Folio I · Stonework & structure
A study in stone, water,
and shadow.
Three estate gardens. Three philosophies of hardscape. Photographed in late afternoon light and documented to the line of every joint. This folio is intended for clients considering work of similar scope — and for the contemplation of beauty in built landscape.
Plate 01 · Rancho Santa Fe
Photograph © studio
The Reflecting Pool
Completed for a private estate
A sixty-foot reflecting pool laid in honed Connecticut bluestone with a hand-cut champagne travertine coping. The basin holds twelve thousand gallons and mirrors the clipped Cleveland sage hedge from the morning room window.
- Hardscape
- Connecticut bluestone, thermal finish, 24"×36" planks
- Coping
- Champagne travertine, hand-tumbled bullnose
- Water
- Recirculating flat-weir, dual skimmer, vanishing edge
- Lighting
- Low-voltage in-pool LED, 2700K, fully shielded
- Install duration
- 11 weeks · Spring 2024
Plate 02 · La Jolla Shores
Photograph © studio
The Olive Courtyard
Completed for a private estate
Three centenarian Tuscan olive specimens were craned in over the roofline and set into a parquet of reclaimed terracotta and weathered limestone. A monolithic fire altar of board-form concrete anchors the south wall.
- Hardscape
- Reclaimed Provençal terracotta · French limestone borders
- Feature wall
- Board-form concrete, custom oak formwork
- Fire
- Bespoke 9-foot ribbon burner with seating ledge
- Specimens
- 3× Olea europaea, 80+ years, certified provenance
- Install duration
- 14 weeks · Autumn 2023
Plate 03 · Del Mar
Photograph © studio
The Parterre Walk
Completed for a private estate
A French-inspired axis cut from the loggia through three rooms of boxwood parterre to a custom-fabricated bronze armillary. Hand-laid Belgian block defines every edge.
- Axis material
- Belgian block, bush-hammered, 8"×8" cubes
- Hedging
- 2,400 boxwood (Buxus Green Velvet) on biological mesh
- Feature
- Bronze armillary, custom cast, 36" diameter
- Stewardship
- Estate-tier weekly hand shears, 2-person crew
- Install duration
- 9 weeks · Spring 2023
Appendix A
Material library
Stones we are currently sourcing
Connecticut Bluestone
Application
Terraces · Pool decks · Walks
Provenance
Quarried East Otis, MA
Studio note
Selected for cool underfoot in coastal sun and a tonal range that flatters silver and sage planting.
Champagne Travertine
Application
Copings · Outdoor kitchens
Provenance
Anatolia, Turkey
Studio note
Hand-honed; the warm cream reads as morning light against bluestone.
Board-Form Concrete
Application
Fire walls · Garden architecture
Provenance
Custom oak formwork, San Marcos
Studio note
A modernist counterpoint to formal planting. Each pour is photographed before strike-off.
Belgian Granite Block
Application
Edging · Allée material · Drives
Provenance
Reclaimed Brussels paving
Studio note
Patina earned over 150 years of street use; no two cubes alike.
Provençal Terracotta
Application
Courtyards · Loggias · Steps
Provenance
Reclaimed Sud de France
Studio note
Centuries-old kiln tiles. We restore, never refinish.
Studio note
On the discipline of the joint.
A garden of stone is finally judged by the lines between its pieces. We draft hardscape at one-to-one scale on butcher paper, walk it on site at dawn, and adjust until each joint reads as inevitable. Only then do we cut.
Every Meridian installation is laid by a single mason — never rotated between crews — for the whole of its run. The result is a quietness on the surface that machines cannot reproduce and that distinguishes our work at twenty paces.
If the legacy of a garden is its bones, the bones are the stone. We treat them accordingly.
— Alexandra Renoir, Principal Designer
Begin a conversation
Commission a study for your property.
We accept four to six new commissions a year. The first conversation is unhurried and unbilled. We meet on site, walk the property at the hour you most use it, and listen.
Inquire about a commission