Foothill Contemporary

“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.

Walter Hood’s Minimalist Garden in the Sky

I can truthfully say I’ve never designed a “modernist” or “contemporary” garden. One of the things I enjoyed most about my participation in APLD’s annual conference in the Bay Area this year was the opportunity to see a number of gardens with a modern aesthetic. (Look for the upcoming post on a Bernard Trainor garden in the foothills of the Peninsula area, or the last post on the stunning Tah.Mah.Lah). So I wanted to share with you one of my early favorites from the tours we took.

Described in our e-materials (the conference organizers decided to use an iBook, a terrific idea, to provide us background information on the schedule, gardens, etc.) as “Modern Garden – Commentary on Restraint,” this garden was designed by the eminent landscape architect Walter Hood. Located in the Telegraph Hill area of San Francisco, this garden is on the upper levels of a spectacular private residence whose owner graciously allowed us to traipse up to both the “front” and “back” gardens, even though reaching the back involved walking through the house. I’ve decided to present the photos of this garden as a gallery below. Enjoy.

Access to the garden is up the stairs through the gate shown. Behind the balcony you can see a hint of what awaits.

Tucked away at the end of the shelves is a small deck chair – perfect for taking photos of your other friends on the garden tour!

The deck has simple, minimalist plantings and simple wooden deck chairs for seating.

Another view of the front garden. The pots contain ferns.

A view of the deck garden that faces the street. The large evergreen trees screening the rear wall were presumably craned in.

Textural contrasts in the planting material give the garden more visual interest.

The lithograph behind the chairs is slanted and the image changes slightly with the observer’s field of vision.

The left side of the “back garden,” with minimal seating and a glimpse of the Muir Woods lithograph.

The Muir Woods lithograph is just tall enough to block the more industrial parts of the Bay view when one is seated.