Residential, Oakland Hills, California, 2015
This 1920’s era Craftsman style home tucked into the Oakland hills is a gem of architectural details, however the lawn and overgrown boxwood hedge was not working for the owner. No amount of water through the inefficient spray nozzles and galvanized metal (pre-1975) sprinkler system was enough to stop the tired looking front yard from coming back.   After a site survey and feedback from the owner we decided on a modest sized synthetic lawn, a fruitless olive tree on a mound surrounded by succulents, as well as plantings in the sidewalk strip and some foundation plantings against the front porch including a dwarf variety.     I picked Industrial grade 3/16″ powder-coated steel edging to hold in the #SyntheticTurf made by my friends at Global Syn-Turf. We specified my favorite product with a 2″ pile height called Double W-85. With completely new irrigation valves and drip emitters as low as .5 GPH for succulents water savings was dramatic.     We still decided to add the final touches with #Vista brand powder coated bronze finish LED lights, a custom light to match a bronze finished “Mail Boss” secure, locking, package mail dropbox. Lastly we added some Cymbidium orchids just for good measure because the client had them, and the lighting conditions would not be full afternoon sun.