In order to create a truly one-of-a-kind landscape design, you need a passionate designer & an equally passionate client. We, at Bakersfield Landscape Company Monji Landscape Companies, were recently blessed with such clients. Our clients desperately wanted a garden that would beautifully capture their passion for Japanese design & would offer them a true place to escape. They both loved to entertain & host parties but felt as though their current landscape did not offer them such a space.
While the property did have an existing waterfall & a number of impressive Redwood Trees, beyond that, it lacked any real drama. Also, the property’s Juniper trees had not been pruned in years & were nearly losing their bonsai appearance. Thus, our creative process began with wiping the slate of everything that would not fit with the new landscape design, & building a garden around the few elements that would remain.
We removed the property’s heavily stressed turf area & created a Zen dry creek bed & pea gravel dry-scape that featured our hand-sculpted stepping stones for a walking path throughout the garden design. We also installed a one-of-a-kind water/fire feature that brought both natural elements into the garden & created a stunning focal point (especially at night). Neighboring the water/fire feature, we installed a concrete bench made entirely from recycled concrete. The slab bench offers seating to view the garden from an entirely different vantage point.
Next, we incorporated a number of bonsai sculpted Japanese Black Pines to bring organic structure & lift to the planter spaces. Tying into the sculpted theme of the Pines & Junipers, we fabricated a true Japanese Torii & painted it red & black to resemble many of the famous structures found in Japan. The Torii itself is traditionally a symbol to all that enter that you are now entering a spiritual/sacred place. We also sculpted a large, concrete pagoda for the garden design.
We also installed hand-sculpted concrete planter boxes onto the patio to break-up the sterile nature of the deck. We utilized Japanese Black Bamboo in the planters to once again reinforce the theme. A final touch was painting the entire perimeter fence black (to make all the deep greens & greys jump out) & painting the patio pergola a deep red to match the flanking Torii.
Once completed, the landscape design is now as much a work of art as it is a garden. Our clients now entertain frequently & have told us that each time a new guest arrives, they cannot help but “gasp” & admire the Zen experience.