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Landscaping and Irrigation

Hardscape

The upper driveway and two patios are surfaced in Calstone Quarrystone Tuscan Gold pavers to contrast with the red cedar shingles. The light colored pavers reduce the heat island effect in the courtyard. A matching stone for the retaining walls was found from Vietnam at Nam Industries. The lower driveway is asphalt paving as required by the ASCC and Westridge Architectural Committee.

The deck surface is 2x6 redwood screwed down from underneath, and finished in Olympic Maximum Redwood to retain the natural red color. The curved railing is made of copper balusters with a laminated clear heart redwood rail. The rail is covered in epoxy and fiberglass and then finished with Interlux Perfection LPU for longevity.

Fence and Gate

The fencing at the front of the property is Carolina #403 from Ideal Aluminum Products. Aluminum never rusts and has sufficient strength to keep the deer out and the kids in. Gate Depot in Sonoma delivered the powder-coated gate. The Viking X-9 operator is about the fastest and most reliable in the industry. It is powered from the subpanel in the guesthouse with a shutoff switch in the east crawlspace, as well as having a battery backup. An exit loop buried at the top of the paved portion of the driveway automatically opens the gate for vehicles leaving, and two loops buried on either side of the gate provide safety in case a car stalls out by the gate. The gate keypad near the bottom of the driveway is connected to the doorbell module of the Whole House Audio system. The gate and three garage door operators are controlled by LiftMaster 374LM four button remotes.

Irrigation and Plants

In keeping with Portola Valley guidelines, the landscaping contains primarily native plants or drought tolerant plants. An irrigation system provides seven different zones to match the needs of the different types of plants.

The irrigation shutoff valve and Weathermatic Smartline SL1600 controller are located outside the northwest corner of the garage. After going through the shutoff, the irrigation water flows through a Febco 825Y Reduced Pressure Backflow Preventer and then to three manifolds--one on the west side of the garage for zones 1 and 2; and two in the north-west corner of the lawn by the driveway retaining wall for the other zones. The drip zones (1, 2, 6, and 7) all have control valves, filters, pressure regulators, and then 1/2 GPM pressure compensating drippers on 5/8" hose. The plants and watering zones are:

  1. Front Door: The front door is surrounded by Gardenia augusta Veitchii, Buxus japonica Green Beauty, Hydrangia macrophylla Todi, and Aucuba japonica. The controller waters these plants three times twenty minutes per week through the 1/2 GPM pressure compensating drippers.
  2. Guesthouse: The plants in front of the guesthouse include Lavandula dentata Goodwin, Lavandula stoechas Otto Quast, a Meyer lemon, a Bears lemon, and a Bougainvillea San Diego Red. To the west of the guesthouse are Salvia leucanthan, Rosmarinus, Bougainvillea San Diego Red, Lavandula dentata Goodwin, Heteromeles arbutifolia, Arctostaphylos Dr. Hurd, and Buxus japonica. These plants get 60 min per week on the 1/2GPM drippers.
  3. Lawn Sun: The lawn is irrigated by the very water efficient MP2000 Rotator heads in MPR40-04-CV bodies containing pressure regulators and check valves. These sprinklers provide very even coverage at 0.4 inches/hour. The northern part of the lawn gets more sun so it gets twice eighteen minutes per week.
  4. Lawn Shade: The southern part of the lawn is in more shade so it gets twice fifteen minutes per week.
  5. Between Redwoods: The area west of the wisteria between the redwoods has eight Hunter I20-ADV Ultra sprinklers installed that are currently not being used.
  6. Rhododendron: South of the house is a large bed of rhododendrons, azaleas, japanese maple, and other shade and water loving plants. These get three times twenty minutes of water per week.
  7. West of driveway: The Salvia leucanthan, Rosmarinus, Bougainvillea San Diego Red, and Arctostaphylos west of the driveway need less water so they get two times twenty minutes per week. The bed of Vinca minor is watered with Netafim piping.