Mountain View Residence

A compact lot and a modest budget: a pergola dining terrace, flagstone paths through a no-mow meadow, and food woven in.

A flagstone path through meadow grass along the side of the house, with a mulched border of natives and herbs at the foundation — The side yard — flagstone through the meadow, the border hugging the house

The project

Shade first, then a meadow where the lawn died.

The ask was plain: shade, first. The old patio cover was slowly falling down over its cracked concrete slab, and the owners wanted a place to eat outside, plus room to grow some food.

Seven Scapes, my design-build practice, rebuilt the back garden around a pergola over a new paver dining terrace. My father built the pergola himself. Flagstone paths swim through a no-mow fescue meadow where the dead lawn was, and food is woven through the planting: artichokes, berries on a fence trellis.

The result is shade to eat under, paths you can walk barefoot, and a meadow that needs almost no care. My practice today is design-only; the years I spent building still shape how I draw.

Before — the cracked concrete slab and sagging painted lattice cover over the old patio — Before — the old patio: the cracked slab, the cover coming down

After — the same view along the house: a flagstone path through the meadow to the pergola dining terrace, blue oat grass and yellow phlomis in the beds — After — the same view: the pergola over the new dining terrace, path and meadow below

The new pergola over a paver dining terrace, teak chairs in the dappled shade — The dining terrace up close — pavers, teak, and dappled shade under the pergola

The back corner — no-mow meadow meeting a mulched bed of artichokes, blue oat grass, and yellow phlomis — The back corner, where the meadow meets artichokes, blue oat grass and phlomis.

Project credits

DesignSharon DeBell

Landscape contractorHelmut Kroos Landscaping

PergolaJohn DeBell, DeBell & DeBell Construction — Sharon’s father

PhotographySharon DeBell

← All work Woodside Woodland Garden →