Details Landscape Art, a design-build landscape contractor serving Marin, Sonoma, and Napa Counties, was called by a family living in the hills west of Highway 101 in South Novato to help transform a challenging backyard hillside garden.
The property backed up to open space with beautiful views in every direction. The residence sat at the bottom of the slope, with a small level area outside the back sliding door. At the edge of this lower area stood a six-foot retaining wall covered with fig ivy, beyond which the hillside rose dramatically at approximately a forty-five-degree angle.
The site had tremendous potential, but the existing landscape had seen better days.
A Hillside Garden Begins with Good Design
The lower living area was dominated by a Connecticut bluestone patio that extended nearly wall-to-wall. Many of the stones had come loose, and much of the grout had cracked, crumbled, or disappeared altogether.
On one side of the patio there had once been an attempt at a shady lawn, but the homeowners had already removed it. Many shrubs had been pruned so severely that they were dead in the interior and lacked any attractive form.
The slope itself had been planted almost entirely with lantana, much of which had declined because the drip irrigation was not adequately reaching all of the plants. A pressure-treated stairway climbed the hillside to a small sitting area retained by a poorly constructed semicircular wall.
Hillside garden pressure-treated steps
The homeowners wanted a patio large enough for outdoor dining and a fire pit, along with lush planting and a beautifully landscaped slope. We prepared a design and worked through several revisions until the plan met both their needs and budget.
Building a Hillside Garden
Once contracts were signed, demolition began.
The old patio was jackhammered out, existing plant material was removed, and outdated irrigation and lighting systems were pulled up and hauled away.
Because of the steep slope, jute netting was installed for erosion control before planting began. Evidence of gophers was present throughout the hillside, so each plant was protected with a pre-made gopher basket before installation.
The upper retaining wall was repaired, and a short informal fieldstone wall was constructed alongside the existing stairway to add both structure and character.
As truckloads of new trees and plants arrived, we carefully laid them out to achieve a balance of color, texture, and year-round interest.
Outdoor Living in a Hillside Garden
The shape of the patio was redesigned to better accommodate entertaining.
A new two-tone stamped concrete patio was poured, incorporating semicircular planters adjacent to the home. A flagstone steppingstone walkway and sitting area provided a graceful transition to the existing hot tub in the side yard.
Hillside garden features stamped concrete patio
The lower garden was then planted to soften the hardscape and create a lush setting for outdoor living.
Two separate drip irrigation systems were installed—one serving the upper hillside and another for the lower garden areas.
Finishing Touches
A new low-voltage lighting system illuminated the garden with uplights in existing trees and path lights along the walkways and stairs.
Finally, all planted areas were finished with a layer of mini fir bark to provide a neat appearance, conserve moisture, and suppress weeds.
Hillside garden planting areas with bark
This South Novato featured garden transformed a tired and poorly functioning landscape into an inviting outdoor environment that takes full advantage of its beautiful hillside setting.
At Details Landscape Art, challenging properties often become our most rewarding projects—and this hillside garden is one of our favorites.