Award‑Winning Sausalito Garden: Staircase Choreography & Bay Vistas

Landscape architect Scott Lewis transformed a steep Sausalito hillside—overgrown, two‑unit 1940s ranch remade into a single‑family home—into a sequence of gardens that frame San Francisco Bay views. The 5,400‑sq‑ft site includes a 1,400‑sq‑ft shade garden and 850‑sq‑ft entry garden.

Entry Staircase: From Transit to Experience

The original stair moved people 10 ft down to the house. Lewis enlarged the landing, offset the second flight, and choreographed the path to direct views outward, slow the pace, and usher visitors into a garden courtyard. Every detail mattered in the tight space.

Roof Garden Deck: Structure & Planting

The steep 45° slope was graded, reinforced, and a deck built as a roof garden. Drainage filters through gabions to prevent erosion. Planters (shallow, peripheral) frame the deck with drought‑tolerant Mediterranean plants. A fern‑spine screen (Podocarpus gracilior) adds privacy at low weight. Copper‑infused fiberglass planters on the steps hold giant liriope, continuing the linear language. Kangaroo treebine climbs the Alaskan yellow cedar fence—every screw perfectly spaced, every cut aligned.

Shade Garden: Green Tapestry & Mystery

Floor‑to‑ceiling windows open the house to this garden. Uniform ground‑plane height maintains contemporary aesthetic; varied textures add interest. Multistemmed olive trees (Olea europaea ‘Swan Hill’) punctuate the cover—ornamental, residential scale, beautiful at night. Underlighting lets house light spill out, creating drama. The intimate yard feels compressed until the blue bay expands beyond—a striking juxtaposition.

Street‑Level Fence & Native Slope

Ivy‑covered redwood fence replaced with Alaskan yellow cedar in a random architectural pattern. Fragrant roses and pink jasmine climb; Emerald Green arborvitae rises behind. A California native garden on the steepest slope is left to naturalize without human help.

The garden won the 2014 Northern California Honor Award (ASLA).

Landscape architects: Scott R. Lewis (principal); Ryan Steer (project manager)
Architects: Turnbull Griffin Haesloop
General contractor: Jeff King & Company
Landscape contractor: Bertotti Landscaping