Old World Elegance

robert s thomas in Castro Valley, CA

My yard is divided into five different "garden rooms" with an overall Arts & Crafts style: A Mediterranean garden, a formal rose garden, a traditional English mixed border, and an Italian garden. There is also an adjacent work area. Throughout the garden are strategically placed garden ornaments and architectural features that I have hand made especially for the garden. These features reflect Renaissance, Arts & Crafts and Baroque periods. They are made of natural materials including lava rock, beach pebbles, cut terra cotta and other materials. Ornaments include obelisks, fountains, madonnella, pebble mosaic pavement and pottery.

Back Yard Driveway Fence Flower Close-ups Front Yard Garden Hardscape Large (5,000 - 10,000 sq ft.) Lawn Path / Walkway Patio Side Yard Stone / Rock Water-Wise

1 of 6: Rocaille wall and fountain made of lava rock, marble, cut terra cotta tile, shells and terra cotta masks. This was hand made by me, as were all of the other mosaics and ornaments in the yard. You can see my work at: renaissancemosaicinspirations.com

2 of 6: Pebble mosaic pavement of beach pebbles.

3 of 6: Front yard and driveway. Shown are a renaissance style obelisk of lava rock, shells and ceramic tile, and a pot folly made of stacked and glued terra cotta pottery.

4 of 6: Side rose garden with trellis and pebble mosaic pavement. On the left are espaliered fruit trees against the house.

5 of 6: 1/2 the back yard: English style mixed borders. Against the back is a lava rock, ceramic tile and seashell obelisk. This part of the garden is always a work in progress and needing attention.

6 of 6: 1/2 back yard Italian garden area, with formal boxwood beds, climbing roses and Mediterranean perennials. Patio is standard concrete pavers with pebble mosaic inserts. Short wall along fence is made of chipped mortar-less blocks with creeping rosemary, creeping cottoneaster and assorted crevice plants form Annies Annuals on and among them.

Comments / Questions

Welcome to YardShare my fellow Castro Valley-an! Love your yard and I'm a big fan of the pebble mosaic walkway you put in. What a great accent. Thanks for sharing!

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