Stinson Beach Garden Lab

This is my own garden in Stinson Beach, California.  

I may be a transplant to California, but I have really come to love the natural terrain in various areas throughout the state.  In landscaping our home in Stinson Beach, I sought to make a garden in the spirit of place.  Stinson Beach is in The Golden Gate National Recreation area and near Pt. Reyes National Seashore.  It’s a charming, rugged coastal community with a very laid-back culture and a fundamental connection to nature and the elements.  Appropriately, the garden evolved organically, part by design and part by circumstance. 

The garden is my weekend project and was planted in sections, as my husband and I got to them.  He, the irrigation master, and me, (and a couple of local helpers) the planting labor!  Plants were added in as I snapped up what appealed in weekend trips to the nursery.  Unlike my usual gardens for clients, nothing was planned for on paper.  

The plant-specific irrigation system we set up allowed me to combine favorite California natives and drought tolerant plants with beloved cottage garden perennials I remember from my youth, growing up in my mother’s lovely gardens.  Gravel paths meander through the garden and widen to allow for no frills seating areas in naturally sheltered areas where we enjoy white water views of the ocean nearby.