When Molly Sedlacek, the principal designer and founder of landscape design firm ORCA initially toured her clients’ Long Beach property, the Cliff May house had been lovingly renovated, but there wasn’t much in the way of a garden. “It was very lackluster when I first showed up,” she remembers. “They just had no interaction with their garden.”
The clients wanted a place to cook and dine outside, a stretch of grass for their young child, and a seating area, all in a relatively small space. Living on a busy street, the clients also craved additional privacy. Sedlacek’s immediate instinct was that the pool had to go. “It was so close to the house, it made you feel like you were falling into a pool,” she remembers. “It was very unusable.” But her clients were hesitant.
Above: After demoing the pool, Sedlacek embraced some of the grade change left by its absence, creating a new sunken garden (by 14 inches), which both circumvented the need to bring back earth to build that grade back and created additional privacy.
Sedlacek persisted, and her clients came around to her vision of a more functional outdoor space. They would remove the pool and create a sunken garden that would contain a fire pit area, a small patch of no-mow fescue, and an outdoor kitchen and dining room. They’d surround the whole yard with plants for the natural look they craved and add more privacy to the space. Read on to learn how they did it.
Photography by Justin Chung for ORCA.
Merge the outdoors with the inside.
Above: ORCA’s Worn Clay pavers in Ash create a boardwalk around the exterior of the house. Sedlacek planted several Shoestring acacias in the yard (Acacia stenophylla), including the one in the foreground here. “They’re so soft and airy that they don’t take up a lot of visual space,” says Sedlacek.
Sedlacek proposed creating a brick porch level with the interior floors to wrap the house. “I really like to extend the interior floor out into the garden, so, when they have their doors open, it doesn’t feel like there’s a level change or that you have to enter the garden immediately,” says Sedlacek. The effect is almost like an extension of the interior space.
Create privacy with plants.
Above: In lieu of the pool, there’s now a firerpit area, patch of grass, and outdoor dining/kitchen space.
To address the clients’ desire for additional privacy, ORCA planted a hedge on the outside of the existing cinder block wall that will eventually grow higher than the wall. “We also went pretty heavy into planting tree canopies to almost feel a little bit more forested when you’re sitting in the dining area,” explains Molly. Elsewhere, she used planters to boost plants up. “Placing raised planters behind seating is a really good trick to create taller, more dramatic tree effects,” she adds.
The yard initially had no trees, but even in a small space, Sedlacek likes to plant as many trees as possible. Here the trees are olives (a nod to Cliff May, the home’s architect) and three varieties of acacia (knife leaf, shoestring, and pearl). “The client really wanted movement with the trees, so both the shoestring acacia and the olives serve that purpose,” says Molly. Because she wanted to create an immediate canopy, she purchased trees that were on the larger side (in 36-inch boxes), but because acacia grows so quickly Sedlacek didn’t feel the need to go any bigger.
Incorporate furniture into the hardscape.
Above: The outdoor kitchen is clad in ORCA Worn Clay pavers in Ash; the dining table and bench were made by Angel City Lumber, a frequent ORCA collaborator.
The dining area is an example of what Sedlacek calls “integrated hardscape.” She used her company’s own clay bricks to create the benches and walls around the dining area, leaving the brick’s profile exposed for a more substantial look. “We’re letting the profile be kind of proud in this space and take up a little bit more visual weight,” notes Sedlacek. This was achieved by building up a cinder block base that the bricks are mortar-set to. The flooring is all sand-set to ensure that the hardscape stays permeable.
Above: The fire pit construction is another example of “integrated hardscape.” Chunk block eucalyptus push up against a steel retaining wall to hold back that planting bed behind it while creating the fire pit seating. The eucalyptus for the benches was sourced from Angel City Lumber. The firepit is from Paloform.
Make over an ugly wall.
Above: The creeping fig climbing the newly painted wall will eventually cover much of it.
The cinder block wall surrounding the garden was in good shape and acted as an effective sound barrier, so Sedlacek thought, “Let’s use it as the canvas.” She had it painted a deep green (Benjamin Moore’s Dakota Woods Green) in a matte finish. Then she planted creeping fig on both the street side and house side, softening the visual impact of the cinder block further.
Create a calm palette.
Above: Silver blues and greens dominate the plantings.
The clients told Sedlacek they wanted “no color” in the garden, a refrain Sedlacek has heard from other clients before. Sedlacek says, “I think what people are wanting when they say that is they want a sense of calmness in the garden,” says Sedlacek. “Nature is color, so it’s more a question of how do you control the color?” Sedlacek narrowed the foliage palette to silver blue tones and greens. The hardscape materials are likewise unsaturated: gray brick, wood that will gray with time, gray steel edging, and silver-toned hardware.
One plant that was key to the design is the licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolare). “I’m always excited about [licorice plant] because it’s an unsung hero,” says Sedlacek. “It can cascade over edges, so it’ll soften everything.” Sedlacek notes that you need to shape this plant or else it becomes a big, round puff. Prune it from the top to keep it low.
Master the materials mix.
Above: No-mow fescue sod, boulder steps, clay pavers, steel retaining wall and decomposed granite all meet in this entrance to the lawn area.
Sedalek mixes materials deftly in her designs, but she says she is especially conscious to mix experiences underfoot. Here, she used different materials to create three “rooms” within the main outdoor space. “It seems counterintuitive,” she adds. “You might think that things would feel bigger in one material, but then you lose that opportunity to have all of the textures and the plants come through.”
Explore turf grass alternatives.
Above: This patch of fescue will eventually require no watering.
The homeowners wanted to be able to come out barefoot and come down to the grass and have a picnic, so Sedlacek designed a small patch of no-mow fescue between the dining and firepit areas. It was installed as a sod because Sedlacek says she sees better acceptance and clients like the instant gratification. While it will need irrigation for the first couple years, it can be weaned off eventually.
Ed note: This property escaped the recent wildfires unscathed, but many of ORCA’s other recent projects were lost. As Sedlacek has begun conversations about rebuilding with her clients, she says she is thinking about how gardens can be protective and help us in the future.
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