Diana Stratton Design Sunset Western Garden Design Award

Sunset Western Garden Design Award

Back to Achievements | Back to Portfolio

15 Best Gardens Winners of our Garden Design Awards Offer a Host of Fresh Landscaping Ideas (March 2005 Issue)
by Lauren Bonar Swezey
Photographs by Saxon Holt

"Last spring, seven landscape professionals gathered at Sunset's headquarters to select the very best examples of Western garden design from nearly 200 entries.They looked for excellence in five categories: renovation, outdoor living, regional, small space, and details (watch for that category in a future issue). No matter where in the West you live, the 15 winning landscapes offer a host of ideas to inspire your own garden's design."

wide kitchen terrace Natural Wonder Where Created and Creation Merge
by Lauren Bonar Swezey

"Geyserville, CA. This garden above Northern California's Russian River Valley flows seamlessly into its surroundings. As one juror pointed out, "There's no conflict between garden and nature." It wasn't always this way. Before the renovation, a fence enclosed the garden, cutting off views, and a thirsty lawn grew too close to the native oaks.

Landscape designers Diana Stratton and Brian Columbia removed the fence to open up views, then created terraces supported by retaining walls of local fieldstone.In place of lawn, Stratton planted
native creeping red fescue grass; drifts of 'Thalia' daffodil bloom beneath the oaks. Both need very little water."

kitchen terrace flower tree