One client wanted a classic, contemporary look with minimal maintenance. The landscape should look good all year long, and color comes from foliage contrast, not flowers that have to be clipped after blooming. The other wanted a haven for birds, especially hummingbirds, something full of flowers and seeds, where seasonal maintenance was and accepted trade-offContinue reading “A tale of two landscapes…”
Category Archives: Planting design
Resilient landscaping for Southern California
This didn’t start out as a laboratory for resilient landscape design. It was just a low-maintenance garden for aging people to enjoy. Then one person was no more. The other lost mobility. Parts of the garden received no irrigation. Pruning back and weeding likewise disappeared. Yet the garden survived, mostly intact.
The “Other” Japanese Maple
The full moon maple’s Latin name, Acer japonicum, actually seems more Japanese than the Japanese maple, Acer palmatum. It’s native to Japan, of course. To confuse things even more, there’s Acer shirasawanum, also called full moon maple, sometimes considered a subspecies of A. japonicum. The ‘Aureum’ variety is an incredibly beautiful tree that’s incredibly difficultContinue reading “The “Other” Japanese Maple”
Amaryllis are dancing in the garden!
The amaryllis are in bloom at a much needed time: mid-summer, when flowers are scarce.
R.I.P. big manzanita
Our Dr. Hurd manzanita has been in decline for three years, after growing vigorously from a small five gallon plant to a four foot tall shrub. Leaves in some stems began to look thin and dry. I started a bit of water in summer, just hand watering on cooler days. This seemed to help, forContinue reading “R.I.P. big manzanita”
Bringing the ‘burbs to life
When we started, there were plants, a bird bath and bird feeders. The plants for the most part did nothing to feed the birds. Native insects likewise did not come here for fine dining.
With this makeover, that’s all changed. The bird bath is now a recirculating fountain. The bird feeders remain, but now there’s a veritable smorgasbord for visiting birds, with insects buzzing around a host of new native flowers.
Using irises in the garden
Our last post was about enjoying your irises; this article is about how to use them to best effect in your landscape design. Pacific Coast irises can be a bit fussy if they’re not in their preferred coastal climate, depending on which species were used to breed them. Some species come from the foothills, andContinue reading “Using irises in the garden”
The Daffodils are Coming!
Daffodils start the spring flower cycle here in Sacramento.
Elements of design in nature | elements of nature in design
Line, form, color, texture, contrast, pattern, repetition, movement. All elements of design to consider when creating a built landscape. Finding and studying them in nature helps us recreate them in gardens and understand natural relationships of elements of a harmonious concept. These scenes juxtapose chaos (willow branches), pattern (grasses, water plants), direction (some willow branches,Continue reading “Elements of design in nature | elements of nature in design”
Design for time
Landscapes, unlike buildings, aren’t really complete until many years have passed. They go in the ground only as potential, the design something that will complete itself with time. The plants will grow, surfaces will acquire patinas, unexpected things might happen. These photos were shot around January of 1999. It’s now January 2016, seventeen years later.Continue reading “Design for time”