Lush Life

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Over the course of 25 years, a dream garden materializes

Layered into a hillside on Belvedere Island, the 1912 house was in rough condition and its garden wild. Still, for Paul Vincent Wiseman, upon setting foot on the property 25 years ago, it was love at first sight. “I must live here,” he remembers thinking. “It was just so magical.” Wiseman is no stranger to seeing the potential in a place: Since founding San Francisco interior design firm The Wiseman Group in 1980, he has completed myriad residential and commercial projects all over the world. Following his own advice to others—“Let the house tell its story; don’t start remodeling right away”—he began a restoration of the 2,000-square-foot abode nine years after acquiring it.

A custom Bali tray by TWG/Tom Sellars rests on a custom Kelso daybed by Munder- Skiles, with cushions covered in a Perennials fabric by Rose Tarlow. Photography by Matthew Millman.

He focused his initial transformation efforts on the garden, which was a significant selling point for the designer, who grew up in the Sacramento Delta, the son of a plant pathologist. “I learned a lot from him,” Wiseman says of his father, then adds with a laugh: “He could remember all the names of the plants. I just knew which ones were pretty and which ones weren’t.” With California’s drought history in mind, Wiseman introduced low-water greenery, including succulents.

In an area of the garden with California live oak and boxwood, Kelso chairs by Munder-Skiles surround a fire pit.
Photography by Matthew Millman.

The existing garden had become so overgrown that views of the San Francisco Bay and Angel Island were obstructed. Over the years, through the collaborative efforts of landscape designers Stephen Suzman, Todd Cole and Howard Formby, a dream garden came to fruition—one perfectly suited for reading, lounging and entertaining. “The weather is always different, as is the light, and the garden keeps growing and changing,” Wiseman observes. “And it has a lot of old concrete; I love all the cracks. It’s not too perfect.”

The spa, bordered by jasmine, was built using stone from Rhodes Architectural Stone and Fox Marble.
Photography by Matthew Millman.

In the meditation garden, which includes Japanese maple trees, an opening was created in the hedge to allow for a view of the bay. Elsewhere, a grape arbor’s original plaster columns remain intact; the cedar beams that form its roof are new. For his 50th birthday, Wiseman added a water feature: an 11-by-5-foot spa, built using recycled granite from the Yangtze River. A statue—formerly part of a frieze on
a 1930s art deco building in Belgium—is so heavy, “the foundation for it cost more than it did,” Wiseman quips.

An alfresco dining venue includes a Munder-Skiles table and antique Balinese teak bowl. Photography by Matthew Millman.

Whether integrating global pieces into his designs or embarking on projects overseas, travel plays a significant role in Wiseman’s practice—and the same holds true for his garden. The tall Balinese pots were handmade in a primitive kiln. On a loggia, he devised the teak “Bali bed,” topped with cushions covered in a Perennials fabric by Rose Tarlow. Like all of the furniture outside, the daybed was made by Munder-Skiles.

A statue, once part of a 1930s art deco building in Belgium, sits in the midst of lush greenery that includes Coppertone Stonecrop at its base. Photography by Matthew Millman.

“The garden is a very sacred place for me; it’s where I recharge my battery,” Wiseman says. “That’s why there are places to stop all along the walk. Being able to lay down, read, sleep and be in my garden is extremely important for my soul. It’s one of the reasons I knew that I needed to live here when I saw it.”