Flanked by dated, silicon boom-era factories and office buildings on the I-880 in Fremont, CA, sits a gleaming, modern factory and stunning landscape that screams to be acknowledged even when clipping by at 75 mph. Although the serpentine gabion walls, the sinuous concrete fountain wall, or the animated masses of ornamental grasses could draw attention on their own right, the emblazoned company name forces the viewer to take pause: “SOLYNDRA“.

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Over the course of a garden designer’s career, very few have the opportunity to be involved with the creation of public gardens and parks.  And of the few, only a small number are successful at creating landscapes that suit the community, honor the place, and are flexible enough to evolve with the demands of time.  Of this small number of designers, Mayita Dinos sits firmly and comfortably on the list due to her involvement at Arlington Garden in Pasadena, California.

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The Sea Ranch, perched on the edge of the continent, is a ten mile long sliver of coast along Highway One that is physically and metaphorically separating itself from California.  Headed out to sea at a glacial rate of 5 cm per year on the Pacific tectonic plate, the stark character of place is markedly different from any piece of developed California.  Spend any length of time there, and you’ll feel as if you are already on an island.

Born in the late 1960s by a group of visionary designers and developers, including the late landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, The Sea Ranch is an unincorporated community at the northern end of Sonoma County that visibly demonstrates how large scale development can be done in a beautiful and sensitive manner.
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