WILLA

This small garden, nestled in the heart of Beverly Hills, is filled with the stories of two generations - a space our client called home as a kid and is now raising his own family in, which makes it pretty special.

Working within the same footprint of what was, the family’s primary focus was keeping the garden as open as possible for their two young boys and their german wirehaired pointer. This meant removing all grass and gravel and planting as many California natives as possible at the garden’s perimeter without anything growing too wild. We all agreed the 50 year-old camellias had a right to stay, along with two beautiful citrus trees; a plum tree; and some mature Pittosporum tenuifolium 'silver sheen.' An old, beautiful Jacaranda was clearly the matriarch of the yard (obviously she stays), so we removed a few smaller trees and shrubs under and surrounding her canopy and planted shade-tolerant natives, including pitcher sage, hummingbird sage, common yarrow, and island alum root for their low-growing blooms throughout the year. We also mixed in a few other drought-tolerant plants, including agave, leucadendron, and pine muhly. We added several small boulders from Santa Barbara (they fit well with the Spanish vibe of the home); filled in all the planting areas with mulch; and stamped california gold DG firmly into the grass’ previous footprint for lots of open play. Last, we shifted some existing terracotta pots around to frame the entry to their converted garage, and we pulled a years-old olive tree from a dark corner, still in her weathered 24-inch box container, to a sunny spot in the patio.

We returned to the garden four months later to replace a few plants that didn’t make it, taking our time to appreciate the blooming yarrow and salvia and all the happy play taking place as evidenced by a few trampled agave leaves. For us, that was the sign of a garden well loved, the yard eagerly embracing its next life, settling in to support the needs of the family’s next generation.