On the east side of Petaluma, this project with no pre-existing landscaping, involved new construction for Details Landscape Art, a Petaluma landscape contractor.
The home sits on a corner, with a three-sided front yard wrapping around from north to west. The front or North side is a morning sun and afternoon shade exposure, perfect for Japanese maples, pieris, azaleas, camellias and large moss covered placement boulders in a very natural setting. 
As the front garden wraps around the corner to the west, the exposure changes to full afternoon sun. The design includes two Napa Cobble Chip stone walls creating planters at different elevations; the first, at the corner of the property, features a beautiful mayten tree, lorapetalum ‘Purple Majesty’, white carpet roses and fieldstone boulders.
The second wall frames a small lawn area and encloses a planter near the house, which includes choisya ternata, rosemary and freesia bulbs.
The lawn was edged with a six-inch wide flagstone mowing strip. Plantings below the lawn include a weeping cherry, phormiums, a perennial garden, and a variety of color, plant heights and textures.
The southern exposure area of the front yard is planted with a green ‘Viridis’ Japanese maple, and a ‘Red Dragon’ japanese maple.
The smaller back yard features a stamped concrete patio using an Ashlar Cut pattern with a smooth six-inch wide border. The doublewide steps are perfect for guests to sit with a plate and a glass of wine when a buffet style meal is served.
In the center of the patio is a stone planter box that holds a central Japanese maple and flowers and provides additional seating for guests.
A redwood fence was constructed on the east side property line. It is a sturdy, yet beautifully built fence. It features three rails, and fence boards sandwiched between two by four rails in front and one by four rails in back. A two by six cap finishes the look followed by a coat of stain. No nails or screws are visible. In front of the fence we built a two posted, three tiered arbor, and painted it white. It adds vertical interest to the garden, and fine craftsmanship is evident as the post corners are routered and the ends of the two by sixes and two by eights are scrolled.
The highlight of the backyard is a natural stone waterfall with two smaller upper ponds, cascading into a koi pond, which juts out into the patio. We installed a biological filter to provide the koi with the perfect water environment. The sound of the running water is soothing and constant, and adds an unseen element of tranquility to the setting.
Stone waterfall into a pond
Backyard trees include a grouping of three redwoods, a ‘Seiryu’ maple, a mayten tree and a ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maple. For shade plants we used a lorapetalum, camellias, sarcococca ruscifolia, an azalea, heleboris and two ‘Enchantress’ hydrangeas. In the sun we planted lomandra ‘Breeze’, a couple of ‘Edelveiss’ lavender, and nandina compacta.
A low voltage lighting system illuminates various corners of the patio and steps, and floodlights and a down light highlight the trees and the white arbor.
In all, this garden featured all the talents of Details Landscape Art, a Petaluma landscape contractor: a water feature, several examples of masonry, a fence, an arbor, and a gorgeous tapestry of plantings.