The Landscape Designer Is In: A Modern Garden for a Midcentury Eichler Gem - Gardenista
To live in “an Eichler”–a home by Joseph Eichler, a midcentury housing developer and proponent of modern architecture–is not a rarity in Northern California. Photography by Beth Mullins and Margo Tomaszewska-Richter. Here, Mullins had the chance to honor the Eichler intent in a family garden in San Mateo belonging to Mark, a web producer and all-around creative type; May, an artist; and their 9-year-old daughter. They wanted a garden they could use in three ways: entertaining, relaxing, and as studio space for May. They set the budget between $75,000 and $95,000, and Mullins set out to create a low-water, low-maintenance landscape that would do justice to the master developer of California style. A crucial piece of Eichler (and all California Modern) style is how outdoor and indoor spaces relate to each other. Mullins notes that before the garden renovation, if you were indoors you were “looking out onto a flat space with no visual interest. I wanted for the client to look out and feel good about the garden while being inside, even on crummy-weather days.”. Though they kept as many plants as they could, Mullins knew that “a lot of plants would become compost,” citing specifically a host of dark-foliaged phormiums that were too large for the space. According to Mullins, the landscape as they found it was not likely original to the house. Homeowner Mark collects vintage planters from Gainey Ceramics. Mullins chose colors for the house exterior and the fence: “I wanted the garden to feel cohesive and enveloped,” she said. For the benefit of all gardens, Mullins emphasizes the importance of choosing the right paint colors: “Since walls in your garden are hard to ignore, it’s important to incorporate them into the space,” she says. All large trees and shrubs were retained, including fig trees, a palm, and a plum tree in the middle of the lawn that the family relies on to make their “amazing” plum jam every year. Mark, who builds furniture as a hobby, made the single ipe bench on the side of the lawn. Mullins and Mark designed two concrete built-in benches that provide generous seating for parties and help define the garden without blocking access to any one area. Mark and May had been collecting the white Heath tile with the intention of using it in the house or garden. It was Mark’s idea to split the two benches to make an entrance to the rock garden (described below). A custom ipe planter (matching the bench) holds Stachys byzantina ‘big ears’ and Chondropetalum, along with gentle uplighting. Mark proposed the rock garden and chose the individual rocks himself. The rock concept, says Mullins, “ties into a lot of the Asian influences on midcentury design,” noting that it was “fun to think about what Eichler might have been inspired by in this decade.” Behind the rock is a landscaping uplight, which illuminates the garden at night and lends a festive atmosphere during parties. An art studio for May, built by Eric Enns of Modern Spaces–”one of the most artistic contractors I have ever met,” says Mullins. Using the Disqus commenting tool below, please ask away!