Screening The Landscape The private retreat experience is a must when designing residential landscapes. Every landscape benefits from at least one space that feels safe, sheltered and secluded. For some homeowners, the privacy of a front gate or fence keeps the entire property a private space, while for others a garden nook with [...]
Landscape Lighting During the summer months we often stay outside later due to the nice weather, so this is the time of year when we find that landscape lighting really shines. Lending cozy elegance to the night landscape and safely illuminating paths and steps, lighting allows us to enjoy our outdoor living [...]
HOW TO HIRE A LANDSCAPE DESIGN PRO You’ve decided you want to hire a professional to design your landscape, but how do you decide who to call? If it’s your first time hiring a design pro of any sort, it can be an especially daunting idea. There are many services available to help [...]
Wildfire Awareness Firescaping is a lot like travel insurance, although the hope is that it is never needed, it’s better to be prepared. According to CalFire, in the last three years alone over 1.7 million acres of land have burned in California due to wildfires. We do not say that to [...]
Approaching Infinity: Infinity-edge Pools One of our long-time favorite design features would have to be the Infinity-edge Pool. With an elegance that borders on the impossible, these breathtaking pools are one amazing statement with infinite possibility. Invisible Edge In math, zero and infinity are somewhat twin mysteries. The [...]
Form & Function in the Landscape Photography by Sarah Cosca The designed landscape is a balance between beauty and necessity, form and function. Any architect will tell you that beauty is not enough—structure and practicality are also needed. At the same time, design without attention to beauty is, well, never a [...]
Structures in the Landscape In nearly every garden style, constructed elements play a role in defining space for an inviting outdoor experience. Gates and trellises, pergolas, and cabanas—landscape structures have the power to transform a garden. The variety of styles gives infinite possibility to these elements, allowing a landscape’s unique character [...]
The Night Garden It’s easy to imagine a landscape only by the light of the sun. After all, that’s when we can best see it! But what about the experience of the landscape at night and the many experiences that are unique to those special hours after the sun has set? We believe [...]
On Decks A Montgomery Robbins, Inc. deck on the cover of Sunset's 'Complete Deck Book' For a moment here in California, it seemed like decks were going out of style. Wood was being replaced with stone and concrete terraces, as homeowners began to work with the contours of their land and [...]
Landscape Topography Topography is the science of mapping land formations - determining the depth of valleys, steepness of hills, and where the flattest areas of ground lie. As Landscape Architects, the first step to any design is understanding the site, which includes the way the land is naturally shaped. Therefore, topography [...]
