We called ourselves SOFT STUDIO because we were sick of the toxic, rigid, prescribed culture of the landscape architecture industry — it made us want nothing more than to find a way to stay soft and nimble and curious. Our journey of working together and learning about plants has been joyful and exploratory for the most part. We try our best to stay soft. And what better way to stay soft than by gently tending to your own garden? It’s the best medicine for plant nerds like us.
This is Clementine’s own experimental garden, tucked away into a small corner of North Oakland, near Emeryville. Once a hodge-podge yard filled with foxtails, hard-pan soil, broken glass shards and crumbling concrete pad, it’s now what our California dreams are made of. We’ve cataloged how many species are growing in the garden, and at the moment there are over a hundred.
Other than two existing trees, a Meyer lemon and a Cherry plum, everything in this garden has been replaced. The detached garage was once a moldering, lightless storage shed — now it’s being transformed into an office and workshop space. Once finished, the polycarbonate roof panels will let in ample light for propagating and growing seedlings.
The Cherry plum produces hundreds of yellow-fleshed cherry-sized plums every year. Their skins are especially flavorful, and Clementine likes to make jam out of them.
With the help of a local horticulturist/palm expert, Jason Dewees, we introduced a hardy Guadalupe Palm (Brahea edulis) to provide a major focal point for the planting and anchor the corner of the backyard. Turns out Clementine’s partner had always dreamed of having a palm in the corner of the yard – hence the name, Kkum Namu 꿈나무, which translates as Dream Tree in Korean. The curve of the palm also makes it perfect for hugging!
The rest of the planting combines a healthy mix of California natives with other plants from around the world. Clementine grows comforting edible plants that connect back to her Korean roots, including 깻잎 Perilla frutescens and 쑥갓 Chrysanthemum coronarium.
The hardscaping makes the most of as few materials as possible. Redwood 2”×2”s provide a common material language across the fencing, gates and L-bench, and help tie these elements to the existing redwood deck. In time, they will all weather to the same color.
The pathways are a mix of crushed granite aggregate and reclaimed oyster shells, locally sourced from West Marin Compost. We’ve wanted to experiment with oyster shells as a paving material for a long time, and this project was a perfect opportunity. The chalky gleam of the oyster shells seamlessly complements the white and tan speckle of the crushed granite, and the overall mix provides excellent drainage. In time, the oyster shells themselves will help fertilize the plants and balance the pH of the soil.
There are other fun details as well. The carved stone fountain is another iteration of a design we first produced for Bird Bath. This fountain was inspired by moist California seeps and 옹달샘 so we planted Erythranthe guttata (Seep Monkeyflower) and Anemopsis californica (Yerba Mansa) to mingle around the fountain stone. A movable cast iron fire bowl and a German biergarten table provide natural spaces for outdoor gatherings and dinner parties. And in keeping with the spirit of the planting we sourced the most playful path lights we could think of, custom powder-coated to complement the overall color palette.
The front yard is filled with sculptural moments — lots of Echiums among large, mossy boulders. We will update this post when these Echiums bloom — once they start, these marvelous giants will tower over their surroundings! Most Echiums you see in the San Francisco Bay Area are Echium fastuosum (Pride of Madeira) but here we’ve planted Echium simplex (Tower of Jewels) alongside this California native giant, Heracleum maximum (Cow Parsnip).
We create spaces with living materials and because of that, time and patience are built-in elements of the story. The plants humble you, because even if you try so hard to control them, inevitably you must learn how to let go. They may surprise you with huge blooms and thrive — or struggle with diseases from transplant shock. However, learning how to steward a specific landscape is such a wonderful process, and we hope that our designs can help people learn to experience this for themselves.
Although this garden is filled with drought-tolerant “low” maintenance plants, I (Clementine) constantly find myself kneeling in front of tiny little sprouts and getting my nails dirty. It’s humbling, but also blissful — I can sit still and doze off, listening for the hum of hummingbirds and bumblebees visiting the fountain, taking sips from the water flowing over stone bowl.
Design & Photography by SOFT STUDIO - Clementine. Landscape Construction by BWD Gardens.