From Shenandoah Road one observes the pleasant facade of a venerable, southern California ‘Mediterranean-style’ house, grounded by several coast live oak trees, a sprawling old Engleman oak, and a flagstone entry walkway bordered with planting and verdant lawn.

The flagstone entry walkway is a relatively recent addition and is carefully inserted among the existing oaks.

The garden of this courtyard was designed to include a swimming pool, planting, and a terrace space comfortable for a few and sufficient for many. Thus the pool is used to divide a large terrace into two more intimate ones, with pool walls raised in European fashion to provide seating and prevent inadvertent bathing.

The bronze-leafed loquat trees were planted into the terrace to further increase the sense of intimacy and provide shade. The Mediterranean fan palms, the large-leafed heleconias, the zebra bananas, sago palms and many of the other plants were selected for their appropriateness to the style and vintage of the house as well as to celebrate our mild climate.

As much planting as possible was brought adjacent to the pool to reassert the courtyard being a ‘garden’ rather than a ‘pool area.’ ‘Swimming’ pool is also contradicted by the decorative water spouts and vessels at the pool’s south end and by the small ponds at each side and at the north end of the pool. Planting along the driveway was intended to enhance the very daily experience of coming in and out in the car, as well as to extend the visible planting seen from within the courtyard.