Beauty is in the details

Randy Bergman’s mission was clear: Eliminate much of her lawn. Replace it with plants that use less water. Incorporate a touch of the industrial. And make it look beautiful, giving the former New Yorker a landscape that is imbued with a distinctly Southern Californian spirit.

With the guidance of Elizabeth Low of Elow Landscape Design, architect Anthony Poon of Poon Design and gardener Luis Vasquez, those goals have transformed the Cheviot Hills property. Front and back yards now feel like a personal vision unbound by the conventions of the house’s midcentury architecture or the by-the-numbers succulent palette becoming so popular among converts to drought-tolerant landscaping. Low shopped with Bergman for selections that would yield not only year-round blooms but also distinctive combinations. “The weirder, the better,” Low says with a laugh, adding that the pretty backyard hedge consists of pineapple guava and acacia trees instead of a solid wall of ficus.

By incorporating Bergman’s taste with thoughtful plans for functional spaces, the designers have delivered a tremendous amount of visual impact in a relatively small footprint. For more photos, look for the expanded gallery linked from the Home section’s new blog: www.latimes.com/home.