Urban Landscapes

Here are some examples of my work with urban landscapes. To see more, please contact me.

Much of wild California is a bountiful garden. An amazing cornucopia of flora and fauna have evolved together for thousands of years. It still amazes me how quickly the hummingbird will find the California fuchsia and red salvia. The beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail will grace your garden as soon as a Dutchman's Pipevine is planted.

Native plants and edible fruits flourish in this hot sunny garden in San Anselmo. A concrete walk  curves dramatically from the gate to the front entrance of the house. 

Many of my garden walls are built with the ‘urbanite’ shown here - recycled concrete sidewalks broken up and stained brown with iron oxide.

Wildflowers function as cover crops until the slow-growing natives can take hold, and they attract butterflies, hummingbirds, quail & other wildlife.

A well-placed bench offers a place to stop and enjoy the beauty of your garden.

"Bridget designed a pool and garden for us nearly ten years ago, and it's just gotten better each year. During the process there were times I thought I knew better and wanted something different than what she advised, but in each case Bridget turned out to be right. She's got a visionary touch and steered us gently in the right directions."
~ Timothy O'Reilly

"About a year and a half ago, I moved into a house on a busy street in Palo Alto. The back yard, though graced by an old bay tree, was dirt and concrete, passed up by all but the scrub jays.

Under the direction of architect Bridget Brewer, we set out to make the backyard into a bird-friendly habitat. We planted berry-growing scrubs like the Toyon to attract thrushes, mockingbirds and others. Hummingbirds were offered a nice variety of flowering plants such as fuscia and honeysuckle. A sunken pump created a circulating stream of water that flowed in nooks and pools over a large boulder. The garden now sings from morning til night."
~ Daniel Schneider, Christian Science Monitor

 

As a founding member of the Urban Creeks Council, I received a small grant from the Department of Water Resources to restore the walls of Glen Echo Creek in Oakland.

Urbanite was collected from demolition sites and dry-stacked (no mortar was used) for the walls and creek floor.

Snowberry, ferns, and physocarpus were planted between the stones to help hold the urbanite in place. The plants and rough texture of the walls also help slow the flow of water without blocking it.

This abandoned 1920s creek side garden came to life when the banks were cleared of ivy and acacia and a variety of new species were introduced.

Shade natives were planted on the banks of the creek and the sunny cottage garden gradually flourished in a bounty of old roses, honeysuckle, clematis, lemon and apple trees.