Delighting in the year-round outdoor lifestyle that defines Southern California, Patricia Benner infuses her landscape designs with a distinctive “joie de vivre.” Essential to creating her livable gardens, Benner believes, is forging a harmonious relationship between architecture and landscape. Whether creating graceful grounds for a classic Georgian estate or a casual garden for a modernist residence, she draws on her extensive knowledge of both architectural and landscape history to inform her designs with an immaculate sense of scale, form and composition.
Her sensitivity to both architecture and site allows Benner to create beautifully appropriate and detailed structures--from unique gates, walls and terraces to pergolas, outdoor fireplaces and pool pavilions. Benner adores adding movement and tranquility to her gardens with water features such as subtle rills, hand-tiled fountains or perfectly proportioned swimming pools. She carefully considers each garden’s unique terrain, especially the play of light and shadow, to enhance views and create welcoming spaces. Her amazing finishing touches—an antique millstone or sculpture, one-of-a-kind pots, stunning outdoor fabrics and furniture—make her gardens come alive.