click on photos to enlarge
This eyei-catching design by Patricia St. John of Berkeley, CA, won an APLD 2011 Merit Award for Cost-Efficient Projects. The design intent was to connect the interior and exterior spaces with a sleek, modern design to go along with the mid-century ranch house.
St. John flipped the deck boards and re-used the existing ones, stained a new color; replaced an arbor over the deck with "sails" for shade, re-configured the concrete patio and filled the spaces in between with black La Paz rock; and kept the plantings simple and low-maintenance. A simple, elegant, high-quality solution for a client who couldn't spend a lot of money.
Margie Grace of Santa Barbara has always had an innovative design streak, and this garden, winner of an APLD Merit Award, was no exception. The new entry shown here replaces an ugly front yard parking lot, and of course, …
why not find an old bedstead and drape it with plants for a very dramatic garden effect.
I've never seen anything like this before, but you have to admit it looks very inviting for a lazy afternoon nap!
And finally, designer Reuben Huffman rotated this back yard design on a 45 degree angle to form three separate garden "rooms" and create a larger sense of space in the narrow yard. It also won an APLD Merit Award. The APLD website should soon have info on all of this year's winners.
(photos courtesy APLD and designers)
Leave a Reply