Vineyard Haven: A Napa Valley Garden That Belongs to the Land - Gardenista
Photography by Mathew Millman via Scott Lewis. A traditional shingled saltbox with a heavy arbor and flowering honeysuckle shadowing the front door looks right at home on Cape Cod. Our goal was to make this garden evocative of the surrounding landscape which is just stunning said SF based landscape architect Scott Lewis... ...who came up with a garden design for the one acre property that takes advantage of the agrarian nature of the Napa Valley For the front path, Lewis chose wide 2-by-4-foot limestone pavers because the material stays cool underfoot even in the intense summer heat of the Napa Valley. On both sides of the front path, Lewis planted perennial grass Bouteloua gracilis “˜Blonde Ambition’ which turns a tawny gold in autumn, mimicking the color of the surrounding hillside. “From the foyer, you can see all the way through the house, which you weren’t as aware of before because the facade was covered with front and back arbors that were heavy and had a lot of vines,” says Lewis. A fence encloses all sides of the one-acre property; it’s essentially the same design all the way around but the height varies to take advantage of views of nearby vineyards and distant mountains. “The positive thing about the site is that the bones were good and arrangement of structures–a main house, garage, and guest house–form a nice ‘L’ and are at the front of the site, not in the middle,” says Lewis. Next to the guesthouse (L) was an existing arbor planted with old grapevines that Lewis integrated into the new design. The guest house has a wooden deck and wide, welcoming gravel path flanked by twin Olea europa ‘Swan Hill’ fruitless olive trees. “Ornamental grasses are soft, move in the wind, don’t use as much water as flowering plants, and have a country agrarian feel,” says Lewis. When Lewis visited the site during the design phase of the project, he noticed a late afternoon breeze coming off the hills. “One of the nice things about the area is you are 6 feet away from the adjacent neighbor’s grapevines.” Lewis lowered the height of the property’s perimeter fence to 4 feet so the vineyard is visible from the pavilion. “Early on it was decided the pavilion would be roofed because of the heat,” says Lewis. For a less formal look than the front path, a 5-foot-wide path is laid with 2.5-foot limestone pavers separated by 2-inch gravel joints. On the back side of the house, an ipe deck is edge with limestone. The existing pool got a facelift, as well. It was re-plastered (with plaster that has a gray tint to make the color of the water more reflective) and the coping is limestone; turf grass surrounds the pool. “It really is the same pool,” says Lewis. The previous incarnation of the garden featured “essentially, grass, boxwood, and clipped privets,” says Lewis. Aggregate concrete pavement, topiaries, and plantings dependent on heavy water were part of the previous garden design. From the master bath, French doors look out towards a spa. The spa area proximate to the master bedroom and bath. Uplighting in the olive trees and other outdoor lighting is by Anna Kondolf Lighting Design.