Poolside daybeds and a raised pergola with built-in seating around the pool.
OPPOSITE
Looking through the birch wood pergola toward layers of planting above stone clad retaining walls.
LEFT
BELOW Mature olives, hand chiseled stone, and clipped shrubs give layers of texture to the garden. Sculptural Mediterranean shubs like the Pride of Madeira, Echium Candicans, create a colorful purple statement at the end of the pool when in bloom.
“Their vision was to create a pool area and outdoor lounge under a covered pergola in the style of their vacation spot in Italy,” said Anna Hoffman. the whole property, adding a new pool, paving, (an) outdoor pergola with built-in seating, stone retaining walls, terraces with large slabs of paving stone from Exquisite Surfaces,” she said. Working in concert with Oakcrest Landscape and Lighting and McCoy Construction, the garden serves to showcase pretty pieces like the distinctive pots from Inner Gardens, and Zen-inspired chaises from Sutherland’s Poolside collection. But it was in the botanical flourishes that Hoffman was able to truly impart the chic Mediterranean stylistics sought by her client; she brought in mature, field dug olive trees from northern California and planted 20-foot ficus hedges, 18-foot Italian cypresses and 14-foot bay trees. Around the lush green space are lovely French lavender plants, as well as coast rosemary, creeping rosemary, lemon and bay trees, privet and boxwood hedges, bougainvillea, Santa Barbara daisies and the vibrancy of Pride of Madeira shrubs. “Although the planting is Mediterranean, we used contemporary detailing, which gave the final design a very California feel,” said Hoffman. There were several other significant touches hat added an upscale gloss to the surroundings; for example, drains - the bane of every sophisticated outdoor space - are rendered discreet to the point of invisibility. The paving stones come right up to the edge of the pool, obviating the need for traditional pool coping edges. At one end of the pool, the team installed a raised patio, while the pergola has the unique distinction of having posts and beams made from birch tree trunks. And at the entrance to the property, an antique wooden gate welcomes visitors, and opens into levels of terraced planting beside a simple water feature forming a covered porch. There, the homeowners and their friends can relax on balmy Californian evenings, recalling the joys of Italy. CH MAR/APR 2018 | 63