This garden was designed to increase the living space for the couple whose Berkeley Craftsman house needs to fit a family of 7! A cozy floating bench seating area right outside the kitchen door is used for meals on warm nights and weekend barbecues, and as a work space when the couple has a work day from home. The back of the dining bench is the first retaining wall of the garden. The concrete steps and cedar beam benches mark the path up to the main space, which has an open stone patio with another floating bench and a cozy seating area above with four olives forming a square garden. As the olives grow, they will form a canopy for privacy and shade. The cobbles, stone, concrete, and wood add nice texture to the space with a gray blue color scheme that is calming. The dark stained fence and beds allow the plants to shine and create a vertical plane that feels finished but recedes in the garden. The client loves to cook and harvest from the built in raised veggie beds that surround the main open space. The beds have succession plantings by Homestead Design Collective and the client also has a bed dedicated to growing herbs and plants for the teas that she makes.
Photography 2023/2024© Caitlin Atkinson