This garden was originally an ugly concrete driveway that cut through the entire front yard, making any use other than parking impossible, and placing cars on view from the principal rooms of the house.

We removed the driveway, along with a large patch of invasive Algerian Ivy and other unattractive plantings, and replaced them with a Saltillo tile entry walk to match existing flooring in the house, a tile-and-concrete raised patio for entertaining and sunbathing, low-water use perennial plants and a small lawn area (the only one on the property) for the children.>

Plantings include red fountain grass, 'Cerise Queen' yarrow, Penstemon 'Apple Blossom', Caribbean copper plant and catmint. The lawn area is shaped to the nozzle patterns of the sprinkler system, eliminating overspray onto adjacent areas. When these photos were taken, a severe drought prevented us from installing the lawn, so we mulched it over temporarily and the owners enjoyed the mulch nearly as much as lawn. The entry gate was built to our specifications by a local craftsman.

This garden has been on tours of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and was featured in Sunset Magazine. It is also pictured in the Sunset Drought Survival Guide (1991).