Before & After: A Modern Landscape Fit for a Finca in Los Angeles

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When Stephanie Wong and her partner, Daniel Watson, found their future home in Atwater Village back in 2021, they saw potential behind the concrete lot and dated details. “During the search, we saw so many quick flips with cheap finishes and cookie cutter design choices. Although the property needed work, we were glad to design it in a way that matched our personal vision,” Stephanie describes. It was their first renovation and first landscape project. The result is a thoughtfully updated 1920s Spanish-style property the couple dubbed Finca Glenfeliz. Join us for a tour of the garden.

Above: The building seen here is former two-car garage converted into a small studio the couple now rents for production through Peerspace. The etched terracotta pots at the entrance are from Plant Provisions. Photograph by Marc Gabor for Finca Glenfeliz.

Stephanie works as Brand Director for ORCA, an LA-based landscape design and outdoor product studio founded by Molly Sedlacek. “The garden renovation was actually what brought me to work with ORCA in the first place,” she says. “I fell in love with the landscape design process. It truly is an art form.”

Shown here is a Catalina Ironwood tree, a California native found at Devil Mountain Nursery. As for the grass, &#8\2\20;we went with a native California no-mow mix which requires less water, feels more wild, and looks less manicured,&#8\2\2\1; Stephanie explains. &#8\2\20;We wanted this zone to feel like a meadow so we brought in a chunk wood stool from Angel City Lumber and natural stone.&#8\2\2\1; Photograph by Marc Gabor for Finca Glenfeliz. — Above: Shown here is a Catalina Ironwood tree, a California native found at Devil Mountain Nursery. As for the grass, “we went with a native California no-mow mix which requires less water, feels more wild, and looks less manicured,” Stephanie explains. “We wanted this zone to feel like a meadow so we brought in a chunk wood stool from Angel City Lumber and natural stone.” Photograph by Marc Gabor for Finca Glenfeliz.

For added privacy from the street, they replaced the open wrought iron gate with a cedar gate. The gravel is Del Rio Pea Gravel and the path is made up of Utah Sunrise Flagstones from Bourget Bros. It&#8\2\17;s lined with two vegetable gardens that Daniel built of redwood and a mix of California natives and Australian species. Photograph by Marc Gabor for Finca Glenfeliz. — Above: For added privacy from the street, they replaced the open wrought iron gate with a cedar gate. The gravel is Del Rio Pea Gravel and the path is made up of Utah Sunrise Flagstones from Bourget Bros. It’s lined with two vegetable gardens that Daniel built of redwood and a mix of California natives and Australian species. Photograph by Marc Gabor for Finca Glenfeliz.

For the first phase, Stephanie and Daniel worked with landscape designer Nola Eaglin Talmage at Field Sound who created the overall layout and plant palette while procuring hard-to-find materials like the flagstones, plants, and boulders. Inspired by the gardens of Mexico and the Mediterranean, the couple brought it in a warmer palette of pebbles, grasses, and stone. They demolished the concrete driveway that runs the length of the property from the street to the garage. From there they brought in bigger trees, boulders, laid flagstones, and pea gravel.

For the second phase, Stephanie and Daniel focused on the finishes themselves. Since joining ORCA, they’ve installed ORCA pavers to create a landing off the back studio and cladded the front porch in ORCA tiles to hide the cracked concrete. “The most rewarding part was seeing so much life in our garden after we removed the concrete and dying grass. I started seeing butterflies, bees, and birds creating a mini ecosystem in our backyard,” says Stephanie.