ultimate landscapes
CALIFORNIA CHIC
Jarrod Baumann of San Francisco’s Zeterre Landscape Architecture conjures a masterful hillside garden in the heart of Silicon Valley.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE JARROD BAUMANN OF ZETERRE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE CYNTHIA MUNOZ OF STOECKER & NORTHWAY ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR DESIGN GIOI TRAN AND DENIECE DUSHONE OF APPLEGATE TRAN INTERIORS PHOTOGRAPHY MARION BRENNER
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t was the view, relates Jarrod Baumann while gazing at a panorama that takes in the Santa Clara Valley and the San Francisco Bay beyond. The view clinched the deal for Baumann’s clients, but the property itself was in sore need of a makeover. Indeed, it took great vision to look past the overgrown fixer upper on just over two hillside acres in Los Altos Hills. To that end, the homeowners assembled a creative dream team with Gioi Tran of Applegate Tran and architect Cynthia Munoz to tackle the home and its interiors while Baumann was charged with creating an exquisite terraced garden, a triple-level infinity pool and waterfall, a creek bed, and an assemblage of marvelous garden rooms. Baumann’s ingenuity is on full display upon arrival at the home. You are greeted with the world’s first living gate—a spectacular retractable driveway gate ablaze with over 3,000 succulents. “It took quite a bit of engineering to get it right,” he recalls. “Weight was a key issue from the plants to the irrigation system. Everything had to be balanced properly.” The result is stunning. The gates give way to a spacious courtyard that doubles as an entertaining space for large gatherings. “It’s European in feel to have a courtyard in front,” remarks Baumann. “I like the idea of flexible spaces in my designs.” The courtyard with pavers interspersed with lawn also cleverly conceals the fact that it’s also
ultimate landscapes
“It took quite a bit of engineering to get it right,” Baumann recalls. “Weight was a key issue from the plants to the irrigation system. Everything had to be balanced properly.”
an active driveway large enough for the weight and size of a fire truck—a code requirement for the home’s remote location. The remodeled home was trimmed with mahogany and painted a striking deep silvery blue that inspired the garden’s color scheme. “I selected plants with blue tones from agave to Jerusalem Sage to a rare double-trunk blue Atlas cedar,” notes Baumann. While the home’s land footprint is large, most of the garden area is steep hillside, so Baumann employed multiple terraced levels, even for the pool. The highest pool includes a beach-style sloped entry and an island that is embellished with a rare Canary Islands Dragon Tree that Baumann sourced in Santa Barbara. “It had to be a really special plant,” stresses Baumann of his selection. “It needed to be beautiful but simultaneously spare enough so as not to obstruct the view.” From the bottom infinity-edge pool, the water falls to a creek bed and down the hillside. “We created several spaces along the way 42 | G E N T R Y H O M E
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for entertaining,” says Baumann. “And at the very bottom of the property we planted a forest, perfect for the kids to camp out in with friends.” Behind the patios is a cocktail garden filled with citrus, mango, and passion fruit trees as well as a vegetable and fruit garden—all within easy reach of the kitchen. “Ultimately,” notes Baumann, “what is so gratifying to me is to see how much the clients love the garden. I just walked it with them the other day discussing how things are growing and where we see the plantings going in the future. Designing spaces for people who love them and appreciate that a garden is living art is so exciting.”
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