Montecito Dog Friendly Oasis

To start, this is one of my favorite gardens I have ever created for many reasons. The client and I were in sync on our love of Nature and working with her not against her.

On my first visit to this beautiful property I was presented with several challenges. The new owner, who is an animal rescue advocate, needed to contain her dogs within the property. This wouldn’t normally be a problem. But when the dogs weigh close to 200 pounds each and when standing on hind legs are over 8 feet tall, we needed to rethink “normal”.

The second issue was lack of privacy from the street above so much so that she couldn’t open her living and dining room curtains. That is not ideal under any circumstances.

The privacy and dog problem resulted in a bright idea; the construction of a second entry. We located a beautiful antique gate and mounted it on a frame which along with being an added aesthetic, it gave the client instant privacy from the street and an extra layer of security. People walking by can’t see past the solid door and the client can’t see the passers-by. Plus, it is beautiful!

The other issue was that the most of the property was lawn and besides being a waste of water, it was ugly! We needed a tiny patch of green for the dogs, but other than that, we removed the rest of the lawns. Instead we planted herbs, fruit trees, sages, lavender and tons of year-round color.

The other challenge was creating an entirely non-toxic garden for the sake of the dogs and for the owners! Which was a fun thing to do. Besides planting walking path through a new orchard, we planted edible trees everywhere. We created a “tea garden” so the client could literally peruse the gardens with a teapot picking flowers, leaves and fruit and brew a delightful herbal beverage. Alpine strawberries and culinary herbs planted along the edge of the courtyard wall for easy access from the kitchen and dining area.

The other addition to the garden was a fire pit which we constructed from an antique French Limestone bowl and a flagstone courtyard large enough to accommodate a grill and dining table.

The garden is filled with a variety of destinations; we even discovered an ocean view and created a special place to enjoy it. One of my favorite spots was a little forest surrounded by conifers and deciduous trees. The addition of a vintage Buddha completes the space as an oasis and place of peace and joy.