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.