Lush fall foliage surrounds outdoor seating and the face of a modern building.

Backyard Shangri-La

South Bay, CA

Project Overview

An existing residential plot is transformed into a lush oasis where grasses provide the foundation to flowering plants and fall colors.

We worked with the brilliant Landscape Architect, David Wollney, who hired us to compliment his amazing architectural visions, including a rooftop meadow, with our plantsmanship. Wollney created a series of garden rooms, incorporating destinations like a sunken patio, bocceball courts, and a wine cave.

On the rooftop of the wine cave we planted a meadow with a base mix of Seslaria. Flowering plants are selected from the Greenlee Meadow Collection to accent the meadow as meadow sweeteners. Pathways of grass trail from the roof through the rest of the garden, and hidden flowers leave a scent of citrus in the air as one wanders. We served as personal shoppers for these clients who loved Japanese maples. We paired these trees with other plants that bring fall foliage to all planes of the garden - from the height of the tree canopy to the ground layer.

Consulting Services  

Services

Garden Design & Specifications

Plant Sourcing

Installation Supervision

Plant Layout & Supervision

Ongoing Maintenance Supervision

Collaborators

Paesaggio Landscape Architecture - David Wollney

Featured Plants

Tradescantia 'Greenlee' (Pale Puma Spiderwort)*

Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid' (Greenlee's Moor Grass)*

Phyla nodiflora 'Tesla' (common lippia)*

* Part of the Greenlee Meadow Collection

Tap any image for additional plant information.
A bluestone pathway leads to a sunken garden with gorgeous rammed earth walls designed by Landscape Architect, David Wollney.
We love the Seslerias! They are naturalistic with showy seed heads that are never messy. Featured is the Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid'.
Nothing captures late afternoon light the way grasses, like these Seslarias, do. The gorgeousness is reflected in the water.
Rosa 'Nearly Wild' (Nearly Wild Rose).

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A constructed wetland with depressions to collect water.
Wattles for erosion control help keep the project together while it's being built.
A view of the garden from the second floor of the house. A patio is on the roof of the wine cellar.
Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid' (Greenlee's Moor Grass), Foreground: Sesleria 'Brushstrokes,' (Moor Grass), White flowering: Phyla nodiflora 'Tesla' (common lippia), Rosa 'Nearly Wild' (Nearly Wild Rose), Orange flowering: Watsonia spp (bugle lily).
We like our meadows to be about the grass and use color sparingly.
We create livable spaces big and small so one can be in the meadow, not just look at it.
We use grass-like plants in our meadows. In the midground are daylilies with grass-like flowering accents. Dymondia margaretae (Silver Carpet) fills the gaps between stones and Falkia repens (Little Ears) edges the meadow. Bulbs in the distance include rare flowering Amarines (a hybrid between Amaryllis belladonna and Nerine bowdenii).
Seslaria x 'Brushstrokes.'
We personally traveled to the finest nurseries in Oregon with the client to develop the extensive Japanese maple selection for this garden.
David Wollney created this additional garden space by sinking the patio.
A fragrant Clematis spp. climbs the wall of the wine cellar.
Late afternoon shot of sunken patio with fog, overhanging Japanese maple, onyx light fixtures. Vines include Lonicera fragrantissima (Winter Honeysuckle), Cissus striata (Miniature Grape Ivy), and Parthenocissus 'Hacienda Creeper' (Rancho Viejo Creeper).
Liriope spp., Ophiopogon umbraticola (National Arboretum Mondo Grass).
Parthenocissus 'Hacienda Creeper' (Rancho Viejo Creeper), Lonicera fragrantissima (Winter Honeysuckle). We choose plants that harmonize together in a plant community in such a way that doesn't require constant maintenance.
A trickle of water runs through the Acorus spp., Juncus spp. and Hebe 'Celine.'
These single-petaled red roses are more naturalistic and resemble species roses that you'd find in nature.
Parthenocissus 'Hacienda Creeper' (Rancho Viejo Creeper), Erythrina latissima (Broad-leaved Coral Tree), Campanula spp. (Bellflower).
The foundation shrub is Pittosporum tobira (Mock Orange) which we introduced to the West Coast nursery trade. Evergreen drought tolerant shrubs anchor the meadow madness. Other species featured: Bergenia spp., Iris 'Nada' (Butterfly Iris), Fatsia japonica (Japanese Aralia), Lomandra hystrix 'Gary's Green' (Mat rush), Bromus benekenii (Denver Brome).
Bromus benenkenii. Its soft hairy leaves capture morning dew like no other grasses.
Ophiopogon umbraticola (National Arboretum Mondo Grass).
Tradescantia 'Greenlee' (Pale Puma Spiderwort).
Amarine cv., Sesleria x 'Greenlee Hybrid' (Greenlee's Moor Grass).
Amarine spp.
Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair), Lomandra spp.
Falkia repens (Little Ears) spreads between the stones.
Fallen gingko leaves light up this pathway of shade grasses and perennials including Carex divulsa (European Grey Sedge) and Dietes spp. The depression on the right is a constructed wetland which sequesters rainfall to recharge the aquifer.
Melianthus major (Honey Bush).
Vitis 'Roger's Red' (species grape hybrid) brings fall color to the lower plane of garden.
The main meadow over the wine cave is refreshingly flower-free with drifts of Sesleria autumnalis 'Fineleaf' (Autumn Moor Grass) and pathway of Carex pansa (Sand Dune Sedge) and Carex taxensis (Texas Sedge) that only need to be mowed 2-3 times per year.

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