SLO Backyard Retreat

SLO Backyard Retreat

Backyard Retreat | San Luis Obispo, CA

This San Luis Obispo backyard features several areas for gathering, including outdoor dining and a cozy fire feature for cool winter evenings. A stairway traverses the lushly planted hillside to a raised-bed vegetable garden.

The planting palette includes several drought-tolerant succulents such as Blue Glow Agave and Foxtail Agave. Other varietals include Sun Camellia (Camellia sasnqua), Variegated Japanese Sedge (Carex Oshimensis), Bush Anemone (Soleirolia soleirolii ), and a Tamukeyama Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Tamukeyama).

Landscape Design and Construction: Madrone Landscapes

California Native Oasis

California Native Oasis

California Native Oasis | Atascadero, CA

Situated on a corner near the entrance to a planned development in Atascadero, homeowners sought both privacy and a multi-use entertainment space planted with a low-maintenance, native palette. Live-ability was their primary focus, seeking sensible choices for a landscape that would function well for their family and lifestyle. The finished project was formed from a strong vision and a willingness to wait for the most ideal amenities to be developed, resulting in a balanced and precise personal oasis.

A mortarless retaining wall, wide sidewalk of permeable pavers, and low stucco wall shield an inviting yet private front patio from the street. A local boulder with a core-drilled center serves as a vanishing fountain flanked by two benches made from recycled cypress logs. Two of the seven varieties of manzanita on the property grace the porch: the Manzanita morroensis, native to Morro Bay, and the Dr. Hurd, a multi-branched tree with glossy light green leaves.

Past a south facing raised vegetable bed and fruit trees, a wide path winds through tall deer grass on its way to the backyard, pool, and patio. A curving, elevated bed of stacking stone along one side of the pool decking is wide enough to sit on, full of native plants and another vanishing fountain.

An outdoor poolside kitchen provides a focal point for the backyard. Rough-sawn, horizontal siding covers the existing fence and continues along the back of the structure as a sliding barn door to conceal pool equipment. Slender veldt grass, Carpenteria Bush Anemone, carex, and potted succulents hug the various stone surface treatments. The cypress bar is recycled from the same log as the front benches.

Landscape Design, Construction, and Maintenance: Madrone Landscapes

Daisy Hill Estates

Daisy Hill Estates

Daisy Hill Estates | Los Osos, CA

Madrone created a common area with native plants, pathways, and multiple options for seating for this senior living retirement community. Madrone also installed a custom timber pedestrian bridge and a timber patio pergola to enhance usability and a sense of place within the community.

Landscape Design and Construction: Madrone Landscapes

Mediterranean Garden Park

Mediterranean Garden Park

Mediterranean Garden Park | Paso Robles, CA

This beautiful Mediterranean-style landscape complements the design of the home and the idyllic rural Paso Robles setting. A large and meandering garden-style yard creates several passive and active spaces, including a formal courtyard with a fountain, rebuilt pergola, several viewing patios of pavers and decomposed granite, a swimming pool, a small pond, and stately field-grown trees. A newly designed guest parking area provides turnaround space, while pavers and plantings define the visitor entry.

The planting palette includes several deer-resistant varieties such as Mediterranean aromatics, California sages, wispy grasses, and colorful succulents. Mediterranean varietals such as Italian Stone Pine, field-grown Olives, and Italian Cypress provide stately definition at entry points while strategically framing views from within.

This intensive retrofit project made use of existing hardscape infrastructure to blend seamlessly with new features and patio areas to create a cohesive landscape. The functionality of the spaces works exceptionally well. At the same time, the beauty of the overall design creates a stunning, comfortable landscape.

Landscape Design and Construction: Madrone Landscapes

Santa Ysabel Apartments

Santa Ysabel Apartments

Santa Ysabel Apartments | Los Osos, CA

Focusing on ease of maintenance and low water use, Madrone designed and installed a complete upgrade to this sandy, neglected site.

Low-maintenance, drought-tolerant succulents and natives bloom year-round. Pathways lead through the residential complex, easily guiding residents to parking, laundry, and outdoor areas. 

Landscape Design, Construction, and Maintenance: Madrone Landscapes