Living in a older neighborhood that has become trendy has its good and bad points. We have lots of yummy new fun chef owned restaurants and little markets that are walkable. What I find difficult is watching them tear down old bungalows and putting up huge homes with tiny gardens or worse split the lots. Some of the old bungalows were beyond saving so it is understandable and progress can be a good thing if you are careful to not loose the charm of a place. Sadly often it is builders who don’t even live in the area thrown up as many houses as they can purely to make a profit.

This is not the case with the home we toured. It is custom built by the homeowners with attention to every detail. The house is two story with a lovely nod to Arts and Craft style. The private garden space is along the side with a  beautiful pool. When you enter into the pool area straight away you notice the large doors that are pulled back to expose the kitchen and dining room…complete indoor outdoor living. There is no lawn anywhere on the property. The front garden is made up of beds separated by cement paths. The plantings are loose, free form, cottage style with a variety of bee and butterfly attracting plants. There is a little seating nook, a lovely front porch and beautiful containers full of colorful plants. Throughout the garden and home are a wonderful collection of paintings (done by one of the homeowners), sculptures and art pieces. The combination of great architectural design mixed with art and gardens was so exciting!

Let’s begin the tour!

The day we were there was quite bright and it was hard to capture in photos how lovey this garden is in real life. There were several varieties of butterflies and quite a lot of native bees. Just down the block is a big yard with bee hives and the bees love to come to this front garden and have a feast.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!