Houzz TV: Meet a California Garden Designed for Color and Fun
A homeowner’s love of color and outdoor entertaining leads to a garden transformation
Margot Hartford
November 8, 2016
Houzz Contributor. Interiors photographer in the Bay Area for over 15 years. Publications include Veranda, California Home & Design, Sunset Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens.
Houzz Contributor. Interiors photographer in the Bay Area for over 15 years. Publications... More
“Some people are afraid to use color,” says culinary entrepreneur Bibby Gignilliat. “I’m not.” One look at her garden confirms that. After buying her home in Northern California three years ago, Gignilliat and her designer went to work fixing up the front and backyard, turning it into a colorful oasis full of flowers, inviting pathways and places to gather with friends.
Watch: Get ideas from this colorful garden on Houzz TV now
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here: Bibby Gignilliat of Parties That Cook
Location: Mill Valley, California
Garden size: 3,000 square feet (279 square meters)
Designer: Marilee Gaffney
Year house was built: 1902
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here: Bibby Gignilliat of Parties That Cook
Location: Mill Valley, California
Garden size: 3,000 square feet (279 square meters)
Designer: Marilee Gaffney
Year house was built: 1902
“The front of the house is the first place I cleaned up,” Gignilliat says. Working with landscape designer Marilee Gaffney, she removed the suburban-looking hedges and opened up the front yard with a bluestone path leading to a bench.
Tile sculpture ball: Kate Zimmer
Tile sculpture ball: Kate Zimmer
“I planted 60 different varieties of dahlias, such as the dinner-plate dahlia [pictured], and most of them bloomed,” Gignilliat says.
Dahlias: Swan Island Dahlias
Dahlias: Swan Island Dahlias
Gignilliat flanked her front gate with two large blue ceramic containers.
The backyard and garden are accessible through a wooden gate off the driveway. The gate stays closed to keep the deer away. Having a separate entrance also makes it easy to welcome guests when entertaining outdoors.
Gignilliat’s company hosts team-building events and private parties, so it was important for her to have a backyard where she could accommodate large numbers of people. “In the first year I owned the house, I had over 20 parties here,” Gignilliat says. “I was in a celebratory mood.”
Slim table and Latitude dining chairs: Fermob via YLiving
Slim table and Latitude dining chairs: Fermob via YLiving
“Although the garden had great bones, it needed some changes,” Gignilliat says. “The old deck was multitiered, so I leveled it off.”
“I wanted beautiful flowers, so I started off planting flowers in containers,” Gignilliat says. She bought a variety of containers at the Alameda flea market over a few visits.
Orange containers: Sloat Garden Center
Orange containers: Sloat Garden Center
A barbecue is located to the right of the back steps, the closest access to the kitchen. Nearby, comfortable chairs and bench seating provide places for guests to gather.
Sixties armchairs: Fermob via YLiving
Sixties armchairs: Fermob via YLiving
More container plants sit on the bench on the deck.
Antique French flower market pails line an edge of the partially covered deck.
Unexpected decorative touches appear throughout the space. “I wanted this antique wrought iron piece to hang like a piece of art,” Gignilliat says.
A few containers of flowers cluster in the corner of a small porch off the master bedroom. Gignilliat likes to mix old and new things together, such as this metal container next to a newly painted pail.
“One of the first things I put in the yard was a fire pit,” Gignilliat says. It sits in one corner of the backyard.
Fire pit: Restoration Hardware
Fire pit: Restoration Hardware
She surrounded the fire pit with brightly colored chairs. “I love color; it’s a passion of mine,” Gignilliat says.
Emmet lounge chairs: Room & Board
Emmet lounge chairs: Room & Board
The corner with the fire pit offers a view back to the house. With all the changes, Gignilliat says, “suddenly it’s not such a small house anymore. I made my garden an extension of my house — my outdoor living room.”
Antique lanterns hang from a tree in the center of the garden. Gignilliat removed some older plants and replaced them with more colorful ones.
Lanterns: Pottery Barn
Lanterns: Pottery Barn
“The hydrangeas used to be in the front of the house, but the deer were eating them, so I moved them to the back of the yard,” Gignilliat says. The bushes now form the backdrop for a small sitting area off the covered deck.
Alize chaises: Fermob
Alize chaises: Fermob
“I never had my own garden before, and I didn’t think I would like it,” says Gignilliat, seen here on one of her purple chaise longues. “Now it’s where I spend most of my time.”
Watch: Get ideas from this colorful garden on Houzz TV now
Watch: Get ideas from this colorful garden on Houzz TV now
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Absolutely beautiful work! Thank you for sharing and inspiring us with possibilities. The love you give with your work shows through.
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I obtained so many wonderful ideas for my yard.
It gives me an idea that I need to have a garden as well.. this is such a wonderful space