Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

A Survivor: A Grand Seaside Garden in Tiburon

Search

A Survivor: A Grand Seaside Garden in Tiburon

November 13, 2012

An old boathouse in a sheltered cove in Tiburon, California, survived a landslide in 1982, a year when severe rainstorms caused a record 18,000 Bay Area mudslides that killed 15 people—including the owner of this 8.5-acre garden—and caused $100 million in damages. Everything looks so peaceful now:

Photographs by Marla Aufmuth for Gardenista except where noted.

Above: The shingled boathouse at the edge of the waterfront property was not in the path of the 1982 mudslide, which came from Paradise Drive above the property.

Above: The boathouse has six capstans and views of Angel Island. Beginning in 1997, Sausalito-based garden designer Paul Leffingwell began creating a new design for the property.

Above: Mexican salvia, which can stand up to ocean breezes and salt air, thrives at the waterfront.

The privately owned property was open for tours during a recent convention of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. For another garden on the tour, see “Rescuing a 100-Year-Old Garden.”

Above: Bougainvillea grows on the the south wall of the boathouse.

Above: San Francisco architect Herb Kosovitz designed a new 10,000-square-foot main house, with a glass conservatory filled with the owner’s collection of tropical plants. Photograph via Hotbed. The previous house sustained severe damage in the mudslide.

Above: Under the direction of Mr. Leffingwell, a full-time arborist spent two years pruning more than 250 oak trees and shrubs on the property. “The whole concept is to create gardens within the natural landscape,” says Mr. Leffingwell. “The beautiful twisted oaks, north facing, are reaching for the light.”

Above: Bluestone stairs and English concrete planters “relate to the more natural character of the landscape,” Mr. Leffingwell says.

Above: Sculpture by neighbor Jean Pierre Rives.

Above: Boston ivy on a wall beneath more tropical plantings.

Above: In autumn, the ivy leaves turn bright red.

(Visited 222 times, 1 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation

v5.0