INTRO

I like starting a new scene with just building the basic shapes, finding the right PoV* and just start from there.

California was just like that, except I didn't know what to put in the right side of the picture. I just began working hoping that the rest would come later...

* Point of View

TEXTURING THE HOUSE

I still had no idea what to make in the right side, so I began on texturing the house. It was quite clear to me what I wanted to achieve so the texturing went smoothly.

LIGHTING AND ATMOSPHERE

Then came the lighting work. I put in some soft spotlights, added a pointlight inside the house to lighten up the stairs.
I also altered the sky and fog/haze-settings and worked a bit on the shadows.

At this point the idea of making a garden started to take shape, so I added the rocky path and put in some big, boulders.

MAKING THE GARDEN AND COLOUR ADJUSTMENTS

The garden was quite easy to put togehter. I used alphaplanes for the grass and the poplars in the background.

When the scene was completed I worked a little more on the colours and lighting.

FINISHED!

The scene is now finished.
If I had been sure on what I wanted to create from the beginning I might have started of a bit differently, but as "not being certain from the start" is a well known thing for me, I guess this is actually how I most oftenly work :)