On a quiet side street dotted with older homes and industrial buildings in downtown Petaluma, California, is a secret garden: the unexpected Balinese-inspired “backyard” (you’ll understand why this is in quotes as you read on) of commercial photographers Stephanie Rausser and Lawrence Cowell. The space is thoughtfully named “Alchemy,” for the way it seamlessly combines gardening, cooking, and design. “Each element enhances the others to create something greater than the sum of its parts,” explains Lawrence.
Join me as we take a tour of this magical space:
Photography by Stephanie Rausser and Lawrence Cowell.
Alchemy’s slender 34-by-100-foot lot was weed-infested and bordered by droopy fences when Stephanie and Lawrence purchased it in 2005. Originally, the couple intended to build an office there for their photography business, but life and work and kids have a way of slowing—and altering—plans. Not to mention, the space lacked basic essentials like electricity, sewage connection, and water hookup. So, instead of building their office, the couple bought a two-story townhouse a block away that is now both their home and office. “It was a big decision as the townhouse has no outdoor space, but we convinced ourselves it could work if we could make Alchemy work as our ‘backyard’,” remembers Stephanie.
Over the past three years, the once neglected space has evolved into more than just a yard. Today it exudes a thoughtful combination of beauty, productivity, and sustainability.
Alchemy has become a place to harvest fruits and veggies, collect eggs—and do some serious barbecuing with friends and family. “Our neighbors often see us carrying eggs, flowers, and vegetables from Alchemy to our home down the street,” says Stephanie.
The Javanese design accents were inspired by the couple’s three-year sabbatical in Bali. They, along with their daughter Cleo, moved to the island in 2017 and promptly fell in love with the region’s unique design elements that are now peppered throughout Alchemy. “We had furniture built in Bali and in October 2o2o, our 20-foot container from Bali arrived. Several of the pieces in the container were especially made for Alchemy, the most important being the gladak [a traditional Javanese wood house] and pergola,” shares Stephanie. The gladak stores all of their utensils, cups, plates, and tools so that they don’t have to haul items all the way over from their home kitchen when they want to dine outdoors. “We have an actual kitchen at Alchemy, with a sink with running water and a propane stove, and the lights run on solar power.”
Other pieces in the garden, including chairs, tables, benches, and the large Buddha, were acquired over the last three years—none of it new. All the furnishings are either reused, rebuilt, or recycled.
The couple also garden with a circular mindset: Lawrence applies a “chop and drop” method when he prunes, simply dropping his cuttings to the ground, where they eventually get absorbed by the soil and become food for life. “It’s about understanding the cycles of nature and creating a thriving, balanced ecosystem,” says Lawrence. Interventions takes place in the form of fish and sea kelp emulsion that’s sprayed every four weeks; some mycorrhizae that’s added at planting time; and organic mushroom compost that’s mixed in. As a result of these organic techniques, bird and beneficial insect activity has multiplied, shares Lawrence. “We have authored a whole ecosystem.”
Lawrence purposefully keeps the garden shopping local: plant starts come from California Flora Nursery, Cottage Gardens of Petaluma, and Harmony Farm Supply and Nursery; seeds are from nearby Petaluma Seed Bank; and weed-free rice straw, used as mulch, is from right down the street at Rivertown Feed & Pet Country Store. He even collects goose poop from the nearby docks down by the Petaluma River to use as organic fertilizer.
See also:
- Before & After: An Artful Gravel Garden in Sonoma, California
- Poppies in Paradise: A Garden Visit in Healdsburg, California
- California Colors: Fall at McEvoy Ranch in Petaluma
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