Patrick Bernatz Ward: An Interview With the Los Angeles Architect About Landscape Design and His Garden

Beth Chatto’s “right plant, right place” motto? Turns out it can be applied to home design, too.

Los Angeles architect Patrick Bernatz Ward is guided by the same location-first ethos, taking pains to create homes that feel of a piece with their environments. In fact, he is so conscious of a project’s surroundings, that he often adds landscape design to his offerings (which also include interior and  furniture design). And a visit to his website reveals nearly as many images of natural landscapes as images of interiors.

His interest in both the outside and inside is unusual for an architect, he concedes: “In California you really can’t separate the two fields, though, given the climate. Both should feel interwoven together.” Below, he shares the out-of-print landscape design book he calls “almost revolutionary,” the must-visit children’s garden in Southern California, and photos of his own garden and patio, which he overhauled himself.

Your first garden memory:

My grandfather’s house was a Cliff May-designed ranch house in Orange County. The yard was filled with olive, pepper, and euclayptus trees. Behind the garden were the remnants of an old orange grove. There was a nice mixture of formal gardens (low hedges, patio/courtyard walls) and wilder landscaping. We spent many long days and afternoons barefoot running through the back acre and yard. It was a magical place!

Garden-related book you return to time and again:

Lawrence Halprin’s Process from 1981 is a wonderful book that explains Halprin’s intimate and almost revolutionary approach to landscaping. The Bold Dry Garden featuring Ruth Bancroft’s garden is also always influential.

Instagram account that inspires you:

@ruthbancroftgarden + @lotusland_gannawalska.

Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

Tranquil. Thematic. Framed.

Plant that makes you swoon:

Any of the native salvias from California and the Southwest mixed in with a native cactus.

Plant that makes you want to run the other way:

Canary pines! They were planted all over Southern California in the 1960s-1980s. I’d rather them be replaced with oaks or sycamores that would be more beneficial to the environment.

Favorite go-to plant:

Aloe arborescens is one of my favorite plants. It’s drought-tolerant, easy to grow, and produces a beautiful red floral resceme in the fall in the northern hemisphere. Autumn light with the tinges of red is a really special time.

Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:

You can’t force your preconceived ideas on the plant and how it’s meant to look in the landscape. They will always do what they are meant to adapt to.