THESE ARE BEFORE PHOTOS SHOWING THE AREAS OF OUR WORK

The planting beds around the North and West side of the main house are being refreshed! These beds introduce the majority of visitors coming in from the recently relocated (summer 2023) ticket kiosks to the 16 acres of formal gardens. They serve as a transition from more natural and wild parts of the property to the formal gardens and are an important part of the visitor experience. We carefully studied the existing plantings, the conditions in each planting bed, and historic imagery to craft seven different but related planting palettes.

These beds are being re-imagined so that they will preserve the historic fabric and feel of the plantings around the house, keeping some mature plants in place while transitioning the rest of the planting in these beds to low water use plants. Irrigation is being converted from overhead spray to drip as well, with an expected installation early 2024.

We are working closely with the exceptional team at Filoli to refresh and modify these plantings. It isn’t often that we get to design plantings knowing that they’ll receive the best of care from the most dedicated horticultural staff. What a pleasure and an honor it is.

This luxury apartment building in Burlingame, California has a strong modern vibe with a full recent remodel / update of both interior finishes and common areas and exterior amenities. 

The project scope for dGDA consisted of upgrading the pool finishes and equipment, removing and replacing the concrete deck with a permeable installation of pre-cast concrete pavers, design and installation of permeable seating areas with a summer kitchen, dining space, firepit, and string lights for cozy evening enjoyment.  Plantings and irrigation were also overhauled to meet a low water budget and year-round interest.

Architect: Christy Ambrose, Neatline Creative

Client:  Romel Enterprises, San Francisco

An elegant home deserves to be shown off. Like a beautiful woman looks better in a little black dress than a clown suit, this beautiful home’s complete re-build demanded an equally supportive front garden.

dGDA provided planting design and irrigation consulting for the front, rear, and roof-deck gardens. Only the front is shown here for privacy.

Architects: Butler Armsden Architects, SF

This private home was built for the Ghirardelli family, then sold to the French government and used as the French embassy before being put back in American hands and eventually sold to the current owners who began a major renovation. 

The three distinct garden spaces are a roof terrace over a new underground garage, a shallow rear garden, and a narrow front entryway leading to a sideways facing front door.  The desire is for a lush feeling despite restricted outdoor space while maintaining as much entertaining space outside as possible. 

The roof terrace plantings include ornamental grasses and evergreen plants emphasizing texture over flowers.  It also includes three raised planters filled to the brim with edibles.  

The rear garden is planted to allow for as much privacy and sense of enclosure as feasible while providing room for play, socializing, grilling, and soaking in the spa. 

The entry provides instant respite from the bustle of the busy street outside with busses and cars constantly competing for space.  This entry is planted with a serene, plush, flowering and ferny palette, a reproduction of a vintage French bench, and steps leading up to the front door’s terrace with planters from Atelier Vierkant and a custom designed vine espalier.

 Construction finished winter 2015.

Architect: Butler Armsden Architects, San Francisco

An intimate destination, Casa Incantata is a bed and breakfast in northern Italy near the Swiss Alps. 

The planting palette and design place their emphasis on texture and form while responding to alignments with the building and other existing site elements.  Ornamental grasses create a sense of enclosure and separate the garden into two main outdoor rooms – the second more private than the first, surrounding a lush “lawn” of Hernaria glabra adjacent to a dining terrace.  The grasses form the foundation for a season of colorful changes starting with spring bulbs.  Purple Cotinus joins a previously existing mixed hedge and large tree to frame views and support the palette in the garden.

The work was performed in conjunction with a major remodel that earned the architect an Italian national award for sustainability in 2012. 

Architect: Glenda Flaim

Client:  Casa Incantata, Italy

This private home in Mill Valley, California has a strong contemporary style.  The owners desired a natural California landscape with room for ornamental gardening and family activities. 

The design of the plantings both in species selection and in arrangement bridges the gap between artifice and nature.  Native and adapted plants are set on the steep front slope in broken rows of color within a ground-plane of the native grass Bouteloua gracilis.  The rows were adjusted on-site to be visually straight while they crossed this uneven slope, resulting in planting that responds to the strong horizontality of the home at the top of the slope. 

The upper two terraces of this home’s garden are designed for recreation and family time with two small lawns, a veggie garden, flowers for cutting and fruit trees.

Client:  Butler Armsden Architects, San Francisco

This high-end speculative home in the Oakland Hills was designed and built by Five9 Design.  The landscape design was coordinated closely with the developer and the landscape contractor to address challenging slope issues, frame views, meet City requirements, and address neighbor's concerns. 

The planting palette is a subdued one showcasing the home with various soft greens with an emphasis on texture and form that complements the white stucco and yellow cedar of the home's exterior.  Using predominantly evergreen, deer resistant, and drought tolerant plants, bloom times are staggered throughout the year in soft blues and tinted whites that will further blend in with and address an overall palette that is in harmony with the natural surroundings and views.

Client:  Five9 Design

This San Francisco private residence needed updating of both the front and rear outdoor spaces, a gallery to showcase the purchase of the french cheetah statue, and careful editing and re-vamping of the plant palette. 

 Client:  Butler Armsden Architects, San Francisco

Sculpture garden at Lover's Lane United Methodist Church, Dallas Texas.  Work performed by Jennifer de Graaf for RVi/NJB:

www.rviplanning.com

This project is an overflow parking lot for Lover's Lane United Methodist Church, Dallas Texas.  Project challenges were numerous given that the lot is across a flood-way and riparian corridor from the main campus.  The scope included design and construction observation of the new bridge, new parking lot, significant grading challenges to retain as many trees as possible, and connecting to the main campus with a small plaza so that congregants had a safe place to land before crossing the main driveway of the campus.  

Work performed by Jennifer de Graaf for RVi/NJB:

www.rviplanning.com

The Lover’s Lane YMCA in Dallas, Texas needed to expand their aquatics program and provide additional accessibility to and from the parking lot.  The project included a new competition pool, outdoor seating area, and smaller kiddie pool as well as a snack bar, security, and accessible routes.

Work performed by Jennifer de Graaf for RVi/NJB:

www.rviplanning.com