An eye for landscaping

About An eye for landscaping

Every summer afternoon, cool ocean air pours through the Petaluma Gap, the low break in the Coast Ranges that keeps this town breezy while inland valleys bake. An eye for landscaping tends Petaluma lawns, in a town of gingerbread Victorians and tree-lined west-side streets. That afternoon wind dries grass fast and scatters loose clippings, so the work comes down to straight mowing lines, sharp edges and a final sweep of walks and drives. Under the late sun, when the gusts finally ease, a trimmed lawn on a Petaluma street catches the light as if it were laid out with a ruler. It is a pleasure to see a yard set so plainly in order beneath those wide Sonoma skies.