The backyard was not only tiny and full of debris, but the trees were overgrown and sufficient sunlight was an issue. 

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Light is an essential feature in landscaping - it lends warmth and frames the space.

Unusually large and flat yard, green and spacious, yet completely devout of interesting features and requiring a lot of upkeep.

The yard remains open and spacious, but requires less upkeep. Concrete and decomposed granite lend a modern look, and Phormius add some happy color. Newly planted bamboo on the side will in time create a tall green wall.

Bamboo was planned for this side as well, yet soil turned out to be so bad that it had to be substituted with stand-alone planters.  The unusual round shape provided some “consolation interest”..

Great to see how plants have grown, even with the notorious San Francisco fog. More impressive though is how the owners have kept up the space - amazing!

… and by day light.

Delighted to see how happy the bamboo is! A notable detail: with the water supply adjusted accordingly, Bamboo (a tropical plant) and Agaves (desert plants) can happily grow side by side.

By digging into the the steep hill it has been possible to gain living as well as outdoor space. 

Upper level backyard is floating above a cosy bedroom patio. It offers an inviting and private outdoor space, a wonderful dining extension to the kitchen. Lighting often is key, and this backyard is no exception - the warm glow in the background truly “ups the temperature”, invoking coziness that is so precious in the harsh San Francisco weather.

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The wood panels lend warmth and soft light to this private bedroom patio. Spaces like this often can feel bare and cold, so light and fire become key.

An inviting spot to lounge by the fireplace. Book and wine - optional! 

A generous dining space with direct access to the kitchen makes the space even more enjoyable.

Steep and “a bit” overgrown back yard in Glen Park, an endless mess of weeds and blackberries. Southern exposure with incredibly warm micro-climate.

Given the incredibly warm microclimate, palm trees and colorful Cordylines became the natural choice. 

The lot turned out to be steeper than it appeared before the cleaning, so we divided it into three levels. The upper one accommodates a dining area as well as a leisurely bar-like setting for a quick bite and coffee. And in times of shelter-in-place, wide enough for a laptop and some work papers.

Hard to believe, yet that barely visible banana plant in the initial picture is now this 18+ foot dinosaur banana monster, looming over the yard. And a second one in the back! What a view from the bar area!

Who needs umbrellas when you have the shade of these huge leaves? The most satisfying result of all are probably the colors - rich array of happy colors. The only thing missing - the bird of paradise! But who cares? - the crows will come for the bananas soon!

There is no substitute for warmth and this incredible location has produced the most spectacular plants in just a few years. Everything has exploded in size in color!

It needed some charm and a welcoming touch, and most importantly, it needed to draw attention away from the seemingly endless hospital back wall in the background.

We turned it into an outdoor room with sidewalls and “clouds” of color on the street side for privacy. The cobble stones and the grass complemented the style of the Victorian mansion.

The colorful hyper-hippy patio was transformed ... 

... into a modern oasis by the Guild Staging and Design. The succulent panels added a warm, living touch the modern and cool anthrazit wall.

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A lot of concrete... Easy to care for, but no appeal.

The succulents have loved the South/Western exposure and didn’t mind the wind at all.

The bushes have grown and filled out, creating golden and silver clouds - a striking color combination against the grey background of the house.

A pretty clean slate to start with, with rather unappealing neighbors, but with an amazingly warm climate. Probably one of the few places in San Francisco where a “personal version of Florida” could be created.

The building consists of multiple units. We divided the backyard, so two of them can have a space outside.

Tropic feel in the middle of San Francisco.

With time, the king palms will grow tall and will partially obscure the neighbors. So will the other vegetation to create privacy between the two portions of the yard. For the moment, let’s hope the neighbors become friends quickly!

What a difference the climate makes! Mission’s temperature and lack of wind, combined with irrigation have made the garden explode in greenery!

The Giant Timber Bamboo is an incredible plant - it reaches up to 40’ and it requires practically no care, just water. It is a clumping type of bamboo, not a runner (no barriers necessary), so always a safe choice.

We intended to divide the yard into two sections - one for each apartment - and it looks like we have actually succeeded!

The extreme slope (over 50 degrees) left little usable space and made progress slow.

Crisp colors and choice of material defined the space. The difficult up-keep was addressed by installing artificial turf and the Southern exposure helped with a few colorful desert plants. The two young girls got a slide and a swing.

The landscaped yard became an attractive factor in the owners being able to sell the house at a premium. Turned out no neighbors had nice backyards.

The inconvenient entrance seems to have demotivated the previous owners from bringing the best out of this large side yard. A tiki-house serving as a bar, colorful lights and row of benches have been the backdrop for loud parties for a number of years.

Even after lowering the upper level by 5 feet, the slope of the back yard still required a deck. So, we made it a distinctly separate place - a room outdoors, a perfect place to take a break and catch-up with friends.

The fence is made from re-claimed iPe as are the benches and the deck. We put the benches on casters, so they can be rolled around easily and double as snack tables.

Always on a quest to make it cost less - yet look fantastic! - we built the planters out of PT wood. Then I ordered cor-ten steel faces for the planters from a local metal shop and nailed them into place.  

Everything has grown nicely and filled out. The Giant Timber Bamboo has created the privacy screen needed without invading neighbors' properties. Many large companies (Lowe’s, Home Depot) have an internal policy not to sell running varieties of bamboo.

The yard is practically unrecognizable from its early days. Everything has grown by leaps and bounds, colorful pots have emerged here and there, new plants have taken up residence.

Large, but steep area with endless twists and turns, small island-decks and plants sprouting from all sides.. Years ago, when initially installed, the yard had for sure been charming, but the lack of usable space and years of “undercaring” called for big changes..

It took a while to remove everything - decks, bridges, retaining walls and trees. Turned out that was the easy part - then we realized we needed to remove a few truckloads of soil ..

The outcome was a modern and airy 3-tiered backyard that now offers space for parties, yoga sessions and allows larger gatherings. We kept the mature trees and built around them as they will provide much needed shelter from sun and wind. There is gas, electricity and water on all levels.

A sea of concrete in front, with a rather old-fashioned, probably 70s, staircase that the client intensely disliked. The previous owners weren’t interested in greenery..

The old stars are gone and replaced by simple modern concrete stairs that match the new grey of the house. And we cut out a big chunk of the concrete as well and replaced it with a succulent garden and a friendly King Palm tree. The concrete must have been poured 30-40 years ago - the sandy soil underneath was pristine - no weeds, no seeds!

Blessed with a summerly warm climate, this backyard was drawing in greenery - Violets, Hazelnuts, Rose bushes and Birch trees to name just a few.. While lovely to look at, the greenery was engulfing the tiny patio, leaving the inhabitants of the two floors yarning for real space.

Most of the lovely greenery had to go, but we kept the stunning birches and a few other old inhabitants of the yard. All of a sudden, there was space for a generous patch of turf for the kids and the new puppy to roll around, and an equally generous area for the adults to place the (future) fire pit and chairs.

We moved the stairs from the front of the deck to the less used side in order to recapture some space and built a L-shaped bench around the (future) fireplace.

The two stately birch trees offered the perfect suspension opportunity. A hunt on Amazon yielded this colorful and surprisingly comfy hanging chair. The perfect corner to hide with a book. (Here, Irina testing the chair :)

We wanted to create an additional play/ hang-out/ screen-movies room downstairs, so we lowered the level under the deck, poured an all-around bench and a new floor. The turf left-over was appropriated as an area rug. The 4x10’ white board allows enough space for homework calculations as well as drawing and screening movies.

The climate in this often foggy Sea Cliff backyard was the surprise of the year! A gigantic (usually tropical) Maracuya plant engulfed half of the fence, shrubs refused to be subdued - all well sheltered behind the tall house and facing South.

It was a big, “from the ground up” effort. We modified practically everything - replaced the old staircase with a spiral one to gain more room, and partitioned the space into a few clearly designated areas - while changing the feel of the garden to something more French, Southern, and warm.

The stainless steel hot tub became a central feature. The expectation is that the (already mature) olive tree will grow taller still and the tub will be nestled in it. The generous deck on the other side offers ample space for lounging and entertainment, for adults and teenagers alike.

The sitting area is centered around a large rectangular fireplace and surrounded by small olive trees that in time will create some much cherished privacy.

The warm South facing wall is home to a lot of food now. The lady of the house is growing not only the usual herbs, but a whole selection of vegetables. The mango mulch from Grab N’ Grow in Santa Rosa is nothing short of miraculous. And the central part of the yard is actually a pétanque court, always inviting to a game.

The first spring for the Japanese maple brought one full foot of growth and happy bright green leaves.

A typical San Francisco mix of half-finished hardscape and weeds, gopher holes and lots of sand..

In anticipation of the arrival of the newest family member, we opted for artificial turf (low maintenance!) and succulents that would do well in the fog and West winds alike.

A set of pavers leads comfortably to a breezeway that slopes down to the street

The owner had just bought the place, and the priority was swiftly established by the teens: a hot tub was urgently needed!

Well, and a new fence, a little more color, and yes, some air too.

Quite a bit of pruning happened, then came the taller and brighter new fence, and finally, we moved out the retaining wall to create a landing for the hot tub. Last came in the stairs to actually get into the tub. And finally, it was available!

This lovely owner wanted to make sure the downstairs studio had the full benefit of the expansive space in the back. We poured the stairs extra deep to smooth the transition from the deck and built a wrap bench around the old Magnolia tree.

The lounge day bed was a fantastic choice for the sea of green!

The Creeping Red Fescue could not have been a better choice for a low maintenance (also called no-mow grass) option. It was very happy even in-between the concrete pavers. The corner houses the doggy bathroom (common request in San Francisco) and a veggie box.

This tiny patio is perched on a precipitous cliff so steep that half of the lot is rendered unusable. In addition, it was overgrown with voluminous Pittosporum and creeping vines, leaving even less usable space.

A first step was regaining territory from what had become a jungle. The crew had to tie themselves with ropes to arrest possible falls, given the 60 degree slope.

We leveled the area, took out all steps, and built a deck past the edge and using the full width of the property. In an effort to utilize every square inch, we even put the planters outside the railing. The result was a huge spacious deck, the perfect perch for an outdoor party! A few beautiful deck inhabitants will be joining soon - a striking Magnolia will be the first.

In an effort to keep cost down, we used iPe on the floor where it was really necessary, yet redwood on the fence. Different, yet matching stains hid the difference in material.

Deep, sunny, yet neglected backyard with no privacy needed updates on many levels.

We built a retaining wall and created two level portions - one dedicated to adult entertainment and one to the kids’ play area. A slide and a play house yet to arrive! The metal pergola will house a BBQ and a spacious dining area, providing much needed shade as well as some privacy from the many neighbors above.

Spacious, level, yet not quite attractive backyard. The walls of the neighboring houses form part of the perimeter, but since the owners never see those sides, the walls were quite unsightly.

A beautiful fence in a rich brown color ensconces the area, giving it a feel of completeness. The retaining wall delineates the cooking space and houses the BBQ and (future!) fridge. The fireplace area offers ample space for a large group of guests.

Adding attractive concrete not only created firm footing to the cooking party, but also facilitates now the drainage of water away from the house.

Right before selling the house, the previous owner has poured concrete over a vast area. While clean and easy to maintain, it was unwelcoming and boring.

It would have been a huge undertaking to remove all concrete (also, what a waste!), so we decided to make artful cut-outs and add turf and an iPe deck to create interest as well as a generous sitting area with pebbles.

The hill was intimidatingly steep, the soil - pure sand, the retaining walls - old and buckling.. Plants won’t grow in these conditions and the humans had no compelling reason to be out there either.

We replaced all retaining walls and consolidated tiers to create more space. The artificial turf was the only reasonable surface option at such an incline. Low maintenance was an important mandate!

A large, sunny yard, well protected from the wind, and with so much potential…

The owners needed a very low maintenance option, so we opted for a huge deck that covered approx. 2/3 of the backyard. It is a very large rectangular space, so we soften it by introducing a curve both on the deck as well as the concrete stair case.

The choice for TREX ensures that there will be no deck repairs in the foreseeable future. Plants will be coming shortly!

The yard hasn’t seen much upkeep in the last ten years and needed urgent attention.

The young kids of the family received their own private playground. The turf has been underlayed with shock-absorbing foam, so falls from high elevations are no longer scary. We kept some of the existing trees and are looking forward to the new Magnolia hiding the electrical pole in a few years.

Too many levels, an unused cabana and no sunshine.
The flag stone has lost its color and was buckling (tree roots), moss was growing everywhere. Very unwelcoming grey dampness..

Letting in more sunshine made the space instantly warmer and friendlier. And combining the different levels into a single one allowed a kid-friendly turf lawn, but also some firm surfaces for the grown-ups’ furniture. Long benches on both sides offer ample seating for parties and movie screenings alike.

We lowered the area under the deck to meet the rest and created another hanging area (pun intended) for the kids. Who doesn’t want to read a book in a saucer chair like this?

The redwood trees offer the perfect opportunity to hang a reading chair as well as a 16’ high pirate ship net for some in-between homework climbing.

Not only secluded, but rather outright abandoned.. The backyard belonged to a commercial building whose owner never used it and never considered investing into it.

The building became a beautiful multi-unit house and the backyard needed to offer some privacy to two of those units, hence the partition. While smallish, both parts of the yard are warm and welcoming and serve as perfect extensions of the condos upstairs.

One of the sidewalls is the super tall wall of the church next door. We were not allowed to paint it, so we planted Southern Magnolias along the wall.

Rather small, overgrown, not very usable backyard with a medley of pots and many pieces of furniture.

A lot was donated, a lot more was hauled and even a few trees had to be taken out. Now, the existing walls had to go too.

We pushed back the front wall to create additional space and built in a floating bench while at it. The plants are coming in soon and it will all be brimming with life (hummingbirds included) very soon!

We opted for wood as the material for the low back wall - it will be a pretty backdrop for the coming row a Little Ollies.

Well, the yard hasn’t seen much love or usage recently.. It’s a spiral - you stop taking care of a place, it gets into disrepair, you use it even less..

The area under the deck was part of the hill, overgrown with weeds and strewn with unwanted objects.

The area is a continuation of the Ocean Beach dunes, so it’s pure sand underfoot. We poured a few retaining walls to fortify the unruly hill and created a low maintenance (emphasis!) patio that is awaiting a fireplace and furniture.

We excavated the area under the deck, fortified it with another retaining wall and created a secluded place to hang out, a room outdoors of sorts.

Built-in seating is something we like very much - the warm wood of the bench contrasts nicely with the white of the concrete (which is still curing and drying out, it will become completely white when the sun returns). And with time, the Leucadendrons will turn into large golden clouds, adding color and smiles.

Typical Sunset backyard - a lot of sand, light slope, and a jungle of Horse Tail grass..

Four weeks later, we had two distinct levels for the adults and the kids, with a generous concrete patio and a lower turf area for loud and rambunctious play dates.

The old Acacia tree, conveniently drooping over from the neighbor’s yard, offered generous shade for our corner bench.

Typical Sunset backyard - the obligatory old, broken concrete slab and a ton of sand, plus a jungle of Horse Tail grass..

The steps will serve as bleachers for the future soccer and softball games, but also as a division between the adult and the noisy kid area downstairs.

Sunny and friendly patio, but deep and with the distinct feel of a fishbowl

We used horizontal boards and two different colors for the walls to visually “shorten” the space. The light colors keep it warm and inviting.

The Little Gem Magnolias flanking the sitting area will fill out and become gorgeous trees in just a few years.

The swushhhh is awaiting tumbled red glass pebbles.

With “low maintenance” as a marching order, a pretty and yet interesting space needed to be created.

A small piece of private Mexico-like jungle with a glorious view, but overgrown and hardly usable.

We cut into the hill to gain flat space, removed vegetation and yet did our best to keep as many Yukkas as possible. Can’t grow them fast and they are fabulous! Result: resort-style backyard!

We had no idea Silver Terrace has such a fantastic view!