Life-oriented landscape | Growsgreen

Life-oriented landscape.
服务日常的风景

Beth Mullins holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in landscape design from the University of California, Berkeley. Growsgreen Landscape Design was founded with the background of architecture and gardening and the experience of landscape design in recent ten years: simple hard texture combined with multi-level organic planting was used to create a peaceful living space, and the garden style was sparse, bright and clear, and full of sculptural texture.

01
古橡树花园
Live Oak Garden

Growsgreen Landscape Design

This garden has an amazing backdrop of live oaks and it is rare to be able to design around such an established canopy. We were mindful of low water areas and plants and used gravel as low impact hardscape for the roots. The garden’s calm openness is created through the use of negative space. We designed the central fire feature to be the hub of the garden. It is close to the back of the house so that one can enjoy the garden when sitting around it in the evening, but it is also a sculptural element by day. The modern shed, dining, and lounge areas make this space multi-functional for rest and relaxation.

With the original ancient oak trees as the background, the garden is designed around the established crown. Create a simple and clean place that “serves daily life” under the amazing and peculiar scenery, and plan several leisure areas with simple concrete and gravel as the starting point, while the restrained hard landscape highlights the wanton publicity of nature and creates an outdoor lifestyle that returns to the true self.

Considering the possible influence of low water area and plants on the terrain with high elevation difference, gravel is used to lay a hard landscape in a large area to help infiltration. No matter what the climate is, the owner can have a good use experience, and secondly, the functional space is used as a transition to add a quiet atmosphere and an open feeling.

02
山间花园
Oakland Hills Garden

Growsgreen Landscape Design

This Oakland Hills garden spans a quarter of an acre with a steady incline. Previously it was a tangled mess of Scotch broom, cotoneaster, and weeds. The livable areas were divided into extended terraces to make the garden highly usable.

We created space for a bench/step combination and barbecue area outside the kitchen door. The steps lead to a small landing outside the master bedroom with a heated bench and a shade-providing pergola.

A screen of salvaged wood posts creates a sense of entry into the main gravel patio area of the garden. A large botanical mural by Daniel Velasquez adds art to the otherwise muted vertical plane of the house. A large floating beam bench intersects with steps and a concrete landing that lead up to the hillside meadow.

Concrete steps formed in the spirit of railroad ties help the visitor span the hill but also act as sculptural elements in the meadow and work around the existing oaks. The steps lead to walk-in caged raised vegetable beds with a narrow deck shaded by the oaks that provides a platform to see the amazing Oakland view. The dining area has a backdrop of the veggie cages, drought tolerant plants, and open hogwire fencing so the garden feels open to the oaks and hillside beyond.

03
午后花园
A Garden For Wolf-Time & Entertaining

Growsgreen Landscape Design

This garden was originally full of wild onions and a few raised beds. The clients gave us creative freedom to choose the materials and concept for this space after expressing their functional and ideal garden needs.

They wanted places for solitary time as well as for entertaining. The narrow back of the concrete bench directs one’s eyes to the overhead trellis and dining area, creating a sense of entry. Informal seating is centered around a custom hand-poured concrete coffee table that we made using a gravel sack.

Light-colored materials make the garden feel open. The gravel highlights the greens of the plants and the blonde cedar fence and beam benches. Pillows and vases complete the space, making it personal and cozy. This garden is featured in Sunset Magazine’s September 2018 issue.

04
致新花园
Apartment 34 Traditional Modern

Growsgreen Landscape Design

This garden originally consisted of levels of brickwork and flotsam and jetsam to maintain grades and planting beds. The clients wanted an open concept with places for solitary time, entertaining, a play area for kids (basketball court to be revealed later), and for the dog. The continuous flow from the house to the deck allows for more space at the same level.

The dining area outside the kitchen has restaurant-style heaters in the overhang. Vertical beam screens lead one’s eye to the living room of the garden with concrete planters and floating benches large enough to lay on or seat friends around the fire. This area has a barbecue so the chef can join the party, along with a concrete plinth designed for trays of food or for sitting near the barbecue.

When styled with planters it acts as a screen for the lower hot tub area. Light-colored materials make the garden feel open while the darker fence grounds the space and creates a backdrop for lush plantings. The translucent green house material designed in Shoji style is something we were most excited about, having seen it used in industrial applications on larger buildings.

It becomes an art piece as it reveals shadows that emerge in the morning and change throughout the day. The client’s use of pillows, vases, and planters makes the space personal and cozy. The ADU, used as an office, has an outdoor shower on the wall for hot tub rinse off. All sorts of grading magic is under the deck, a 5’ vault for the hot tub and a raised foundation for the ADU. The important part is that it looks like seamless levels from one section of the garden to the next.