Vulture Ridge
Location: Sebastopol, CA in beautiful Sonoma County (USDA Zone 9b)
Design Goals:
80% native plants, 20% Mediterranean plants
Highlight views of surrounding hills and vineyards
Drought-tolerant plants and low maintenance design
Create cozy, welcoming niches for gatherings of 4-8 people
Juxtapose sharp linear architecture with wild CA planting style
Prioritize hardscapes for accessibility all the way around the home/guest home
Reduce erosion and convey water through the site to safe areas for sequestration
Add a culinary garden nearby the pizza oven for feeding a crowd up to 30+ people
Blend the property into the surrounding landscape with native plants and naturalistic design
Kelsi laying out plants for erosion control and water sequestration
Fog cover over the freshly installed corten stairs with DG treads
Lizard friend likes the boulder-lined staircase
Low water-use plantings flank this staircase to the outdoor seating area. Pathlights are installed for easy access at night.
Long view from along the jasmine trellised wall
Wooden trellis structure supporting jasmine vines
View from the ridge at the concrete fire table (not installed by WEA)
Jasmine trellises to adorn the outdoor seating area with evergreen foliage and fragrance
In grade lighting behind the Jasmine trellis for subtle dimension and ambiance
Jasmine, backlit
Sleek containers for shade loving ferns
In progress photo of the outdoor dining table before the pergola was installed
Dry stack boulder walls define the new culinary garden behind the pizza oven
Photo during construction before planting and DG
Plant layout above the stone retaining wall
DG dining patio with a modern louvered pergola installed above. Nearby, a boulder retaining wall is softened by herbacious plantings
Low voltage lighting to highlight the angular architecture and container plantings
Cabana (left) and main home (right) before the mature olive tree is installed
Bulk materials used in dry creek installation
Dry creek construction
Heavy equipment needed to install mature olive trees
Dry creek construction post-olive tree install
Poured concrete pathway between the cabana and main home. Olive tree illuminated beyond
Lichen and moss covered field stone used in a dry creek bed. Large stone slab used as a bridge
Boulders found on site used to convey stormwater runoff
Low voltage lighting at the outdoor pizza oven
California native plugs being planted in the entry meadow
CA Native meadow plugs to be planted
Agave attenuata and California poppies
Agave attenuata planted at the formal home entry
Planting day of the front entry featuring Agaves and blooming perennials
Before photo of utilities to be hidden
Utilities hidden behind Ceanothus and Phlomis plantings
"Before" photo showing the main home approach to be softened and made inviting
"Before" photo of the site of the culinary garden before installation
New culinary garden installed with dry stack Sonoma Fieldstone boulder walls.
Tara takes a rest beneath mature Arbutus as the culinary garden is planted in the background
Kelsi planting up the Vego raised beds in the culinary garden. Pollinator plants fill in as groundcover
DG Horseshoe court built near the culinary garden
Custom made boulder fountain offers preening for birds, with vineyard views beyond
Custom made boulder fountain made from on site stone. Poppy (black lab) enjoys a sip
Fountain basin to house recirculating pump
Ceanothos hold an erosion-prone hillside together while stormwater is conveyed away from the home over drain rock and rip rap
Poured concrete pathway leading from the front entry to the cabana and hot tub. At right, the entry meadow grows from seed + plug
Modern pathway is softened by Carex, Hellebores, and Mahonia
The formal entry to the home is lit with low voltage path lighting
Close up photo of modern path lights used on the front entry staircase
Hardscaping in progress beneath a mature Juniper tree
More informal is the staircase from the guest home to main home. Lined with fieldstone boulders, this staircase has corten steel risers and DG treads