Wabi WildscapingProjects
These are general thoughts and considerations about Wabi’s working methods. For many more photos of finished and unfinished gardens, browse through the gardens section, or scroll to the bottom of this or any page…
My method has always been to take part in the labor of site preparation, and to design in the space while leaning on my shovel.
No Wabi Garden, large or small, has ever been designed sitting at a desk.
Participation of clients is maximized. Clients are encouraged to photograph gardens they resonate with, to imagine potential uses for the space, and to move about in the space, so paths and walls follow natural human movements and not the other way around.
The typical garden installation falls into several discrete stages: Initial soil preparation, construction and hardscaping, irrigation, and finally the planting itself.
These stages may be separated by one or more weeks; this allows for fine-tuning the design as the garden comes into being, and phasing of larger projects to suit clients’ needs.
Wabi designs favor stonework, rebar, lawn replacements (native clumping grasses!), water-efficient, visually stunning habitat for humans and all living beings. We also install greywater systems, moisture-sensing irrigation controllers, and handmade solar lights.
Wabi offers maintenance for the gardens we install locally. We also enjoy maintaining interesting gardens, large and small, from irregular technical pruning visits to weekly maintenance for more densely planted gardens. Wabi Wildscaping proudly cares for some of the Bay Area’s most beautiful and complex private gardens, including the Maybeck Sackhouse Garden, below…
Wabi Wildscaping’s aesthetic ideal is a combination of the Japanese Zen garden and the English Perennial border — vast empty spaces punctuated by explosions of unutterable beauty.