Designing with Nature in Mill Valley: A Japanese-Inspired Garden

Gardening with Nature

Richard Ward fell in love with Japanese gardening after moving from NYC to Mill Valley. He built a raked-gravel pond over an old concrete patio, with a crushed-granite stream winding to it. Boulders up to 500 lbs were carefully positioned and partially buried. He planted lippia at the pond edge, 50-year-old bonsai-like cypress, Japanese maple, and pine, then filled in with small-leafed boxwood, eugenia, and Kurume azaleas—"Using small-leafed plants makes the space seem larger." Plants are watered by hand for interaction and monitoring, and Ward constantly trims to keep them shapely.

Designer: Richard Ward, Mill Valley (415/388-9273)