Steve Martino is arguably one of the most exciting (IMO) landscape designers currently working. Even though he works in a climate that's nearly the polar opposite of mine (Arizona — and I am in New England), he is on my shortlist of colleagues that I study for inspiration and ideas. This project makes me want to pick up and move southwest — to a deserted grocery store.
The client wanted to leave the suburbs for a more urban lifestyle, and when she found this dilapidated grocery store and adjacent bungalow she decided an adaptive re-use of the structures was a great sustainable solution.
She needed studio space, as an interior designer, and Steve Martino helped her create a live-work compound of courtyards that use native plants throughout.
I'm slightly obsessed with the breeze block walls and really want to get comfortable with doing this myself — both for use in retaining walls and for making simple geometric features like reflecting pools. The construction is relatively straightforward and doable for DIY.
The second bit of inspiration I personally take from this garden is the colors, specifically how the art and the finishes and the plants all take cues from each other and work so well together.
What inspires you from this project?
Take a peek at this project page on Land8lounge, as well as on Steve's website, to view more of the garden.
(Images: Steve Martino and land8lounge)
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Very cool! Makes me want to leave NYC for AZ!
A very apropos story for the desert: The desert, like this abandoned store, may seem "dead" but with just a little creativity raining down, it blooms! Love everything about it!
I just came back from New Mexico and I fell in love with the Southwest! This is my dream right here!
I like that the design is "accessible" by the layman. It's also a nice repurpose and reuse of existing structures. Maybe the idea will take hold in blighted urban areas, where cinder block walls and shells of buildings are useless eyesores?
I love this conversion,but I wouldnt live in arizona for free.
While I love the placement of those golden barrel cacti near the fountain, I can only imagine the pain of inadvertently walking into one....
I knew right away that this was Arizona. I'm with JohnCB...I wouldn't live their either but I thought IS....THAT....THE....SAME....PLACE???? When I saw the after. Wow...
Nice. I wish, though, that after pictures should be taken from the exact same point of view as the befores. THEN, you can add all the other photos to round the presentation out.
I was born and raised in AZ. I've lived in NY for 11 years now. Those before photos remind me of how HOT it is there. My brain starts to fry just by looking at them. It reminds me of how carefully you have to watch out for the hot seat belt every time you get in your car...and how we used to dare each other to walk barefoot on the sidewalk in summer.
The landscaping job really is gorgeous though.
Very, very nice, not to mention sustainable
The more native plants, the better, IMO. My native eastern cactus & succulent 'flower' bed in front survived last summer's drought with no watering--a fact not wasted on my hose-wielding neighbors, who were overheard saying, "Maybe we should all plant cactus! She's got the only healthy plants on the block!"
Keeps the dear neighborhood children from crashing thru after their soccer balls, too.
Brilliant! The After looks like a posh hotel in Austin or Palm Springs. (Though I'm with the posters who would never live in Arizona... Steve Martino is a stronger person than I.)
It's great to see the use of native plants, instead of putting in a lawn (yes, people actually do that in Arizona). Although Phoenix has plentiful water in the aquifer beneath it, water is and will be an issue in the West and Southwest so it's better to conserve it. When I lived in Denver (which is also dry), people had to rotate which days they could water lawns to save water - it wasn't pretty.
I also love the idea of repurposing older buildings - the results are fabulous.
Brilliant!
I like that the designer used natives.
Wonderful transformation - floor plans would go a long way to making sense of it...
What are those cool trees with the stripey green trunks? Gorgeous design.
I believe those are palo verde trees.
I lived in the Southwest more than a decade ago. Left partly because of the heat. Have lived in London for 13 years. Be careful what you wish for. My God, it looks glorious.
i love this. i have a friend who threatens to 'pave it and paint it green' will be sending her this link. [and we're mid atlantic]!
This is indeed a beautiful reno of two existing buildings, and while the before looked hot and dusty and dry, not a pleasant place to be, but the after looks MUCH cooler, serene and just beautiful.
What I take away from this is not only how they treated the landscaping (and not to mention the hardscaping to), but how they mixed colors, brilliant chartreuse, coral orange, brilliant greens, yellows and the like, oh, and magenta amongst other colors to create a riot of color, a way to bring fun and a sense of cooling to the otherwise potentially hot space.
Nicely done.
Aah-amazing. Now I can die and go to heaven.
Very nice but you couldn't give me Arizona....the great PacificNorthWest is the best place to live. How does one live without trees and green grass?
How nice to see something from here in Phoenix. What a beautiful transformation! Yes, the summers here are hot, but the rest of the year is amazing. I wouldn't trade that for the slush and snow and dreariness that I've endured elsewhere. And, contrary to popular belief, we do have lots of trees and grass here.
I love that mossy effect happening on the trees. But you really love cinder block walls? The painted portion is cool, but the rest are kind of....meh.
I really do like this, but I'm not sure I'm blown away by it. Maybe it's because I live in the west and we have some really amazing landscape architects, but this seems like pretty standard work. BEAUTIFUL, but standard.
I think it's beautiful and I love the dessert. I do think those barrel cactus look a bit exposed - usually try to put the more painful plants behind some rocks so people and pets don't spike themselves... I've had to pull some stickers out of my cat before, not a great experience for either of us.
Very nice, and nothing like what I will ever have in my future garden (in Newfoundland...no cacti here!)
Really nice!
@rosecraft,
Me too! :-)
Otherwise, it's beautiful. Lucky the client who lives and works there.
rosekraft, I did a semester in Arizona (Tucson, not Phoenix), and the place I was renting in had a garden made up of nothing but rocks and cacti (including golden barrels, prickly pears... a lot of prickly pears... saguaro, and even a cholla). You learn VERY quickly to avoid them!
That looks great. I'd love to see it in person some time.
While you still see quite a bit of grass in the city of Phoenix, in Tucson where I live we have a predominance of xeriscaping. My neighborhood not only requires desert-appropriate planting, but we are also part of the Dark Skies Coalition, designed to reduce light pollution.
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/dark-skies-bright-future
WOW!!! I had to keep picking up my jaw from the floor while reading this example. My first thought was this is not the same space. Love, love,love it.
Love the idea of the reuse of existing structures and those lovely native plants, especially those breathtaking trees. Not a fan of hot places, but this is beautiful.
All those concrete blocks & cacti- it could be MY backyard in New Mexico! I've got all the obligatory NM native plants- chamisa, sage, cacti, tumbleweeds...! I've even got the coyote fence, rocks, & the incredible mountain view kissed by rosy sunsets! Except MY backyard isn't nearly as beautifully laid out as this one! Excellent job!!! Dry drought prone climates are a challenge. But beauty can be found anywhere. Would love to sit out back there in the evening & watch the sunsets.
LOVELY! Great imagination and design. www.peacefulones.blogspot.com
I absolutely love it, especially after being in 3 weeks of cold, gray, and snowy New England! Nice work.
...I'm speechless!
The transformation is incredible--kudos to your vision and to a sustainable lifestyle. If only we could all stop with the lawns especially in dry parts of the world. (so much more interesting!) Happy Nesting.
Absolutely stunning!! I can easily imagine starting my morning and ending my day in such a lovely space. If only! (Big sigh) Such a brilliant transformation. Agree completely with k2yhe, would be wonderful if urban areas everywhere could get inspiration from this.