Dry Creek Bed

If you have a large yard with some changes in elevation, and you want a natural feel, a dry creek bed is a lovely way to give flow and structure to your space.

Oaks or Sycamores, which need a lot of room, are potential trees to surround a dry creek bed. Woodland plants, grasses, sedges, or rush-like plants, and California natives like Ceanothus and Mimulus all help to create a beautiful natural-looking space. Succulents also find a place here. If you have a sitting area from which you can view your creek, you will really enjoy it.

I just designed a dry creek planted with some of my favorite California native plants, including Mimulus, Arctostaphylos and Ceanothus. I also used Chondropetalum tecorum among the boulders, a South African rush-like plant which is drought-tolerant, but looks like it belongs along a creek or stream.











After we removed the lawn, we started placing the boulders.

Before

During

We sunk the boulders into the earth a few inches, so they look like they belong. We added Mexican River pebbles around and between the river rock boulders, and added plants and mulch. Kids love walking on the rocks! Natives do well planted small, and we had the roots of a mature Sycamore to worry about, so we planted very small plants.

During

Newly Planted After

Boulder vignette ties in with creek

Backyard Makeover on a Budget

New Planting

Here are some pictures of a recent project I completed on a tight budget. Plants and trees look small now, and you'll notice there is quite a bit of space between them. Forgoing the use of annuals to fill in, the clients decided they were happy to use smaller plants and wait until these relatively fast-growers fill in. And fill in they will. In person, the garden looks cheerful, fresh and clean.

 



The plants may look small now, but many like the Lavender and Miscanthus will double or triple in size within the year! Perhaps even by Summer! Starting with small plants saves money and often gives the plants a better start by allowing them to get established in their new home instead of in the container.

I really enjoyed this project because the clients were wonderful to work with, and I was able to use some of my favorite plants including Manzanita, Tagetes, Euphorbia, and Penstemon.

Goals included:
Installing a lawn area for kids.
Surrounding that lawn with perennials and trees to soften a small space defined by large walls.
Improving the sprinkler system, in part by installing separate valves for lawn and planting areas.
Creating a lovely view for the clients while enjoying their covered patio.

Before

Immature After

We chose Geijera, Australian Willows, to help soften the twenty-foot-tall wall of the neighbor's garage, which defined the space. I also asked the clients to paint the wall the same color as their house.
The Willows fit nicely into a modern aesthetic, can be planted near structures, and have soft, weeping foliage. We surrounded them with drought-tolerant plants that give color and will provide lots of foliage.

Before

That stick along the far wall is Cercis Forest Pansy

In the shady area down slope, toward the driveway, we planted thirstier plants around an existing Camellia. The Loropetalum, Heuchera, and Sword Ferns should get extra water from the lawn when we begin watering the planting beds as little as once a week once plants are established.

Before

After

Much of the water from rain and sprinklers is directed down toward the driveway. We placed Mexican River Pebbles in a shallow trench at the edge of the patio to solve the problem of mud flowing down the driveway during hard rains. First rain, so good!

Detail of Shade Planting

Fall is Planting Time!

Beginning in October, and continuing through January, is the best time to plant drought-tolerant species in Southern California. New plants always need lots of water to get established. Plants from mediterranean climates like ours expect to receive the most water during our rainy season in the Fall and Winter months. Thus, this is the best time to plant drought-tolerant natives and non-natives, and water them regularly for the first 3 to 6 months after planting. During this period, you can expect to water 2 to 3 times a week depending on rain, soil, and sun exposure. As the plants become established, you can do less watering, especially during the hot summer months when mediterranean species prefer to stay on the dry side.


Fall is also the time to scatter seeds of native beauties like California Poppy. And there are plenty of cool-season vegetables to plant now.

Tropicals and Citrus are best planted in warmer months, though you can still sneak in a few before winter hits. Drought-tolerant trees and shrubs grow more quickly and are much happier when planted in mid to late Fall. So get out there and plant that tree you've been wanting to shade the house or patio! California natives also respond well to January planting.
On a budget? Buy Sages, Lavender or Rosemary in small and inexpensive 4" or 1 gallon pots to plant now, and they will take off quickly in Spring, often catching up with their 5-gallon-size cousins!

Before and After: Tropical Spanish

After

This is a newly planted back patio and tiny yard space outside a 1920's Spanish bungalow in Los Angeles. We immediately talked about improving the fireplace because it was such a focal point for the space. Adding color and tiles seemed like a great idea, while completing necessary repairs.

Before

All the plants in the space had grown upward toward the sunlight, creating an unattractive mess of branches at eye level, while most of the foliage and flowers were high above.
One of my goals was to make sure there would be a lot of attractive foliage and flowers at eye level and below for years to come.

Right Side Before

Right Side After

Left Side After

We discussed a few different planting schemes. After the wall color was completed, we settled on a tropical theme with colored foliage and varied leaf textures. The clients are very fond of ferns, so we used sword ferns, asparagus ferns, and mother ferns.

There was a storage shed and water heater on the patio, making a small space even smaller. The patio was covered in tile and sheds were removed to create space for a sitting area.

Before

After

Still to come: some pictures at night. Tropical plants light up so nicely at night! The clients tell me it's just wonderful to enjoy a fire in the fireplace in the evening out here.

 

Muhlenbergia rigens Deer Grass

Deer Grass at The Getty Center

Deer Grass is a wonderful California Native ornamental grass for the garden. It has a lovely fountain-like shape, and blonde plumes. It is not too big, nor is it invasive. It looks wonderful massed.
I just designed a planting of 100 of these grasses along a stretch of Glendale Boulevard in Los Angeles as part of a community beautification project. Pictures to come!

The Garden at Night -- Lighting

A recent trip to The Huntington Gardens to see an evening concert reminded me of the incredible opportunities one has to make the garden feel magical and inviting at night.
Clear pathways and a clear destination are important at night.
Lighting helps define the paths and perimeter without interfering with the experience of the moon and stars. Downward path lights, placed at least a few feet apart and rarely in a straight line, contribute to safety while remaining aesthetically pleasing. Spots shine upward to illuminate tree trunks and canopies, or hide in foliage so that the leaves glow here and there.
Lovely smells waft through the night air. A bench sits where you can enjoy the night. A fountain, if you like the sound of water. A fire pit, if you prefer the glow and warmth of flames on a cool summer night.
Want to improve your garden for night-time enjoyment? Add subtle lighting. Choose plants like Gardenia, Ginger, or Jasmine for their lovely smell.  Reflect moonlight by choosing plants with silver foliage or white flowers.

Ornamental Grasses

Grasses are masters of motion and light in the garden.

They are tough, drought-tolerant, and take sun or part shade. They are gorgeous in drifts, and especially lovely planted where the sun will shine through them at the beginning or end of the day.

It is important to give grasses the room they need because they look best when they are full. I have seen large grasses planted against a sidewalk so that they needed pruning once a month or more, and to me, they look terrible! Their beauty relies upon that wonderful fountain shape they achieve when they are allowed to grow to their full size. They should only be cut back, usually to the ground, once or twice a year when they begin to look dry and ragged.

Grasses offer a wonderful way to create a soothing palette of greens, with texture and motion to give interest.
Here are a couple examples of grasses planted along a "stream bed" of river rock at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles.

Roses

Descanso Gardens

Rose Gardens, especially those made up exclusively of roses, have gone out of style, but mixing roses with perennials and herbaceous or flowering ground covers to create a complex palette of flowers and foliage is a wonderful and less labor intensive alternative to the old-fashioned rose garden . The "Rose Garden" at Descanso Gardens takes this tact, and it is a lovely way to enjoy roses as part of a mediterranean garden.

Iceberg Rose

Roses are easier to grow than you may think. Time has taught me some tricks with roses, and I take great pride in that first flush of flowers in March and April, knowing that I'm growing roses without chemicals, and, surprisingly, with very little water. This Iceberg Rose had passers-by stopping to enjoy, and other than dead-heading, it's not much work!





Some secrets to growing care-free roses include:

• Full Sun
• Loamy Soil 
• Air circulation (enough room)
• Mulch with a fine mulch
• Side dress with compost
• Clean up fallen leaves and petals
• Choose varieties that are disease resistant and are recommended for your area
• Prune correctly (not too dramatically) in late Fall
• Water deeply and rarely once established

These principles have allowed me to grow roses very successfully without fertilizers, pesticides, or a lot of water. If you have light, loamy soil and full sun, you should try growing a rose bush, and see how it does. Roses can't be beat for scent, color, and beauty. And they are a wonderful cut flower, of course.
Iceberg is usually a slam dunk. Sally Holmes is a gorgeous climber. Sunset has lists of roses for different areas, that can be very helpful. Roses add so much to the Spring, Summer, and Fall garden, it's a shame not to grow them if you have the right conditions to do so easily. By mixing roses with other plants, they can find a place in a contemporary garden, and give us so much pleasure for so little care.

California Natives

Allen Chickering Salvia has a bluer flower than straight Cleveland Sage, and they really stand out against California Poppies. This Salvia was planted in January from a small 1 gallon.
The best time to plant natives here in So Cal is between November and January. Poppies are best planted by seed anytime during Fall. Natives look tempting in Spring, and it's fine to plant a few here and there, but if you are re-doing a large area, Nov through Jan planting will give you a much better chance of success.
You will really reap the benefits of Fall/Winter planting in March through May of the following year.

Mint Tea, Anyone?

Looking for some fun containers for my herbs this season, I came across my stash of old kitchen canisters I'd found at a thrift shop a couple years ago.

Custom Birdbaths

My Custom Birdbaths are available to you now if you live in Los Angeles, California. They will soon be offered for sale at a few specialty stores in the Los Angeles Area. I will keep you posted!
I can make a Birdbath that will compliment any style garden or patio.

Here are a few examples:

Front Yards -- Veggie Gardens

The Larchmont Village/ Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles is made up of many large, beautiful older homes. Most are tastefully landscaped in very traditional ways. Some front yards show off more drought-tolerant selections, especially Lavenders and other mediterraneans that fit into a manicured landscape. Many yards still have extensive lawns.
Something you don't often see are vegetable gardens that face the street.

This is exactly the kind of vegetable garden one wants, if one has the room -- a mix of flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables that will attract beneficial insects and provide the gardener with something to harvest all year long.
I like the Grape arbor, made from decorative iron posts and wire. When they grow in, they will hide all the ripening fruit and veggies that might otherwise attract unwanted visitors!









Technically this is not a front yard, but a side yard on a corner lot. It is such an extensive vegetable garden in such an unexpected place, it makes me smile whenever I see it. I don't know that all the neighbors feel the same as I!

Succulents -- uses

I liked this use of succulents in the border around this fountain, at a Hotel in Santa Monica, CA.
The mounds of (mostly) Echeverias fill the space perfectly and give the impression of water, making for an interesting interaction with the pool of water they surround.

The Aeoniums add color and height, but I really think the carpet of Echeverias could stand on its own.

Lavender

Lavender is one of those plants that makes one believe in a higher power! I think I've found the very prettiest Lavender of all: Lavender Provence.
Lavender likes deep watering once or twice a week while getting established -- maybe more in the first month depending on the weather and the size of the transplant. The fewer roots, and the higher the temps, the more often must one water newly planted plants; sometimes even daily for the first couple weeks.
Once established, Lavender needs very little water. It is a classic Mediterranean selection that goes well with other perennials with similar needs: Salvias, Rosemary, Ornamental Grasses, Bearded Iris, Roses, and California Natives like Ceanothus.

Lavenders can get quite large, especially the somewhat sprawling French toothed-leaf Lavenders. They need to be trimmed regularly (2 to 3 times a year) to remove old flowers and be kept somewhat compact. It is thought that they live longer with regular, light pruning.

Front Yards: Fences and Walls -- Why Not Both?

Here is a Front Yard wall/fence combination in Larchmont Village I thought was a charming and unique way to define a small front garden on a rather busy street.
As we've seen before, the wall columns make a perfect place for the mailbox, and in this case, some hanging lanterns. The clay pots on top of the columns I've seen before and liked, but I think it's been done, and they don't really serve a purpose here. For me, the combination of fence and wall is what's really keeping me interested!

The planting area in front of the wall/fence really helps to soften this combination. Those Lavatera will get quite big, but the foliage is wonderful here, and they can be kept under control by pruning 3 or 4 times a year. The plant selection is nothing surprising, all fairly common plants that function almost on auto pilot, but do act as a nice foil for the many hard materials in this small front yard.

I think this garden does a wonderful job of mixing the whimsy of the sort of cottage garden plantings with a feeling of weight and permanence provided by the rock wall, the front gate, and the front door.
The planters on either side of the front door add some humor and fun, as does the patterned driveway, and the wooden fence behind the wall.
All together, it sort of makes me want to get an invitation to tea here. I wouldn't be surprised to have a very entertaining afternoon behind these walls!