Part 1: The Challenge: The gardens of this Mid-Century Modern Westside home had been let go for years.  The challenge is to transform it into a serene retreat with desert overtones.  Here is where we started:

The upper terrace was poorly built to begin with and had several severe cracks in it.

Parts of the retaining walls and brick banquette were compromised, the railroad ties were rotting, and a new planting concept was needed

The brick fireplace upstaged the flagstone terrace

Where to begin?  After clearing the land we were able to really see the state of the hard surfaces.  We decided the basic elements were worth keeping, but retaining walls needed to be higher and reinforced and the terrace and banquette could use a complete makeover.