Landscape architect Patricia Benner’s Stinson Beach, California, garden is a beautiful experiment. “Gardening is my weekend hobby, and the site was certainly a gorgeous place to ply my craft!” she says. The founder and design principal of Los Angeles- and San Francisco-based Benner Reibel Landscape Architects is known for her edited, classically inspired landscapes, like this immersive backyard in L.A.
Her work also celebrates the spirit of place. In fact, she conceived landscape plans for all the New California Classics home designs (an initiative created by the nonprofit Save Iconic Architecture and members of the Design Leadership Network to preserve Southern California’s architectural heritage in the wake of January 2025’s wildfires). Learn more about the guidebook and see Benner’s old Hollywood-inspired courtyard in VERANDA’s first-ever Virtual Show House.
For her own cottage, set within Golden Gate National Recreation Area and near Point Reyes National Seashore, Benner channeled the laid-back culture of her rugged coastal community. “I approached this garden as my ‘lab’: trying out plants I’d not tried before, experimenting with color and texture, moving things around as it suited me and as I added new plants to the mix,” she says. “For much of the planting, aside from some established trees, the garden was tabula rasa to begin with. It was a big undertaking, but I had a blast (and some assistance on the heavy lifting)!” she says.
Here, Benner shares five lessons from her experimental gardening approach.
Marion Brenner
Don’t rush it.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Benner’s garden. Contrary to how she typically works with clients, she didn’t begin with a landscape plan—but she had a clear vision in mind. “My approach was very ad hoc, but my intent was to create a California cottage garden that provided me with flowers to fill the house with,” she says. “I’m normally more restrained in clients’ gardens and focus more on low-maintenance planting, unless asked for lots of perennials.”
She reserved her off days for chipping away on her own property. “In a given weekend, I’d focus on a certain area of the garden, head to the nursery to pick out the plant palette, and dive in. As I moved around the garden, I created new moments but always wove them into the overall thematic fabric of what I was creating.”
Marion Brenner
Shop your local nursery.
Benner’s laid-back approach included her plant choices, which often depended on what was available at her nearby garden center. “The selection of plants was, at times, driven by what was available in the local nursery on a given weekend. Of course, there were times when I ordered certain plants that I wanted to try and also to repeat more masses of what I’d already planted,” she says. “However, my ‘what’s at the nursery’ approach pushed me to try some plants I might not have. There were many happy surprises!”
Benner experimented with a mix of hardy natives, like Yankee Point Ceanothus (an evergreen ground cover), Australian fuchsia, and flowering bush anemone; drought-tolerant plants including yarrow, Russian sage, and lavender; and English cottage garden favorites such as roses (mostly David Austin varieties), salvias, and Oakleaf and Annabelle hydrangeas. She adds, “I even tucked some veggies and herbs into the beds: snap peas, artichokes, chives, and rosemary.”
Marion Brenner
Get serious about irrigation.
A plant-specific irrigation system allowed Benner to play with diverse species and help them thrive. “I was able to combine natives, drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants suitable to the Bay area, and medium- and high-water cottage garden perennials very successfully,” she says.
Benner admits the elaborate system was time-consuming for the average garden—but proved to be a worthy investment. Main drip irrigation lines were threaded throughout the garden. “Then individual drip lines to each plant were sized for the amount of water required for low, medium, and high water plants, respectively,” she says. “Therefore, a low-water plant could thrive in a bed with medium-water plants; thus I was able to achieve a mix.”
Marion Brenner
Design immersive moments.
The garden’s existing gravel pathways—lined with small sculptural trees, alternating shrub masses, and flowering vignettes—lead one’s eye to peaceful clearings nestled along the way. “I added my favorite garden furnishings to provide seating in the clearings and in view spots and shaded areas,” Benner says. At the top of the garden, a Munder Skiles Swan Chair and Ottoman is her perch for reading with an ocean view. Munder Skiles Bubble chairs are a whimsical respite beside the rose garden and the old fountain now filled with strawberry plants. A shaded picnic table welcomes outdoor entertaining.
Marion Brenner
Don’t be afraid to go off script.
“The process certainly taught me to think outside the box,” says Benner. “Enjoy the fun of creating something spontaneous, like Mother Nature does!”
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