Less lawn, more privacy, better drainage

Sunset, July, 1990

Too much lawn, too little privacy. That seemed reason enough to remake the front garden area of this Sacramento house-but poor drainage was also a problem. With no actual culvert between street and grass, the owners could count on any downpour to turn the shallow ditch at the front of their property into a quagmire.

A plan by landscape designer Michael Glassman reduces the lawn area by half and gives the street-facing side a new personality. A low stucco wall parallels the street but steps in at the lot's center to create a broad planting area for a rugged, natural-looking landscape that demands far less water than the former lawn. Plants that grow here include daylilies, verbena, crape myrtle, dwarf windmill palms, lavender, and santolina. For improved drainage, a rock-lined stream bed replaced the grassy hollow. The house-facing side of the new wall has a more formal look. At its center is a tiled fountain flanked by raised beds planted with azaleas.