Garden

Central courtyard forms the main secluded space, capturing northern sun while protecting from the south westerly windows off the ocean. Large sliding doors create visual links through the study and dining spaces from front to rear.

X4 MINI-MOD Fountain in powdercoat rust finish. Installed in a small concrete/tiled pool in a midcentury modern home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The bluestone entry and poured-in-place concrete create strength of line in the front while the plantings softly transition to the back patio space.
Photo of an expansive midcentury side yard partial sun garden for summer in Chicago with natural stone pavers and a garden path.

Corten steel and gravel walkway behind fireplace to access play area and back of house.
Design ideas for a midcentury garden in Atlanta.

Inspiration for a midcentury garden in Los Angeles.

Dramatic plant textures, modern hardscaping and sharp angles enhanced this mid-century modern bungalow. Soft plants were chosen to contrast with the sharp angles of the pathways and hard edges of the MCM home, while providing all-season interest. Horizontal privacy screens wrap the front porch and create intimate garden spaces – some visible only from the street and some visible only from inside the home. The front yard is relatively small in size, but full of colorful texture.

Concrete stepping stones act as both entry path and an extra parking space. Photography by Lars Frazer
Photo of a mid-sized midcentury front yard partial sun driveway in Austin with a garden path and concrete pavers.

Henley Photography
Large midcentury backyard full sun garden in San Francisco.

Inspiration for a midcentury backyard outdoor sport court in San Luis Obispo.

A concrete paver and Mexican pebble path leads from the dining "room" to the upper level.
Photo of a large midcentury backyard full sun xeriscape for spring in Los Angeles with a retaining wall, concrete pavers and a metal fence.

An inlaid bluestone runnel separates the concrete patio from the walkway down the side of the house to the dog run. Renn Kuhnen Photography
Mid-sized midcentury side yard partial sun garden in Milwaukee with with path and a wood fence for summer.

Drought tolerant and native plantings frame the mid-century facade and provide for architectural and sculptural interest at the front yard landscape
Mid-sized and desert look midcentury front yard full sun xeriscape in Orange County with gravel and a metal fence.

Midcentury garden in San Francisco.

This is an example of a mid-sized midcentury garden in San Francisco.

APLD 2022 Award Winning Landscape Design. We designed and installed this dramatic living wall / vertical garden to add a welcoming focal point, and a great way to add living beauty to the large front house wall. The wall includes a variety of succulents, grass-like and cascading plants some with flowers, (some with flowers, Oxalis, Heuchera designed to provide long cascading "waves" with appealing textures and colors. The dated walkway was updated with large geometric concrete pavers with polished black pebbles in between, and a new concrete driveway. Water-wise grasses flowering plants and succulents replace the lawn. This updated modern renovation for this mid-century modern home includes a new garage and front entrance door and modern garden light fixtures. We designed and installed this dramatic living wall / vertical garden to add a welcoming focal point, and a great way to add plant beauty to the large front wall. A variety of succulents, grass-like and cascading plants were designed and planted to provide long cascading "waves" resulting in appealing textures and colors. The dated walkway was updated with large geometric concrete pavers with polished black pebbles in between, and a new concrete driveway. Water-wise grasses flowering plants and succulents replace the lawn. This updated modern renovation for this mid-century modern home includes a new garage and front entrance door and modern garden light fixtures.

Designed for a Cliff May "Rancho" home, this project resulted comfortable outdoor spaces for relaxation and entertaining. New walls and fencing, softened with lush planting, create a private atmosphere. And a casual, meadow-style garden filled with California native plants echoes the home's open, airy feeling. Photos by Martin Cox.

K. Dakin Design won the 2018 CARE award from the Custom Builder and Remodeler Council of Denver for the reimagination of the landscape around this classic organic-modernist home designed by Charles Haertling. The landscape design is inspired by the original home and it’s materials, especially the distinct, clean lines of the architecture and the natural, stone veneer found on the house and landscape walls. The outlines of garden beds, a small patio and a water feature reiterate the home’s straight walls juxtaposed against rough, irregular stone facades and details. This sensitivity to the architecture is clearly seen in the triangular shapes balanced with curved forms. The clients, a couple with busy lives, wanted a simple landscape with lawn for their dogs to fetch balls. The amenities they desired were a spa, vegetable beds, fire pit, and a water feature. They wanted to soften the tall, site walls with plant material. All the material, such as the discarded, stone veneer and left-over, flagstone paving was recycled into new edging around garden areas, new flagstone paths, and a water feature. The front entry walk was inspired by a walkway at Gunnar Asplund’s cemetary in Sweden. All plant material, aside from the turf, was low water, native or climate appropriate.

Fountain at the front entrance next to concrete paver pathway. ©Daniel Bosler Photography
Photo of a large midcentury front yard xeriscape in Los Angeles with a water feature and concrete pavers.

This is an example of a midcentury garden in Orange County.