Case study
Designer-Led Planting and Hardscape Refresh in a San Carlos Garden
A San Carlos whole-property landscape renewal combining artificial turf, Cameron Cream flagstone, refreshed paver and steel edging, drip irrigation, new planting beds, topsoil, mulch, and structural post work across front and rear yard zones.
- Location
- San Carlos
- Scope
- Transitional
- Timeline
- Design and pre-construction iteration ran for several weeks while the planting plan was refined and the change order was finalized. Active install ran across coordinated demo, hardscape, irrigation, and turf phases, with a wellness check on the new plantings logged before final handoff.
- Investment
- $85,000–$100,000
The challenge
Front and back yards were tied together by tired planting beds, dozens of mature bushes that no longer fit the design intent, and irrigation that did not match the planned planting program.
The existing flagstone-area tree and roughly 110 mature bushes had to be cleared so the new bed envelope and hardscape edges could be set cleanly.
The existing soil profile across the bed envelope needed substantial topsoil import to support a designer-led planting plan covering roughly 3,620 sq ft.
Turf and paver edging had to be sequenced against multi-trade scope (turf, flagstone, planting, irrigation, edging, and structural posts) on a constrained residential lot.
Our approach
Sequoia coordinated the planting design, demolition, soil import, edging, irrigation, turf, flagstone, planting, mulch, and structural post work as one front-and-back-yard scope. The crew cleared the old planting envelope, rebuilt the hardscape and bed edges, installed the drip-irrigation system, and finished the new beds with topsoil, planting, and mini-bark mulch.The outcome
The finished property pairs a clean turf lawn with curved Cameron Cream flagstone, rock-lined drainage and planting beds, drip-supported shrubs and grasses, and refreshed transitions around the deck, pergola, side yard, and entry areas.The plan
A whole-property design that treats the planting plan as the centerpiece, paired with a hardscape refresh that carries the cohesive look from the curb to the back fence.
920 sq ft of Turf Depot 'So Natural 105' artificial turf with Envirofill 16/30 green infill and 5-inch and 6-inch common-nail perimeter fastening, sized to the front and back lawn footprints.
Approximately 205 sq ft of Cameron Cream flagstone, set with mortared joints over a Class-II baserock sub-base for a long-lived, low-maintenance natural-stone surface.
A designer-led planting program across roughly 3,620 sq ft of mulched bed area, with hundreds of new shrubs, grasses, and box trees installed over a fresh 28-cubic-yard topsoil import.
Belgard Anglia Edger Victorian paver edging and 70 lineal feet of black steel landscape edging keeping bed lines, turf edges, and paver transitions crisp and stable.
A complete one-valve-per-300-sq-ft drip irrigation system with NDS green rectangular valve boxes (three locations) and tubing, heads, and emitters sized for the planted bed envelope.
Build highlights
Design coordination and planting plan
The in-house designer iterated a planting plan over several weeks, working with the homeowners to refine plant choices and bed lines. The homeowners reviewed the plan and signed the change order that finalized the delivered scope before mobilization.
Demolition and site clearing
The crew removed the existing flagstone-area tree along with its stump and cleared roughly 110 mature bushes (20 medium and 90 small) to open the planting envelope. Demolished material and stumps were hauled off, and the bed surface was prepped with two inches of soil demo across about 3,620 sq ft.
Base prep, edging, and structural posts
The crew imported 28 cubic yards of planting topsoil, set the Class-II baserock sub-base for the flagstone area, refreshed Belgard Anglia paver edging and 70 lineal feet of black steel landscape edging, and installed two pergola-pavilion-style structural posts. A six-lineal-foot good-neighbor wood fence section was framed and primed in the same window.
Flagstone, turf, and irrigation
Approximately 205 sq ft of Cameron Cream flagstone was set with mortared joints over baserock, and 920 sq ft of Turf Depot 'So Natural 105' artificial turf was rolled in with Envirofill 16/30 green infill and common-nail perimeter fastening. The complete one-valve-per-300-sq-ft drip irrigation system was run into three NDS green rectangular valve boxes alongside the turf and flagstone work.
Planting, mulch, and final checks
The designer-led planting program was installed over the new topsoil, the bed envelope was finished with 22 cubic yards of mini-bark mulch, and the paver edges were finalized with a polymeric-sand finish per Sequoia's ICPI-aligned paver checklist. A wellness check on the new plantings was logged before final handoff.
Project gallery
Investment
- Planting, Topsoil & Mulch (~3,620 sq ft beds, 28 cy topsoil, 22 cy mulch)$22,000–$25,500
- Artificial Turf (920 sq ft Turf Depot So Natural 105)$20,000–$23,000
- Drip Irrigation System (one-valve-per-300-sq-ft, 3 NDS valve boxes)$15,500–$18,000
- Demo, Site Prep & Hauling (tree + ~110 bushes, soil demo, deliveries)$15,000–$17,500
- Mortared Flagstone & Hardscape (~205 sq ft Cameron Cream over baserock)$7,500–$9,000
- Edging (Belgard Anglia Victorian + 70 lf steel)$3,000–$4,000
- Fence & Structural Posts (6 lf good-neighbor fence, 2 pergola/pavilion posts)$2,000–$3,000
Total investment$85,000–$100,000
Rounded from the signed proposal and anonymized to town level.