Dear Client
Here is our plan for your front and back yard.
Since you are in plant zone 9, which is quite warm and frostless, we envisioned a zen garden with mediterranean low-upkeep plants as accent colours. The composition of pathways and the pool are of a natural shape, seemingly growing in the most suitable directions of your garden and finding its place. The pathways are made of concrete rectangular blocks of various sizes that act as stepping stones through the yard. They also have a roll in keeping some water binded near them, so clusters of grass can grow from the touching point between the slabs and the ground. The left part of the house is extended to a veranda, we chose it as the most spacious and appreciative space in the garden, that easily connects to the front yard. The veranda is extended from the fence between the two yards and is a sort of back porch where you can relax and enjoy the pool. It has a seating area and small dining area for 4 persons (can be extended if needed of course!). The upper left corner of the garden is most abundant in flowers, since you cant completely get rid of the pesky flys, it is best to give them a peripheral sector of the garden where they can fly from time to time and then leave in peace, this part is isolated from the pool via use of aromatic plants that repel most insects with their fragrance, since the wind also affects the garden, more of these plants are placed on the right flank, to make sure the bugs are as far as possible from the family zone. The right flank of the pool has a dedicated BBQ area with space nearby for a dining table, for maintenance reasons this can be the same table we mentioned beforehand, or you can have both tables and join them into a table for 8-10 persons when needed. The pool is quite spacious and has a small area for the kids, which will be completely converted into a hot tub when they grow up. The plants we chose are mediterranean classics, suitable for zones 8 and 9 (USDA plant hardiness scale) that will bring nice colours, with little to no maintenance! Namely bougainvillea, as the main plant for the fence, needs very little water to grow and blossoms nicely even in drought seasons. Lavender, as our second favourite, is a cool aromatic plant that is also sometimes used as a bug repellent, thanks to its aromatic oil, it is also very thankful in means of water consumption and care, attached to the plan are a few more notable plants, you can of course, find more lovely plants on the internet quite easily as there are many comprehensive guides (especially for mediterranean gardens). We decided to keep most of the trees you already have, and add only minimal shrubs and small trees such as birch and larch, to spice up the colours of the garden. The area around the shed is itself closed off and isolated. One fence stands just a couple feet from it and separates it from the front yard, whils the other narrows towards the backyard and makes the space appear much smaller than it is, in a way, this narrowing fences syphons space and movement away from the shed. If possible, it would be best to completely annex and attach the shed to the rest of the house and let it be the border between the front and back yard, on the backyard wall of this newly attached shed, you can have one door and outdoor shelving for plants and utilities along with stairs to its top, where you can make a nice flat terrace that extends to the backyard porch and opens a vista towards the airport, whilst the front facing wall can be completely covered in a cross-bar screen with climbing plants such as the fabulous chinese morning trumpet vine or plain ivy. The front yard scape should remain the same, perhaps with a couple more shrubs or small californian spruces, to keep the house connected to its immediate surroundings, with a large backyard this wont be a problem. All the plants listed fend well in dry climates and dont consume much water, the main problem will be the green lawn (an ever-thirsty yet wonderful addition to any garden), the sollution is in shrubs and the stone slabs, as they keep moist to the ground and the ground is better for grass. The many shrubs and small trees also act as wind breakers and air purifiers, as well as bring a nice ambient of whistling leaves.
Even though you didnt mention a pool in the description, over the years we found it to be a good addition to medium-large backyards, as it brings the water element, cool humidity and helps plants around it grow nicely. It is also a great choice for activities of children and adults alike and a very healthy enviroment for growing, we chose the organic shape inspired by zen gardens and the well-known sand/gravel paysages (karesansui) composed of overlapping ripples carefully made by raking gravel, we used the concept and projected it on water instead (a large rocky landscape is not really family friendly) to make a nice zen pool.
We hope you like our project
