Bernal Heights Modern
![Low-maintenance native plants and a redwood retaining wall maximize ease-of-use in this 375 sq. ft. city back yard.](http://www.madrono.org/assets_c/2011/08/WEB_rosenkranz-modern-back-yard-1-thumb-600x400-170.jpg)
![A gentlly curved facade softens the edges of the retaining wall.](http://www.madrono.org/assets_c/2011/08/WEB_rosenkranz-modern-back-yard-2-thumb-600x400-171.jpg)
![A view over the steel-and-cable handrail to the Carex pansa meadow below.](http://www.madrono.org/assets_c/2011/08/WEB_rosenkranz-modern-back-yard-3-thumb-600x400-172.jpg)
![Exquisite colors in the new growth of Arctostaphylos refugioensis, the rare Refugio manzanita.](http://www.madrono.org/assets_c/2011/08/WEB_rosenkranz-modern-back-yard-4-thumb-600x400-173.jpg)
![Modern rectilinear stair risers of poured concrete.](http://www.madrono.org/assets_c/2011/08/WEB_rosenkranz-modern-back-yard-5-thumb-600x400-174.jpg)
![Nice perspective of the 1x4 redwood fencing.](http://www.madrono.org/assets_c/2011/08/WEB_rosenkranz-modern-back-yard-6-thumb-600x400-175.jpg)
![Retaining wall lit up from within, for accented evening illumination.](http://www.madrono.org/assets_c/2011/08/WEB_rosenkranz-modern-back-yard-7-thumb-600x400-176.jpg)
Small back yard in San Francisco, modernized with an illuminated retaining wall and made more usable with plantings of low-maintenance natives (e.g. Carex pansa, Douglas iris, Hummingbird Sage, the rare Refugio manzanita, and others).