Echo Park residential design, consult, and project management
This Echo Park residential backyard softscape design encompassed an existing dipping pool, multiple terraces, patios, and raised beds.
Client specifications: “Make it look like a Balinese sanctuary.” By identifying and understanding existing micro-climate conditions, I redesigned and upgraded the existing irrigation system to accommodate the project. The project success was a result of consistent client communication and closely working with an existing maintenance manager and crew in order to oversee the carefully budgeted installation of soil enhancements and new plantings on behalf of the client. I advised and consulted with client on specialty care and maintenance after install.
Location
Echo Park, CA
Size
7,000 ft²
Year
April 2022
My client wanted their backyard to resemble Bali. I visited and spoke with my client numerous times to interpret, determine, and execute the following factors and needs to create a lush sanctuary:
1) There was to be major, ongoing construction on the primary residence at the front of the lot, making for my work-at-home client to be consistently interrupted by noise, chaos and an inability to concentrate.
2) There were existing plantings failing, uncared for and in conditions inhospitable for their thriving.
3) My client wanted an escape; a rich, colorful, evergreen, tropical and foliage-centric, lush embrace of a private space to meditate and find peace when the day is done.
I spent some time examining and understanding the azimuths of the sun’s movements in my site analysis, discovering that my client had the unusual fortune of a microclimate in their back space. This enabled me to reach further into ornamental plantings not typically found outside in LA city landscapes.
I project managed the design and installation, developing rapport and interfacing with the client’s maintenance gardener and his team to execute the demo and install. I arranged for the gardener to add an additional drip-irrigation valve and run additional lines to the new plantings in advance of the work. We agreed an upgrade to the controller was needed as well. I traveled to numerous wholesale nurseries to find the best plant materials and arrange for deliveries, as well as extra materials to provide much needed nutrients to the existing soils. I coordinated all materials to the site and executed their placements for install myself. Once my client was satisfied with the siting of the plant materials, I oversaw the project installation. I met the client’s timeline for completion and finished the job in under the original estimated budget. I have continually been in contact with my client for the best specialty management practices for their plant materials as the weather changes into hotter seasons.
Before & after
Before and after views of the pool area
