California Native Gardens Designed for Place
A portfolio of front yards, backyards, and coastal gardens designed and installed exclusively with California native plants. Each project reflects local ecology, supports wildlife, reduces water use, and creates a landscape that feels at home in the Bay Area.
All Projects · Front Yards · Backyards · Coastal Gardens · Meadow Gardens · Hillsides & Slopes · Shade Gardens
Diamond Heights Terraced Native Garden
This project began with a steep, uneven slope that offered little use beyond being a maintenance challenge. Our goal was to stabilize the grade, create walkable circulation, and build a small destination deck that would turn the hillside into usable space.
We constructed treated-wood retaining walls to form level terraces across the slope, improving stability and creating pockets for planting. DG-filled wooden steps guide you safely down the hillside, leading to a quiet destination deck built into the slope. This deck acts as a small gathering space and focal point—an intentional landing that transforms the hillside into a place to pause and enjoy the plantings.
The planting palette focuses on drought-tolerant California natives that offer structure and seasonal change. Manzanita provides evergreen form, buckwheats and poppies bring color and pollinator activity, and soft grasses contribute movement and texture. Groundcovers and low perennials stabilize the soil and visually connect the terraces.
Together, the terracing, stairs, and destination deck reshape the hillside into a layered, accessible, ecological garden that feels integrated with the home and thrives in wind, sun, and coastal conditions.
This Diamond Heights hillside was reshaped with treated-wood retaining walls, DG-filled steps, and a small destination deck that creates a quiet landing space partway down the slope. The new terraces and plantings stabilize the grade, improve circulation, and frame a California native garden that thrives in sun, wind, and coastal conditions.
Potrero Hill Terraced Native Garden
This steep Potrero Hill backyard began as an overgrown hillside choked with invasive fennel, blackberry, and collapsing concrete rubble. Before any grading or construction could begin, the client brought in a small herd of goats to clear the vegetation — an efficient, low-impact way to expose the slope and make the site safe for rebuilding.
Once the hillside was opened up, we reconstructed the landscape from the ground up. Three substantial timber retaining walls were installed to carve the slope into level terraces, providing stability, usable space, and a clear structure for future plantings. A central run of steps connects the terraces, improving circulation and creating a natural flow through the garden.
Along the property line, a new redwood fence replaces the failing boundary fence and frames the garden with warm, durable material suited to the site.
With the structural work complete, we planted the terraces exclusively with California native species selected for their ability to thrive in Potrero Hill’s sunny, windy, and fast-draining conditions. Over time, these natives knit the terraces together, bringing seasonal color, habitat value, and ecological resilience to a space that was once unusable.
This Potrero Hill hillside was transformed from an overgrown, eroding slope into a terraced native garden with three retaining walls, central steps, a new redwood fence, and drought-tolerant California natives that thrive in sun and wind.
Diamond Heights Hillside: Terraces, Steps & Hardwood Deck
Taming the transition zone between a concrete patio and steep hillside to give a family of four access to a raised garden bed and small deck for yoga and lounging. Non-native plants were removed and replanted with California natives.
This Diamond Heights backyard presented a familiar challenge: a narrow concrete patio pressed up against a steep, unused hillside. Our goal was to create a functional transition zone—something that made the slope accessible, planted, and inviting rather than a visual wall of weeds.
We built a series of low retaining walls using treated lumber to establish structure at the base of the hill. A set of DG-filled steps provides access partway up the slope, connecting the patio to a new raised planting bed. To create a dedicated space for seating, stretching, or yoga, we added a small hardwood deck made from ipe, positioned just above the patio for a natural progression upward.
Once the grading and carpentry were complete, we planted the hillside with a mix of California natives selected for sun, wind, and slope tolerance. These plantings give the garden year-round texture while stabilizing the soil and reducing maintenance.
The result is a layered outdoor space where the patio and hillside feel connected—functional, planted, and deeply rooted in place.
Restoring an Acre of Native Habitat in Saratoga
This expansive Saratoga property was completely reshaped into a living native habitat, designed to feel natural, walkable, and ecologically alive. The work began with the rehabilitation of an old, deteriorating drainage channel, which we transformed into a wide, stone-lined dry creek bed. Two custom footbridges now span the creek, allowing easy movement across the landscape and connecting the upper and lower portions of the property.
A network of decomposed granite paths winds through the site, creating access to all parts of the acre while blending seamlessly into the terrain. Along these paths, we built both sunny and shaded seating areas — a DG patio partially paved with 2'×2' stone, and integrated bench seating set into a retaining wall beneath the canopy of mature trees.
The planting palette focuses entirely on California natives. A large meadow of bunch grasses anchors the open spaces, with drifts of shrubs, wildflowers, and habitat plants extending toward the creek. The result is a resilient, low-water landscape that supports pollinators, birds, and wildlife while providing peaceful, immersive walking paths for the homeowners.
This project brings together habitat restoration, practical access, and naturalistic design — transforming a once-neglected acre into a thriving ecological landscape.
A transformed acre of land featuring a restored dry creek bed, looping DG pathways, native meadow plantings, shaded and sunny seating areas, and bridges that connect the entire landscape into an immersive habitat experience..
Front Yard Lawn Conversion with California Natives
A former lawn replaced with a native landscape featuring a dry arroyo, sheet-mulching for turf removal, and a fresh planting palette of all California natives. The new design adds structure, supports pollinators, and dramatically reduces water use.
This Balboa Terrace front yard was transformed from a water-hungry lawn into a resilient California native landscape. After removing the existing turf through sheet-mulching, we regraded the slope and introduced a meandering dry arroyo to add structure, movement, and visual interest from the sidewalk and home.
The new planting design features all California natives chosen for seasonal color, habitat value, and low water use. Grasses and groundcovers knit the space together, while accent shrubs and perennials frame the existing stone wall and soften the architecture of the home. The dry arroyo acts as a subtle focal point, guiding the eye through the planting while helping surface water percolate into the soil.
The result is a vibrant, water-wise front yard that supports pollinators, reduces maintenance, and feels fully rooted in place. We’ll add more photos as this garden matures.