shared in the link.
November 24, 2012 at 2:06 pm
I’m glad you enjoyed it – and thanks for stopping by.
May 30, 2013 at 11:32 am
These photo’s are stunning, I love how your garden is laid out and all the contrasting colours that make it stand out. Thank you for the gardening article as well, very insightful.