Good mid-century modern landscaping makes the house look like it grew out of the lot. The same horizontal lines, simple materials and indoor-outdoor thinking that shaped post-and-beam houses also shaped their gardens: flat ground, low plantings, a few strong trees and paving laid out in clean rectangles.
Today many owners also want to use less water, and in some places to reduce wildfire risk near the house. This guide covers where the mid-century landscape approach came from, the principles worth carrying forward, how to replace a lawn with water-wise planting without losing the open look, and how to plan hardscape that suits the architecture.
The landscape architects behind the Eichler look
The City of Palo Alto's Eichler design guidelines devote a section to the landscape architects who worked with Joseph Eichler. Thomas Church practiced landscape architecture in and around San Francisco from 1932 until his retirement in 1977. The guidelines describe his gardens as formally restrained, using native species and requiring little maintenance, and note that he promoted outdoor "rooms" for relaxation and recreation. He designed landscapes for individual Eichler model homes and for the Greenmeadow Community Center in Palo Alto.
Robert Royston, the guidelines say, designed hundreds of residential gardens, including many for Eichler Homes, and created prototypical layouts for Eichler backyards. His designs often used rectangular and curved features, such as rectangular patio slabs and curved retaining walls or benches, and focused on tying the landscape to the interior of the house. He designed Mitchell Park, next to Eichler's Fairmeadow tract, in 1958. Palo Alto landscape architect Kathryn Imlay Stedman was commissioned by Eichler in the 1950s to design fencing, walkways and planting schemes for one hundred homes.
Principles worth carrying forward
Palo Alto's guidelines translate this history into practical advice that works for mid-century houses anywhere:
Keep the ground flat. A flat front yard frames the house and accentuates its horizontal lines. Berms are discouraged.
Favor low, sweeping ground cover. The guidelines describe a flat grade with expansive low ground cover, possibly punctuated by a distinctive specimen tree or two.
Use rectangular planting beds. Low plantings along the foundation, sidewalk and driveway accentuate edges, and rectangular beds suit the Eichler aesthetic.
Keep the front open. Hedges that line the front yard and block views of the house are discouraged, and trees shouldn't be planted so densely that they hide the house.
Put patios where they were meant to go. Outdoor patio space belongs at the rear and in courtyards and atria designed for it, not in the front yard.
Treat the yard as part of the house. The guidelines quote Eichler architect A. Quincy Jones describing the goal of living "lot line to lot line."
Our indoor-outdoor living page and our mid-century modern design guidelines page explain how the garden and the glass walls were designed to work together.
Replacing a lawn with water-wise planting
Original Eichler front yards were often lawn. Palo Alto's guidelines say lawns support the character of these neighborhoods, but that less water-intensive, low ground covers are acceptable and that xeriscaping with drought-tolerant plants and rock features is also appropriate, as long as the open character of the front yard is kept. That is the key: replace the lawn with something low and continuous, not a crowded mix of tall shrubs.
Ideas that keep the mid-century look:
A single low ground cover or a small palette of low plants in large, simple drifts.
Rectangular beds edged in steel, concrete or wood, with crisp lines that echo the house.
Decomposed granite or gravel panels next to planted areas, used sparingly so the yard doesn't read as all rock.
One specimen tree placed where its canopy shades the glass in summer.
Drip irrigation instead of spray heads near siding and glass.
In Santa Clara County, Valley Water's Landscape Rebate Program offers rebates for converting high-water lawns to low-water landscapes, upgrading irrigation equipment, converting overhead sprinklers to in-line drip, and capturing rainwater. Its current base rate for landscape conversion is $2 per square foot, residential sites may receive up to $3,000 by default, and funding runs until June 30, 2027 or until it is used up. A pre-inspection and written approval are required before you remove any lawn, and projects started before approval aren't eligible. Other water agencies run their own programs, so check yours before you start.
Larger projects may also fall under state water-efficient landscape rules. California's green building checklist applies the state's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance to new residential developments with 500 square feet or more of landscape area. If your project needs a permit or design review, ask your city whether a water-efficient landscape plan is required.
Hardscape that suits the house
Paving, fences and lighting do as much as plants to make a mid-century yard look right. Palo Alto's guidelines offer specific advice:
Driveways. Keep the original location and orientation, avoid expanding beyond the original size, and use solid materials with a flat, even surface. Turf-block pavers and highly textured materials aren't appropriate for the main driveway, and curved driveways generally don't fit.
Walkways. Keep them understated, with as little pavement as possible, and favor straight, orthogonal layouts.
Fences. Avoid tall, solid fences that block the view of the house from the street. Simple vertical or horizontal wood board fences fit the style.
Lighting. Use fixtures with cut-off shields that direct light downward, and limit light spill onto neighboring lots and the night sky.
Original Eichler neighborhoods show this approach in place. The National Register nomination for Greenmeadow notes that Thomas Church designed the park's original redwood plantings and created variation between residential lots through differing driveways and grass and planting forms at the street.
Plants, fire and the first five feet
If your home is in a fire hazard severity zone, the area right next to the house deserves extra attention for ember resistance. California law already calls for an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of structures in State Responsibility Areas and in locally designated very high fire hazard severity zones, but the requirement doesn't take effect until the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection updates its regulations, and in State Responsibility Areas existing homes then get three more years. The Board's emergency Zone 0 package was withdrawn from state review on September 8, 2026, and as of November 4, 2026 we found no approved Zone 0 regulation.
Even without a final rule, the California Department of Insurance's Safer from Wildfires program counts a 5-foot ember-resistant zone, including fencing, among the actions that qualify for insurance discounts. Gravel or hardscape bands along the foundation, low-growing plants set back from walls and no bark mulch against siding fit both the fire guidance and the mid-century look. This is general information, so check the current status and any local rules with your local fire agency.
Frequently asked questions
What plants suit a mid-century modern garden?
Choose low, simple plantings in large drifts, with one or two specimen trees, rather than many different species. Low-water plants suited to your microclimate fit the style well, as long as they keep the yard open and low near the house.
Can I replace my lawn and still keep the Eichler look?
Yes. Palo Alto's guidelines call xeriscaping appropriate as long as the open character of the front yard is retained. Keep the plantings low and the layout rectangular.
Should I put a patio in the front yard?
Mid-century plans put private outdoor living at the rear and in courtyards and atria. Palo Alto's guidelines discourage front-yard patios, and suggest screening with plantings if a front patio is the only option.
Are there rebates for lawn conversion in Santa Clara County?
Valley Water offers landscape conversion, irrigation and rainwater capture rebates. You must complete a pre-inspection and receive approval before starting work, so apply first.
Related reading
Eichler Atrium Cover Options: Drainage, Roofing Over or Enclosing
Wildfire Home Hardening for Hillside Mid-Century Homes in California
Eichler Carports, Entry Courts and Blank Street Walls Explained
Planning a garden that suits your mid-century house, or looking at homes in neighborhoods such as Palo Alto's Eichler tracts? Call or text the Boyenga Team at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team.
