APLD ~ APLD Members ~ Member of the Month

APLD Members ~ Member of the Month

Patricia St. John, APLD
Featured Member, APLD Website, December 2007

Striving to create a garden that complements the architecture of the home, and is in keeping with it’s surroundings and the wishes of the homeowner is a challenge. Living and designing in the very diverse San Francisco Bay Area has meant exploring and blending many different aesthetics, cultures, hardscape options and a wide range of plants.

The gardens that I have found the most exciting to work on have a predominantly Pacific Rim influence. They have integrated garden and home in a way that enriches and expands the total living space.

Here are examples of two gardens that have benefited from the influence of an Asian aesthetic. The first was created at the request of the homeowner who had just completed an extensive remodel of his home, in Berkeley, with echoes of Japan. Among other things, he has placed large ceiling beams at transitional points connected with beautiful Japanese joinery. He had also built several interior doors reminiscent of shoji screens.

So in the front garden, I used bold, spare curves, pebbles for mulch and crisp edges where the type of pebble changed. The color in the garden, both front and back, is derived from the foliage, not flowers. And the backyard honors and focuses on a 50 year old Japanese maple. Every other design element and planting is in service to the maple.

This transitional image of bamboo (clumping Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’) and the Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’) reflects a simplicity that is restful and soothing. I think that is one of the reasons I love my Pacific Rim, or Asian gardens: they are tranquil, have an understated beauty, and are simple, graceful vignettes.

This second garden has just been installed. The homeowners lived for many years in Japan. The Japanese gardens meant a lot to them, and they wanted their new garden to reflect the beauty and simplicity they had experienced in Japan.

Stone was very important to them, so we chose the stone and the plants to complement each other. We placed them in niches in the garden taking great care to establish a relationship between the two. Just as each plant has it’s unique character and contribution, each rock has its own story. It was up to the homeowners and myself to discover just the right combination. It was a wonderfully satisfying collaboration.

About the Designer…

Patricia St. John has been designing gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area of California for the past 10 years. The essence of her business is creating gardens that uplift the spirit and inspire joy and reconnection with the natural world.

Patricia St. John, APLD With an associate degree in ornamental horticulture from Foothill College, certification as a professional landscape designer through APLD since 2001, and further recognition as a California Certified Nursery Professional, she is well equipped to design a garden drawing on the diverse palette of this area.

In 2002 she received 1st place in the APLD Landscape Design Awards program and received another design award in the 2006 competition. Several of her gardens have been on garden tours including one on the ‘Bay Friendly’ garden tour this past spring.

Being a part of the community is important to her. She has served on the boards of Gamble Garden, the Western Horticultural Society, the Berkeley Garden Club and currently serves on the APLD international board.

She also teaches in the landscape horticultural department at Merritt College in Oakland. In addition she gives workshops on various garden design topics to various organizations in the Bay Area.

Certified Members seeking to be profiled should send before and after photos with SHORT design intent statement to:

Bethany Dennis
APLD Communications Manager
Email: communications@apld.org
Phone: 717-238-9780

* PHOTOS SHOULD BE CLEAR COLOR PRINTS OR JPEG COMPRESSED FILES