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HOLLYWOOD HILLS LANDSCAPING

This landscaping project was done on a very unique property in the Hollywood Hills.  When I first arrived, right after the client had moved in, two things struck me about it.  Looking at a map of the area it was radically different in its size when compared with the surrounding properties at well over an acre.  For a Hollywood property, up in the hills, this is not very common.  The other notable point was the overall rustic look.

The new owner wanted to keep the rustic look and enlarge on it.  For instance, natural sections of tree trunk were used to create stairs surrounded by Creeping Red Fescue sod (sometimes colloquially referred to as floppy grass or no-mow) on one hillside area.  This area is near the kid’s tree house and they have been known to find pieces of cardboard or anything else available to slide down the grassy hillside.  It is a popular place for birthday parties.

In the upper area, there are spectacular views of both the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Park Observatory, not to mention the rest of the Hollywood hills.  More stairs were added to get access to this area.

The biggest challenge was to create a true sense of privacy for all the living spaces including the main house, the swimming pool and all the patios.  Lots and lots of trees have been planted around the perimeter, both inside and outside the fencing along with strategically located larger shrubs.  Most of the screening has been achieved and with a little more growing time, it should be a total success.

This property has quite a few unique features.  There are things like an outdoor fireplace covered mostly with vines, a swimming pool surrounded completely with lawn and shrubbery – the lawn serving as a patio when needed (this is usually done more in Europe), grape vines covering much of the hillside area (with some really tasty grapes), several gravel and natural dirt paths meandering through gardens – some completely hidden from view until you stumble onto them with dense tree cover overhead and a main house that is almost completely covered with a variety of vines – some with fall color and some that flower.

The outdoor lighting creates a different look to the landscape at night.  The overall feedback from numerous guests that have visited is that the place has a stunning garden quality about it.  It is literally a hidden oasis of green and flowers 5 minutes from downtown Hollywood.

Bruce Larsen
Larsen Landscape
Simi Valley, CA