Bret Belyea On Why Landscape Architecture & Who You Work With Is Essential To A Successful Project.
The landscaping component of your project is intrinsically tied to the architectural design, construction, and even interior design of your property. It is one of the best opportunities to elevate and tie together all of the design elements and functionality of a truly distinguished home.
We spoke with Bret Belyea founder of the landscape architecture firm, Grain Landscape Architecture, to take a deeper look at the significant role that landscaping plays in your project planning.
The process that Bret goes through with clients is very similar to our process at West Coast. Considerable time is spent during the planning phase really getting to know the client and their needs right down to the smallest of details. In Bret’s case, there is also a lot of time spent informing clients and providing guidance and expertise so that they can arrive at a plan that is appropriate for their lifestyle, location, and commitment to landscape maintenance.
“At each step along the way, there is the question to the client of, ‘is this going to make you happy or will it ultimately add stress to your life?’ Because a client may have found garden inspiration online that is stunning but isn’t conducive to survival in San Diego’s climate or could require constant maintenance, monitoring, and significant consumption of specially-treated water. The client may then realize that having maintenance crews on their property every week isn’t what they want. But part of having the level of expertise that we strive for at Grain is to find such successful alternatives for a client that they don’t feel like they lost out or had to compromise on their original desires.”
We have been working with Bret on our recent craftsman project in the Mission Hills, a unique home with an exquisite level of custom detail. The images of huge “flying trees” being craned over residential homes garnered significant attention on social media but in reality, it was only one part of his work on this noteworthy project.
“A craftsman property of this calibre and size is not only a unique style for us to be working on but it is simply unique as a whole. This project has been a great opportunity to create a fuller landscape with colors and textures that play on and complement the tones featured in the materials and accents of the house. A great example of this is the handmade tile by Pasadena Craftsman Tile, it was created specifically for the outdoor fountain designed by Paul Allen Design. We planted Chinese Wisteria to grow over the custom pergola above the fountain, there are notes of purple-blue in the tile that will really be accentuated when the beautiful draping wisteria blooms. So many of these details are determined before a project even begins, which highlights how important collaboration and communication is between the different partners on a project.”
Bret explains that part of understanding the importance of who the landscape architect is on your project is understanding that their work is only as good as the people that they work with.
“Industry connections are critical, especially to quality plant providers and to tree brokers who work behind the scenes to scour and source healthy specialty plants and materials, like the 96” box tree that was craned into the craftsman property.”
But Bret also stresses that a happy and hardworking install and maintenance crew is one of his biggest assets in a successful project.
“Nothing will work or survive if it isn’t executed with care and much of that comes down to the people who do a lot of the labor work. We are very serious about treating everyone on our job sites with the respect they deserve. We try to cultivate pride and passion in our team members and that ultimately creates really successful outcomes for our clients.”
Bret explains how they not only set up the client for continued success but their maintenance team as well.
“Many clients already have landscaping and garden workers. We like to continue to use the people that were already there and will always work to find any additional people particularly if it involves a niche or specialty aspect of landscaping. We train everyone on every aspect of the new grounds, our recommended maintenance materials like high-quality untreated mulch, and how to prevent and troubleshoot issues. One of the things our clients love is the plant and maintenance booklet we provide at the end of a project. The booklet clearly details every individual plant in their garden and how to care for it. Part of our particular process is to make landscaping manageable, we are thoughtful in the design stage about this, so for example, we may establish multiple plant zones to meet the water and nutrient needs of those respective plants. This way future gardeners aren’t battling with each individual plant and the focus can be on maintenance of a thriving garden rather than survival.”
Bret Belyea is a landscape architect and the founder of Grain Landscape Architecture, where he works alongside principal plant designer, John Bush to create one-of-a-kind landscapes for clients throughout San Diego. He is a California native from a multigenerational family of plant and garden enthusiasts. His specializations include extensive knowledge of Mediterranean acclimated plant species and South African plants, which he studied while living in South Africa and make up approximately one-quarter of the plant material found in San Diego. Bret practices simplicity in design and the artistry of creating impressive and inspiring landscapes using thoughtfully refined material selections and both innovative and traditional techniques that mitigate waste.