Vibrant Albany Garden: Geometric Design with Tropical Plants and Color-Coordinated Walls

Vibrant Albany Garden: Geometric Design with Tropical Plants and Color-Coordinated Walls

Contractor Mario Trejo's Albany, CA garden draws inspiration from Mexican architect Luis Barragán—minimalist style, strong lines, bright colors. Exterior walls painted "mango chutney" (golden melon), with taupe, dusty purple, and intense red accents.

Bold Geometry

• Squares/rectangles shape three multilevel backyard patios connected by wide stairs.
• Square marble tiles (top), rectangular lawn (middle), four large concrete squares with inlaid stone bands (bottom).
• Angular planting beds flank patios; low block walls serve as art and seating.
• Rectangular fish pond/water garden runs across back fence—focal point from all levels.
• Gridlike fences painted bright red provide see-through screening.

Colorful Plants

Subtropical plants with distinctive forms/textures/colors harmonize with paint: Colocasia, Delostoma roseum, Heliconia, Tibouchina organensis. Bold leaves in bronze, blue, greens play off feathery textures; blooms in golds, reds occur year-round. Late-season stars: Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi', Justicia brandegeeana, kangaroo paw.

Backyard Retreat

Tall fences, lush water garden, low walls create a world away from urban scene. Trejo meditates daily on a seat wall by the pond: "It fills me. I was looking for peace and harmony, and that's what this is."

Lessons

• Stick to a single color palette for house and garden—sets mood, unifies spaces.
• Cluster containers carefully—pots combine by shape, size, color; filled with same plants as beds.
• Plant in groups/drifts—mass plants for substantial presence, avoid confetti look.

Info: David Feix Landscape Design, Berkeley (510/472-2702); Trejo's Design, Albany, CA (510/418-0823).