Hillside Flower Meadow + Food Forest

Location: Oakland Hills, CA

Design Goals:

Make the hillside more accessible and control erosion
Take advantage of bay views + vistas, including a sunset patio
Incorporate local, native plants and an edible garden
Create a kid-friendly space throughout
Infuse lots of colors, including a cut flower garden

ecological garden design installation sonoma california hillside retaining wall dry stack stone edible food forest pollinator plants

Over 2,000 square feet of steep, scotch-broom-ridden hillside is transformed into a terraced, ecological garden with a wildflower meadow, pollinator habitat, and edible food forest. Beginning at the bottom of the hillside, a flower and herb garden offers easy access to seasonal colors and flavors.

Further up, dry-stack Sonoma fieldstone walls line the meandering pathways, creating terraces and habitat nooks throughout the landscape while sequestering water so the garden can thrive. Lining the paths, underneath the live oak + redwood trees, drought-tolerant meadows and plant bouquets fill the open spaces. Native grasses like carex and fescue provide a blanket of green for poppies, clarkias, and irises to paint with pops of orange, pink, and purple. Nooks throughout the property provide tranquil spaces + vistas to pause and connect with place, and a redwood grove with a swinging bench offers a kid-friendly space to play. At the top of the hill, stairs lead to a sunset patio where all can enjoy the garden's beauty during golden hour.

Featured plants in this chaparral habitat include live oaks, redwoods, and native shrubs to provide shade to understory plants, such as sword ferns, heucheras, and fescue grasses. Sprinkled throughout the landscape are other native, drought-tolerant plants that provide sanctuary for pollinators and other life: salvias, verbenas, yarrow, and rockrose for the butterflies and bees and California myrtle, coffeeberry, and ceanothus shrubs for songbirds. A fruit tree food forest and seasonal veggie beds provide a bounty of garden delights, including apple, pomegranate, peach, citrus, berries, seasonal veggies, perennial herbs, and flowering medicinals, including yarrow, nepeta, and wild garlic.