The homeowners longed for a European-style garden, like the ones they toured on their vacations to France; complete with crunchy gravel pathways, boxwood-edged parterres, and colorful Mediterranean plantings.

However, what they had was an unused twelve-foot wide driveway that ran the length of the street to the very back of the property. That, combined with a rarely used and half-dead lawn, lack of privacy from the street and neighbors, and no overhead shade made this project an exciting challenge.

The solution was to replace the driveway with a wide and curving cobblestone pathway, bordered with lush plants, leading to two separate covered patios.

The former lawn now consists of gravel pathways that surround Boxleaf euonymus parterres overflowing with ‘Iceberg’ roses and lavender, and bordered with plenty of Mediterranean plants and succulents.