Mid-sized modern front yard driveway in Christchurch with with a gate and natural stone pavers.

Landscape by Kim Rooney Fire, Water, Wood, & Rock - A Northwest modern garden for family and friends
Inspiration for a mid-sized modern backyard full sun formal garden in Seattle with concrete pavers and with a gate.

Hemlock St. Midcentury Day Light Ranch This 1961 Ranch was quite a change, and the goal was to restore this home to a classic modem design. We started with the basement we replaced and moved the gas furnace and ac unit to the site of the house. Since the basement was unfinished, we designed an open floor plan with a full bathroom, two bedrooms, and an entertainment room.

This Berkeley property had overgrown vines, concaving fences, rotted deck, dead lawn, broken concrete, and poor drainage. After removing about 30 yards of soil from this lot, we were able to begin leveling and sculpting the landscape. We installed new concrete pathways, synthetic lawn, custom swing and arbor, Thermory wood decking with metal railings, paver patio with masonry stone wall seating, and stone mosaic water feature with stainless steel wire to match. Many elements tied together nicely in this modern Berkeley backyard.

Photo of a mid-sized contemporary backyard full sun garden for summer in Other with with a gate and a wood fence.

Inspiration for a mid-sized modern front yard partial sun xeriscape in Los Angeles with with a gate and gravel.

fabrication et pose d un portails 3000 long x 1500 hauteur galvanisé et thermolaqués
This is an example of a mid-sized modern garden in Strasbourg with with a gate.

This very social couple were tying the knot and looking to create a space to host their friends and community, while also adding much needed living space to their 900 square foot cottage. The couple had a strong emphasis on growing edible and medicinal plants. With many friends from a community garden project they were involved in and years of learning about permaculture, they wanted to incorporate many of the elements that the permaculture movement advocates for. We came up with a California native and edible garden that incorporates three composting systems, a gray water system, rain water harvesting, a cob pizza oven, and outdoor kitchen. A majority of the materials incorporated into the hardscape were found on site or salvaged within 20-mile of the property. The garden also had amenities like an outhouse and shower for guests they would put up in the converted garage. Coming into this project there was and An old clawfoot bathtub on site was used as a worm composting bin, and for no other reason than the cuteness factor, the bath tub composter had to stay. Added to that was a compost tumbler, and last but not least we erected an outhouse with a composting toilet system (The Nature's Head Composting Toilet). We developed a gray water system incorporating the water that came out of the washing machine and from the outdoor shower to help water bananas, gingers, and canailles. All the down spouts coming off the roof were sent into depressions in the front yard. The depressions were planted with carex grass, which can withstand, and even thrive on, submersion in water that rain events bring to the swaled-out area. Aesthetically, carex reads as a lawn space in keeping with the cottage feeling of the home. As with any full-fledged permaculture garden, an element of natural building needed to be incorporated. So, the heart and hearth of the garden is a cob pizza oven going into an outdoor kitchen with a built-in bench. Cob is a natural building technique that involves sculpting a mixture of sand, soil, and straw around an internal structure. In this case, the internal structure is comprised of an old built-in brick incinerator, and rubble collected on site. Besides using the collected rubble as a base for the cob structure, other salvaged elements comprise major features of the project: the front fence was reconstructed from the preexisting fence; a majority of the stone edging was created by stones found while clearing the landscape in preparation for construction; the arbor was constructed from old wash line poles found on site; broken bricks pulled from another project were mixed with concrete and cast into vegetable beds, creating durable insulated planters while reducing the amount of concrete used ( and they also just have a unique effect); pathways and patio areas were laid using concrete broken out of the driveway and previous pathways. (When a little more broken concrete was needed, we busted out an old pad at another project a few blocks away.) Far from a perfectly polished garden, this landscape now serves as a lush and inviting space for my clients, their friends and family to gather and enjoy each other’s company. Days after construction was finished the couple hosted their wedding reception in the garden—everyone danced, drank and celebrated, christening the garden and the union!

Pivot Gate extends the architecture of the home and conceals the side utility yard . photo by Jeffery Edward Tryon
This is an example of a mid-sized midcentury backyard partial sun xeriscape for summer in Philadelphia with with a gate, mulch and a metal fence.

Landscape Architect: V3 Studio Berzunza / Photography: Jeri Koegel
This is an example of a mid-sized contemporary side yard partial sun garden for summer in Orange County with with a gate and concrete pavers.

This home was not even visible from the street because of the overgrown and neglected landscape. There was no obvious entrance to the front door, and the garden area was surprisingly spacious once the over grown brush was removed. We added an arbored and walled patio in the rear garden, near the kitchen, for morning coffee and meditation. .

Showcasing: *Custom fence with horizontal wood and steel beams *Ways to use plants as colorful pops to your yard instead of plants of one color *Layered planting with Acacia "Cousin Itt"s as ground cover, with vines and other plants to add contrast

Entrance Gate, Annual and Perennial beds lined in boxwood, classical urns
Photo of a mid-sized traditional front yard shaded formal garden for summer in Kansas City with with a gate, brick pavers and a wood fence.

Photo of a mid-sized front yard full sun formal garden in Seattle with with a gate and natural stone pavers.

Архитектурное бюро Глушкова автор этого уютного и тёплого дома для Подмосковья.
Photo of a mid-sized scandinavian front yard full sun driveway for winter in Moscow with with a gate, natural stone pavers and a stone fence.

Fronting the street is an iconic Bluestone capped, warm stacked ‘Grampians’ Limestone wall constructed to the City of Glen Eira’s approved height with a decadent deciduous Boston Ivy gently climbing up the façade.

A new decomposed driveway was added to the corner lot and redwood fence with double gate in order to shade a parked car and park off street, but also allow the double gate to be opened and the small back yard extended into the large side yard for parties and entertaining.

View from Burke Drive.
Inspiration for a mid-sized front yard full sun xeriscape for summer in Seattle with with a gate, concrete pavers and a wood fence.

New side gate built with urban wood! These woods are from trees locally salvaged and repurposed into lumber. The fence boards here are deodar cedar, while the frame and posts are California redwood. Stainless steel ball bearing hinges, plus a very cool custom latch entry.