BARNARD

RICHMOND CA

2020

This one started as four-foot weeds and the kind of neglected soil that tells a long, unsentimental story. Our clients: a plant-collecting archaeologist and a tool fabricator with a soft spot for campfires and rusty steel. They came to us with dreams of wildflowers and a yard that felt like the edge of a memory. Like a place you haven’t been in years, but still think about often. Part trailhead, part WPA-era brick relic. A place built with care, then left to soften at the edges.

The front became a scrappy meadow. Foundation plantings keep it from looking feral in the off-season, but spring turns it into a full-blown bloom riot. Out back, we went brick-crazy: a chunky patio spills into winding paths that stitch the yard together. All of it sourced from Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and a few Nextdoor finds. Every paver has a past.

Stone retaining walls hold the grade (and some secrets), while the plant palette mixes California natives with the occasional ringer. Hello, Eryngium and Phylica pubescens, you strange beauties.

The result is a space that’s rugged, alive, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Like camping, but with better chairs.