Plant a Japanese Garden in Your Backyard

Mark Dizik and John Oden live in a beautiful Spanish-style house near the mountains. Built in 1929, the house has stunning architectural details including beamed ceilings, expansive windows and a winding staircase. Although the inside has a wonderful and warm atmosphere, the outside needs help.

After

After

Before

There's a beautiful yard, pool and small greenhouse, but near the greenhouse, the landscape is an open expanse of weeds and dirt. Dizik and Oden would like to capture the magic of the East and create a Japanese garden in their backyard.

Each designer presents his plan. Chuck Carr proposes a traditional Japanese garden dominated by a meandering path. Tom Poplin envisions a mountain meadow as the new landscape. Mark Beall presents a distinct but connected space that blends nicely with the existing yard.

After a week of reviewing the plans, Dizik and Oden select Beall's plan, and the large patch of land becomes a Japanese strolling garden, complete with an oasis of rushing water and lush vegetation. An area that was once an open patch of weeds and dirt is now an impressive garden that blends effortlessly with the existing landscape.

Resources

• Products

  • Bridge from Yardstuf
  • Chairs from Baldwin Lawn Funiture
  • Landscape lighting from Nightscaping
  • Waterfalls, streams and pond supplies and equipment from California Waterscapes
  • Sitting stones from Rosemead Gardens Inc.

• Guests

  • Mark Beall
    Landscape Architect
    Mark Beall + Associates
    4011 Garden Ave.
    Los Angeles, CA 90039
    Phone: 323-662-8252
    Fax: 323-662-9252
    Email: mba-la@pacbell.net
    URL: www.mbeall.com
    
  • Chuck Carr
    Landscape Designer
    Carr Landscape Management, Inc.
    Website: www.carrlandscape.com
    
  • Brian Diamond
    Landscape Contractor
    Native Designs Landscape
    5431 Radford Ave.
    Valley Village, CA 91607
    Phone: 818-509-9573
    Fax: 818-509-8569
    Email: brian_diamond@msn.com
    
  • Tom Poplin
    Landscape Contractor and Designer
    Horizon Landscaping
    1495 E. Woodbury Rd.
    Pasadena, CA 91104
    Phone: 626-285-8000
    Fax: 626-794-1384