Although the back yard of this new home was quite large, most of it had been landscaped by the developer and was off limits to any changes. However, the small level area on the south and east sides of the housed was adequate for a couple of room-sized garden spaces. The corner lot was separated from the street on one side by a low, open rail fence that offered little privacy. The soil was a heavy adobe clay, fertile but difficult to work with. The ocean view was fantastic, but there was also a panoramic view of the busy, noisy freeway.

Thinking about masking noise, we developed a recirculating waterfall and pond in the side yard, and constructed a hand-formed concrete patio next to it. This area was set back far enough that the ocean could be seen but not the freeway. We used blue-gray Carex glauca to make a small meadow that would look good with the similarly-colored house. A dry streambed made of native sandstone boulders carries rainwater through the garden, allowing it to soak in and channeling the overflow into an adjacent riprap. Native Juncus and other plants in the streambed help to biofilter the water. A small wooden footbridge made from a salvaged timber crosses the stream.

We had plans to build a deck and make other improvements to the project, but in the middle of the job the owner got married and subsequently put the house on the market.

Plants used include tea tree, lemonade berry, Pittosporum , Italian cypress, Mexican Bush Sage, Australian fuchsia, Westringia fruticosa, Pittosporum crassifolium , McMinn manzanita, 'Tuscan Blue' rosemary, Wisteria sinensis 'Cooke's Special Purple'

This project was completed in 2002.