Fairy Yardmother Landscape Design

by Kathy Oberg, Landscape Designer, Central Coast CA.
FairyYardmother[at]gmail[dot]com

Thank you for visiting my site. I enjoy bringing you pictures of gardens, plants, and ideas from sunny California. I love sharing after-photos that show how my landscape plans, plant lists and layouts come to life.
As a designer, I use plants to create drama, provide color and form, and compliment the architectural style of your home.
I strive to provide a buffer from sun, street, and neighbors while still fostering connections.
Inspired plant choices and site layout can make any space a success.
I am a Certified Watershed Wise Professional, with techniques to improve soil health and keep more water on your property.
I can help you makeover your patio, paths, planting areas, or entire property. I will consult with you, choose a look you love, and compose a plan and plant list to update your landscape, re-using what you already have wherever we can.
Each project is different because it is about making your space really shine.


Thursday, March 24, 2011

LA River Planting

BEFORE















I was asked to come up with a simple design plan for planting natives around this entrance to the Los Angeles River. It's part of Day of Service through the mayor's office.
BEFORE

It was fun to look through the list of approved plants.

You can find that list here along with more information on the LA River Master Plan.

I chose the following plant species:

Ribes speciosum
Rhamnus crocea
Muhlenbergia rigens
Lessingia filaginifolia
Salvia spathacea
Salvia apiana
Epilobium canum
Mimulus aurantiacus
Symphoricarpos mollis


The clean-up, trimming and planting will happen at the end of April.
I'll let you know how it turns out!

UPDATE:
As I knew going into this, April is not a great time to plant natives, but that was when the Day of Service is scheduled! We didn't have a lot of success with this planting, mainly because of the time of year and the lack of irrigation. The chances of success are much less if you plant California natives (with but especially without irrigation) outside of Fall and Winter. Now we are trying to get the city to use Martin Luther King day as a logical opportunity to plant California Native plants so they will thrive.
Designing landscapes, I often come up against what people want vs. what plants need! This project would have been much more successful if we had planted in January. I am planning to plant a few natives there myself this January, 2012, and, if we get some rain, I really hope they will take.

No comments:

Post a Comment