HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA
In Town Classic
Set on a busy corner near Healdburg’s central square, this new house is designed in a traditional farmhouse style, with strict geometries and proportions. Our goal was to layer the landscape front garden to create visual interest, providing a filtered view of the house and forming a buffer from the bustle of the street.
We played off the architecture, designing gardens that are fairly formal in their overall structure, while maintaining a sense of softness and playfulness. Lavender, crepe myrtle trees, clipped boxwood and pyramidal hornbeams create a layered, largely symmetrical composition in the front yard, forming a dialogue with the symmetry of the architecture. A softly arched trellis covered in Madame Alfred Carrier climbing roses echoes the subtle arch of a small central window above the front entry. Meanwhile, jasmine tumbles over trellises and fences, loose mounds of geraniums form casual arrangements beneath a Japanese maple, and Boston ivy is encouraged to creep up the fences.
Walkways of substantial three by five-foot bluestone pavers traverse both front and rear gardens, softened by creeping thyme. The walkways create view corridors to an existing apple tree in front and an antique fountain placed to help mask street noise in the rear garden. The bright pink of several Peter Mayle rose bushes are an unexpected presence amid a palette of primarily white and blush tones. This is the first time we have used this prolific repeat bloomer, which plays off a hint of pink in the wallpaper within the house -- visible through an adjacent window -- and creates a subtle link between indoor and outdoor spaces.
To separate the front garden from the more private rear garden, we designed a simple fence and gate. A detached garage, set perpendicular to the house, functions as a pool house, with french doors leading directly to the pool. A newly-planted dogwood sits next to the small building’s entry doors, co-existing with fragrant jasmine planted along the eastern lot line. Utilities and equipment are screened with jasmine-covered trellises.
Placing a pool in a small yard can be tricky. Instead of placing the pool along the site’s longest axis, (the more expected approach), we placed it to align with the home’s central rear doors, forming a powerful visual alignment between the home’s indoor and outdoor spaces. In placing the pool along the lot’s shorter dimension, we also captured a sizable living space next to the pool, perfect for a row of chaise lounges.
