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.


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Front Yards -- Hedges and Columns

Continuing my examination of walls, fences, and hedges along the perimeter of the front yard, I take a look at the use of hedges with columns.


These columns serve to anchor a gate. This configuration brings the house style, in this case Spanish, to the sidewalk, but is softer and less expensive than a full wall.
Employing a hedge rather than a wall or fence, enables one to get the height one wants legally, but the columns still provide the weight and definition of a wall. Columns are a convenient place for a built-in mailbox, tile accents, and attractive address numbers.


Below, the same idea is carried out in a dramatically different style, with different plant choices, and a much more clean, contemporary feel. Here the hedge is fronted by a mix of grasses, lavender, and Vitex trifolia. No gate is necessary.




From the clean and modern to the bold and quirky! Below, we have a striking wooden gate with a steer-head design, square columns, and a six to eight-foot Podocarpus hedge. This example provides complete privacy and security. You see the mailbox and street numbers again conveniently worked into the columns.



Each of these photos shows a version of the same basic concept: A pair of square columns stand at the opening of a hedged-in perimeter. But because of the different building and plant materials, we have three completely different designs. Each example gets progressively more closed in and private. The first two are somewhat private, but still open. The final combination succeeds in total privacy for the homeowner. Each has a different architectural style, and uses different colors for each of the elements. This basic configuration is an example of another good way to treat the front yard perimeter within almost any style.

2 comments:

  1. do I imagine it or is that really a moose water feature?

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  2. They do look like moose heads, but they are more like steers, bulls, something -- and it is actually a wooden gate at the sidewalk!! Rather wild, hey?

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