navigate

Student login

My Favorite Things

work with me

Garden Design Courses & Skill Sessions

Garden Design Lab

Blog

home

About

Planting Design Boot camp

FREE Course
How to Start
Designing Your
Garden ToDay!

*

*

About

Blog

Garden Design courses & Garden Makers Skill Sessions

Newsletter

Work with ME

FREE TRAINING!

Search

Isabelle Greene’s Iconic Hillside Dry Garden in Santa Barbara, California

Garden Design

September 11, 2024

An aerial view of Isabelle Greene's well-maintained Santa Barbara garden features neatly trimmed bushes, various types of plants, and a gravel pathway. A wooden bench sits under a shaded pergola with leafy vines. A staircase descends alongside the garden, bordered by flowers and greenery.
An aerial view of Isabelle Greene’s well-maintained Santa Barbara garden features neatly trimmed bushes, various types of plants, and a gravel pathway. A wooden bench sits under a shaded pergola with leafy vines. A staircase descends alongside the garden, bordered by flowers and greenery.

This iconic Santa Barbara Garden was designed by Isabelle Greene – a renowned landscape architect who primarily works near SantaBarbara, California. I’m working on getting to know her a little better (more to come here as I research further), but her website gives a sense of her, and I have been reading it like it was a juicy gossip column.

A minimalist two-story building with a smooth white facade and rectangular windows stands elegantly. Tall slender trees cast shadows on the wall, while Isabelle Greene's touch in the landscaping includes various desert plants and large rocks against a backdrop of greenery reminiscent of Santa Barbara. The sky is clear and blue.
The garden surrounds a minimalist multi-story building with a smooth white stucco-like facad. Tall, slender trees and succulents cast elegant shadows on the wall. Isabelle Greene’s special landscaping touch includes various desert plants and large rocks against a backdrop of the wild greenery of Santa Barbara.

In her own words, Isabelle says: 

There are weighty elements to garden design: rough, craggy eternal things like rocks; earthy things like tractors and camaraderie with the workmen; imponderable things like regulatory bodies and boards of directors.  And there are also thin gossamer overlays: frost, reflection, shadows, dew. The interplay along these spectrums of the experience creates a garden’s intense richness….To design with all this requires a sense of wholeness – a sense of connections – a serious intent with a lively play. The appearance of the finished garden is the outcome of the wholeness of the process, the pieces interpreted and stitched together properly.  It cannot be programmed it must be felt – like a tune.

-Isabelle Greene

I find these words comforting because they help me with what I grapple with most in landscape design: perfectionism. These are the words of a very wise and talented woman – a woman who has learned what is worth fussing over and what is actually better if you let it come together in its own slightly more natural way.

A serene garden designed by Isabelle Greene in Santa Barbara features a small, stone-bordered pond filled with lily pads. Tall green reeds and leafy plants surround the pond. An ancient vase is placed near the water, while a tall, light-colored wall and large tree provide shade and privacy along the pebbled pathways of this Daily Garden treasure.
A serene garden and cooler shaded area designed by Isabelle Greene in Santa Barbara. The area features a small, stone-bordered pond filled with lily pads. Tall green reeds and papyrus plants. An ancient-looking vase placed near the water gives a sense of time, while a tall, light-colored wall and large tree provide shade and privacy along the pebbled pathways.
A photograph of two weathered, spherical clay pots displayed on a wooden platform in the Daily Garden. The pots, one with a light-gray hue and the other a light-brown hue, cast distinct shadows on the platform. The background features a minimalist white wall and gravel ground in Santa Barbara.
Two weathered, spherical clay pots are displayed artfully on their own custom wooden deck platform. The pots, one with a light-gray hue and the other a light-brown hue, cast distinct shadows on the platform. Shadows and shapes feature strongly in this design and are a clear and obvious design theme.
A landscaped garden with agave plants and various succulents, inspired by the designs of Isabelle Greene in Santa Barbara. Stone pathways wind through areas of gravel and low-growing ground cover, creating a textured and organized greenery arrangement. The setting appears dry and well-maintained.
A minimalist outdoor patio with a white bench situated between two potted plants in a design reminiscent of Isabelle Greene’s work. A low wall behind the bench is adorned with lush green ivy. In the background, trees and a distant, hazy horizon are visible under Santa Barbara's clear sky.
A person is standing on a terrace with a wooden pergola above and a white umbrella below. The background is a plain, light-colored wall, and leafy green plants are visible in the foreground, evoking the serene designs of Isabelle Greene. The person appears to be looking into the distance.
A diverse succulent garden, inspired by Isabelle Greene's designs in Santa Barbara, features various plants arranged in geometric patterns. Stone pathways meander through the greenery, and a large terracotta pot lies near a white wall. The Daily Garden showcases multiple textures and shades of green, brown, and gray.
A landscaped garden showcasing a variety of plants. Designed by Isabelle Greene, this Santa Barbara oasis features succulents, including large agave, and ornamental grasses grow among slate and stone walkways. Earth-toned pathways and a section with low, ground-covering plants are also visible.

I love the drifts of interesting plants, colors and textures.  Is is like a beautiful painting on the ground.  What do you love about this garden?

A tranquil backyard garden, reminiscent of an Isabelle Greene design, features a small tree and a large tree with broad branches, both surrounded by gravel and stone paths. A colorful striped ball rests on the gravel. The garden, evocative of Santa Barbara charm, is enclosed by a white wall and scattered with rocks and plants.
An elderly woman with short, graying hair stands smiling and leaning against a wall decorated with green ivy and a round ceramic art piece depicting a house and garden. She wears a floral-patterned blouse reminiscent of Isabelle Greene's designs. Potted plants and a large window nearby echo the charm of Daily Garden in Santa Barbara.
A lush garden designed by Isabelle Greene, featuring a variety of plants and shrubs arranged in neat rows next to a white building. The Daily Garden is bordered by tall trees and includes a small seating area with round tables and chairs. Pathways wind through the garden, with two people visible in the background.
Three potted plants are positioned against a plain white wall. The left two pots contain tall, green, bushy grasses, while the third pot contains a taller, thin tree with sparse foliage. A window with black shutters is partially visible on the right side—capturing the serene essence of Daily Garden in Santa Barbara.

All images by brewbrooks

More Gardens to Tour and Designers to Admire:

+comments+

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Does Your Garden Need a Makeover?

Learn my 7-step system to design and build a stunning garden anywhere in the world.



SIGN ME UP!

Join my Free Class!

Understand the 5 mistakes everyone makes when creating a garden. (Save yourself time, money, & headaches and get much better results!)

See how to work directly with me (but at a DIY price!) to
design and create your own gorgeous garden. 

info@pithandvigor.com

Follow @pithandvigor on InstagraM

© Pith & Vigor 2024 | Privacy Policy