Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture is an award-winning, full-service landscape architecture and design firm with three Landscape Architects specializing in high-end solutions for a wide range of clients. From residential, commercial, and institutional projects to campus planning, each project presents new challenges and contains a broad spectrum of budgets and requirements. At JGS Landscape Architecture we holistically approach each new project and set of challenges with a fresh and
unique eye. Our focus is on creating site-specific, illuminating landscape designs that blur the edge between architecture and landscape, and between landscape and the surrounding environment.

Silhouette in the Clouds, CA

 
Located on top of a hill surrounded by valley ridgetops this project has 360-degree views of the region. The client's approach to the site was to drop it into part of the hill to keep the privacy and protect against coastal afternoon winds. The landscape design plays a major role in extending the indoor-outdoor connections to the surrounding regional views. Courtyard walls of board-form concrete were used to insert the home and pool into the site, and topography was brought back upon the walls to mimic the silhouettes of the valley hills. Views from the interior glass walls look out into these courtyard spaces as meditative vignettes of the natural surroundings. Architectural elements designed to play off the architecture include the pergola over the outdoor kitchen and the fire pit in the pool courtyard.

Modern Vineyard, Paso Robles, CA

Above: In the heart of a historic drought, this new home overlooking the clients' 72-acre vineyard in the Paso Robles wine region called for a water-wise landscape that could further enhance their stunning property. With this in mind, JGS designed a peaceful outdoor retreat responding directly to the surrounding hillside vineyards.
Applying a subdued color palette accentuated with Mediterranean grasses and timeworn olive trees, the new landscape anchored and blended the home into its surrounding environment.
Delicate plant textures that flutter in the wind softened the modern hardscape and architecture, creating a striking balance between the built and natural environments. Large drifts of drought tolerant grasses allowed for sweeping
views to continue past the property line, to the clients' vineyards and the rolling hills beyond.
The grasses were also selected to mirror the native vegetation as it fluctuates through the seasons, creating a strong sense of connection with the region. Using rugged boulders and gravel in conjunction with clean hardscape pavers, the project brought a fun California twist to the traditional modern aesthetic.

Booker Winery Tasting Room,
Paso Robles CA

Right: Booker Winery embodies high-end wine, so when it came to their tasting room, they wanted that high-end design and attention to detail applied here as well. From the indoor-outdoor relationships, drought-tolerant plants, and many outdoor spaces for guests to enjoy, this project took every aspect into consideration. Sweeping grasses and a display vineyard adorn the hillside on your walk up the pathway. Miscanthus and Salvia are two of the main plants throughout the project, adding form, texture, and color to juxtapose the clean lines of the building and concrete. Creating a planting plan that was not only water-wise, but also visually appealing, was a key factor for the clients in the warm wine country of the Central Coast.