At MALA, we see fences as more than boundaries, they’re architectural moments within the garden. A way to define space without obscuring it. To create privacy while still allowing light, shadow, and planting to breathe through.
Here, horizontal slats filter the landscape, layering greenery against structure. In other moments, a dark vertical screen becomes a bold backdrop, punctuated with integrated light that glows softly at dusk. By day, it recedes into the planting. By night, it transforms the garden into an intimate outdoor room.
The fence doesn’t compete with nature. It elevates it.
Structure + softness. Delineation + permeability.
Landscape Architecture: @studiomala
Photography: @caitlinatkinson_photography
#landscapedesign #gardenarchitecture #modernlandscape #outdoorlivingdesign #bayarealandscape
With summer ending, it's time to celebrate some beautiful fall standout plants!
Spring and summer are often thought of as the most expressive seasons in a garden but fall has a lot to offer beyond colorful foliage. At MALA, we like to think about all seasons and what makes each one special.
Grasses always come to mind when we are planning our gardens for fall interest. Muhlenbergia 'White Cloud' makes a dreamy bold statement and a few of them go a long way in the garden.
We also plant late and long summer blooming plants, like Gaura, Perovski, Sedum and Verbena to punctuate the grasses. Dried seed pods are a great fall addition to a garden. Keep them on the stem for sculptural interest until they are fully dried and then pop them in a vase for a seasonally appropriate arrangement. Salvia apiana , Salvia clevlandii, Achillea, Sidalcea and Alliums are beautiful in this dried form.
CA | Climate-conscious design | Textural planting strategy
Photography: @caitlinatkinson_photography
#BayAreaGardens #CaliforniaLandscapeDesign #SustainableLandscapes #DroughtTolerantPlants #NativePlantDesign #EcologicalDesign #ModernGarden #LayeredPlanting #SeasonalPlanting #ArchitecturalLandscapes #CaliforniaNatives #PlantPalette #DesignWithNature #LowWaterGarden #StudioMALA #RootedInPlace
Update on our Orinda Japanese-Inspired Garden – Featured in Architectural Digest 2024
This garden in Orinda is a modern revamp of a heritage Japanese garden. It was designed in collaboration with @geremia_design who was profiled in @archdigest as part of their AD100 series featuring their work on the interiors and showcasing the garden.
As with any garden, they take time to establish. We recently had it photographed, 2 years after planting, in all its glory. Thank you to @caitlinatkinson_photography for capturing the little moments that make this garden unique.
The project included paving, decking, a water feature, retaining walls, stairs, sauna, fencing, and planting design. It was a complete transformation with the goal of transporting the client into a world of whimsy and fantasy.
Each season is a colorful expression within an established evergreen backdrop. Spring and summer explode with perennial blooms in every shade. Fall brings colorful foliage and some late season bloomers. We were honored to by apart of the team and hope you enjoy the update.
Explore the full feature in Architectural Digest via the link in our bio.
#StudioMALA #ArchitecturalDigest #OrindaGarden #JapaneseGardenDesign #BayAreaLandscapeArchitecture #CaliforniaGardens #HeritageGarden #GeremiaDesign #LandscapeArchitecture #PlantingDesign #OrindaLandscape #ModernGardenDesign #CaliforniaLandscapeArchitecture #OutdoorLiving #NaturalisticDesign #SustainableLandscaping #BayAreaDesign #GardenRevamp #DesignWithNature #StructureAndWildness #GardenInspiration #CaliforniaNativePlants #TimelessDesign #GardenFeatures #LandscapeInspo #ContemporaryLandscape #PlantingPalette #OutdoorSanctuary #EcologicalDesign #ADFeature
We love how specimen trees add structure, ornamentation and shade to our projects. Here is a collection of some of our standout specimens: Olives, Western Redbud, and Morning Cloud Chitalpa.
@caitlinatkinson_photography
#gardendesign #bayareagarden #specimentree #olivetree #redbud #chitalpa
Steps are where our creativity and technical skill meet. We love to dive into the details and think about how structures and nature come together. Sometimes we want to make a statement. Sometimes we want the plants to take center stage. Sometimes they’re wide and graceful. Sometimes they’re tucked away…One thing is always the same, we design with intention.
@caitlinatkinson_photography you for these beautiful shots #stairs #stairdesign #landscapearchitecture #bayarea #bayareagardening
We love our smaller gardens gardens and spaces like this project in San Francisco. Details and materials play an important role in small spaces and we consider every inch and transition. Though we want the materials to be cohesive, we play with textures and use patterns for interest and balance. #landscapearchitecture #moderngarden #gardeninspiration #landscapedesign #nativeplants
The world feels unsettled right now, and a lot of change is afoot. It can feel overwhelming and disorienting. But we look to our gardens to ground us — where change is a beautiful constant. There is something about the first buds of spring or the golden tufts of grass blowing in the wind that bring a tangible feeling of hope and resilience. As spring hits its stride, we're excited to see what emerges. @caitlinatkinson_photography
#landscapearchitecture #gardendesign #springgarden #bayarealandscape #studiomala #springishere #gardenlife #outdoorliving #plantlife #resilience
From the first site visit, we knew this backyard was special. A redwood grove flanked by native oaks, with nothing but potential in between. The design draws from the phenomenon of redwood fairy rings — the circular clusters of young trees that regenerate from the roots of a fallen parent. Here there’s no fallen tree, so we chose one: the centermost redwood became our anchor, and the design rippled out to give the space structure for new use. Old growth, new life.
#landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #gardendesign #residentiallandscape #bayarealandscape #californiagarden #nativeplants #redwood #redwoods #fairyring #outdoorliving #studiomala
“And the tree was happy.”
A few trees on this property had reached the end of their lives — fallen or failing. Rather than hauling them away, we milled the rounds on-site and set them directly into the slope as steps.
It’s hard not to think of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree — the quiet, complete generosity of a single tree. In the industrial lumber world, so much of that story gets lost between the forest and the finished product. But here, the translation was direct: tree to stump to stair. No factory, no waste, no mystery.
A few trees. A steep hill. Everything we needed.
#landscapearchitecture #thegivingtree #sustainabledesign #hillsidegarden #materialsource #bayarealandscape #studiomala
Where structure meets softness.
We’re always drawn to moments where the built elements don’t overpower the landscape, but feel like they belong to it. Here, grasses weave themselves around concrete and wood, softening edges and blurring transitions. The seating planes feel grounded, almost grown into place.
Instead of treating planting as decoration, we design it as an extension of the architecture. Grasses spill, succulents anchor, groundcovers stitch hardscape together, creating a layered composition that feels effortless and lived in.
It’s that balance we’re always after: clean lines held gently by movement.
Landscape Architecture: @studiomala
Photography: @caitlinatkinson_photography
#landscapedesign #modernlandscape #gardeninspiration #outdoorliving #bayarealandscape
Every garden path is an invitation—to explore, to pause, to discover beauty hidden just around the bend. The plantings change throughout the year, with different flowers and foliage taking center stage each season. There's always something new to find.
At MALA, we look for moments in the garden both big and small to encourage our clients to engage with the natural world around them.
Landscape Architecture: @studiomala
Photography: @caitlinatkinson_photography
#landscapedesign #gardenarchitecture #modernlandscape #outdoorlivingdesign #bayarealandscape
At Mala we are all about leaf textures and volumes.
Texture and color create interest even without flowers. The silvery-blue foliage stands out against a backdrop of green and golden grasses, showing how varied leaf forms can carry a planting through every season.
Mixing plants with different textures-soft and spiky, fine and broad-adds visual richness that lasts year-round.
Landscape Architecture: @studiomala
Photography: @caitlinatkinson_photography
#landscapedesign #plantingdesign #moderngarden #nativeplants #landscapearchitecture
