Where History Takes Root: 70-Year-Old Olive Trees Shape Outdoor Living in Arroyo Grande, CA

This design-build project is located in Arroyo Grande. The customer owns a business that supplies local restaurants with organic vegetables and cut flowers, and they wanted a custom vegetable garden paired with a dining area and a comfortable space for watching the sunset. Their overall preference was for a natural, organic feel throughout the landscape.

They also didn’t want to wait years for trees to mature, so we sourced and installed large, old-growth olive trees estimated to be at least 70 years old. These were shipped from Fresno and carefully set in place using a large construction forklift to ensure safe handling and perfect placement.

We designed and built custom garden beds tailored to their growing needs. The client selected a specific center fountain, which we outfitted with a water float and submersible lighting. The float keeps the feature properly filled without manual maintenance. Both the lighting and water feature are connected to a controller that can be fully operated through a phone app.

Because the property includes an Airbnb/guest house, they also wanted an outdoor dining area for entertaining. We centered the dining space within the mature olive trees to create a courtyard-like experience. For another focal point, we installed a millstone water feature from Stone Forest, built on its own hidden basin with a float system to prevent refilling. Instead of traditional uplights, we used light strips to downlight the feature, maintaining a clean, natural look. The olive trees received in-grade uplighting to avoid visible fixtures.

The client provided bistro lights, which we integrated into the lighting transformer so the entire system functions seamlessly. All plantings complement the existing landscape, and everything is irrigated with drip lines. The irrigation system is controlled by a Wi-Fi controller connected to a weather station, allowing for automatic schedule adjustments and full app-based remote control.