Christiane Holmquist Landscape Design

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray : A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

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Photos by Dustin Holmquist

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Even now in winter this sheltered Rocky Mountain street landscape feels like a refuge from flatness of scenery and the uniform white-out that snow creates elsewhere, with many interesting, tough plants to discover as you stroll by.

On driving through a residential neighborhood in West Missoula, this boulevard planting had caught my eye already in summer:  There’s a sure skill visible that went into the creation of an attractive, naturalistic Rocky Mountain landscape scene that combines interesting earthen shapes and boulders, shapely conifers, appealing forms, and long-lasting textures.  I made a mental note to myself to drive by to see it in winter and seeing it now covered in mounds of snow, I was even more intrigued.  Even now this property holds its interest, and I thought:  “Someone is taking advantage here of every square inch to create a garden.

Winter gardening in West Missoula

When there’s so much thought given to the boulevard plantings and they hold so much appeal even now in winter, what might the interior garden look like? How is the snow affecting the design there?”  I feel privileged to meet the designer Billie Gray of Gracenote Garden and be invited to see the interior of her garden, after enjoying a good lunch with her while she was talking about her work.

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Icicles playfully adorn the branches of a Climbing Hydrangea

Billie Gray’s amazing garden

It started for Billie Gray some 50 years ago when she and her husband bought an old homestead on 2 lots, close to the heart of the city on the Clark Fork River. There wasn’t much on it except a couple of 40 ft rows of raspberry bushes and a forest of trees,  most of them overgrown or sickly and unsuitable to the clay soil and dry, hot summers. 

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Juniper, Apache Plume and snow create a pretty Alpine Garden design. In summer, Dianthus, Creeping Thyme, bulbs and Iris will flower here.

The first order was to make room for a garden for her growing family. The tight “stockade” of Arbor Vitae that surrounded the house was cut down to let light in and free the view into the future garden; the ailing Birches were cut down, too.  All in all some 30 trees were removed.  She set out to create an ornamental garden and went about learning about low-maintenance plants for the Mountain West region.

Billie’s garden today

When seeing Billie’s garden today and listening to her describe what she created over the 50 years since those early times I can feel the passion for plants and gardening that has nurtured her throughout and that has been a faithful engine in her work.

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Seen from the dining room, Spruce and Juniper frame a restful scene that makes you dream of the treasures hidden under the snow.

As I had anticipated, the garden seen from her favorite window in the dining room is no less appealing than her street yard.  There is such a variety of forms and contrasting shapes and textures; the snow adds romance and suspense to it, and the eye is soothed and tantalized anticipating the colors and textures it will see when spring melts allow blooms to happen again. Yet it is restful, with the muted colors of foliage against the glowing snow.  The undulating, elevated “empty space” in the center lets suspect that there’s another mounded border hidden here, perhaps with a boulder, waiting to reveal its treasures, while leading the eye to upright shapes of the Alberta Spruce in the background that contrast nicely with the leaning Juniper seedling on the right and the horizontal branches of an early blooming Heather on the left.  The cat knows where the garden trail is, and her tracks lead the eye around to where Billie planted a border of Asters and Phlox, Lilies and Iris that will stand tall along the grape stake fence.

Her garden is her life

Billie tells me, “The garden is part of my life; I’ll do it until I drop.  There’s something about being in the garden that grabs me; I have to get my hands in it. There are a lot of connections. I get to watch the birds, the way the wind moves things, smell the fragrances as they move around and blend. “

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Mountain Ash berries, dropped by wind and birds, decorate a leafless bush beneath

What she loves most about gardening and designing here are the seasons, when every 2 weeks all changes, with the shifting light or temperature.  Sometimes when the light is right, the colors of the flowers glow, and with fading light, the foliage of the trees looks different.  She employs a lot of shrubbery; shrubs are important because “they have character”.  Many of them carry their berries late into winter, shining above the grey and white of the snow, and attracting birds with their food.  Flowers will provide fragrance, texture, colors; bulbs will come and go.

The garden was a family place:  The kids had their roots here; her husband’s parents who lived with them enjoyed picking the Raspberries or cutting their daily bouquet of “posies”.

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

The gathering area under the Locust is used to overwinter plant propagates, protected by pine boughs and snow. In summer, the blooms of Climbing Hydrangea on the house wall, of Hostas and Daphne will compete for your attention.

“Gardening is a spiritual thing: Working and just being. Making a garden has so many levels of activities; it is so essential, so important for people. For some people, it’s not important but that’s too bad; they’ll miss something so essential to who they are, where and how they are.  It’s so basic to us. In big cities, people don’t have that relationship … they have been cheated.”

She built connections to various organizations, and sometimes Outward Bound, a leading provider of experiential and outdoor education programs for youth and adults, would send groups of Kids to see her place; some of them were quite taken with the idea of gardening.  Sometimes her husband Bob, who was a janitor in a nearby elementary school would bring groups of kids to fish in her Koi pond, now devoid of fish – “I’m not going to keep feeding the raccoons!”

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Behind the house, mounding shapes compete with upright ones for attention; lacy textures complement coarse ones, and snow weaves through everything.

Her professional career started with work in several local nurseries; she took classes with the Missoula Garden Club in flower arranging and design;  as she sees it, “flower gardening is an offshoot of flower arrangement”.  She started to work as a professional landscape designer in 1972 and has been involved since then in various functions in the local garden scene.   She still practices landscape design, serves as Garden judge, and teaches landscape design at the MSU Extension Office and its Outreach Program. She has also been selling garden plants that she digs up as seedlings in her own garden or that she orders in as starts and grows up, at the Missoula Farmers Market.  You can reach her at 406-543-3480.

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

A combination of evergreens and fruiting shrubs makes for a captivating winter scene

Her garden plan developed when seeing the wonderful high altitude gardening scheme in the garden of a good friend who was a floral arranger and taught at the Missoula Garden Club. She had a really good eye and interesting plants in a lovely setting; from her, Billie took her inspiration.

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

In summer, a Clematis will drape around the obelisk that Billie’s husband fashioned. It is framed by Alberta Spruce, left, and a leaning Juniper, right. A birdbath on the left carries a cute snow hat.

As the path winds through the garden, new scenes open as screens and plant “sentinels” such as the Spire Arbor Vitae mark the transition from one section into another.  In the planter beds on the perimeter of the lawn, there will be lots of Iris and other flowers everywhere, mostly perennials and some annuals that reseeded themselves, such as Flanders Poppies, Snapdragons.

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

DeGroots Arbor Vitae stands like a sentinel in the distance. The berries on the Barberry, right, will continue to be food for the birds.

She quit growing lawn along the boulevard years ago and kept only a small circular lawn in the backyard.  “Lawn allows the eye to rest and offers great possibilities in allowing other things to be displayed.  A patch of grass is good for kids, but acres of lawn are at this point not what we can do any longer; grass takes too much water.”

 

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Snow emphasizes form (see the branches of a Weeping Spruce, right). Winter reveals the appealing branch structure on Twisted Filbert, left.

On the boulevard, after cutting several large European Birches that were ailing, it was found that the trunk flare at the cut-off presented a 5 ft diameter “wood plate” that made planting over it impossible. So Billie resorted to importing soil, boulders, and rocks.  “There’s so much clay in this area, rich in minerals, hardly any organic matter, heavy, it’s deadly like cement in summer; you can bounce a pick-ax off from it.  If you can’t amend it (which would necessitate deeply working in large amounts of amendment), Go Up”!

Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Heavy snow almost toppled this Mugo Pine and required cutting a major branch. Beneath, Lavender, Iris, Cranesbill will provide a long show of bloom.

Seeing her garden Billie Gray has inspired me with these lessons:

  • Glean garden design ideas and design inspiration from the surrounding mountain landscape, and mimic our natural environment with mounds, rocks and boulders and durable, resilient and beautiful plants.
  • Think of winter berries that will attract wildlife and delight our eyes as they are standing out against the snow. Consider Rosa glauca, Hawthorne, Hedge Cotoneaster, Choke Cherry, Barberry and Serviceberry (if we don’t harvest those berries first!). Also, consider trees with exceptional bark or branch form such as Contorted Filbert that stands out against the snow.
  • Don’t forget conifers and other “evergreens” that are not just green; they’re available in yellow, such as Gold Thread False Cypress, and blues, like Dwarf Blue Spruce, and all colors in between. Nowadays growers offer a myriad of attractive forms and sizes, including many dwarfs. They are really important for a winter landscape and they make good focal points all year-round.
  • Get inspired by the Montana natives as well as other plants for the Mountain West region, sold in or ordered through our local nurseries. Or enjoy seeing them in their growing environment at several excellent Montana Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (see my Resources page on this website).
  • Winter is a good time to see where your landscape is missing focal points. The solution to enhancing your winter landscaping might not be a plant at all. Garden sculptures such as a trellis screen, bench, arbor or obelisk, and even a birdbath are really essential.
  • Go about it with passion, but also with patience and the belief that you “can do it”, and that even in our tough climate and otherwise difficult growing conditions you can create lasting beauty and let your inspiration flow.
  • And most of all, know that this passion can be with you all your life.
Winter landscaping with Billie Gray A lifelong love affair of gardening in the Rockies

Gardening, landscape design and ‘doing it’ has fulfilled Billie’s ambitions and need for connection to the soil, and still provides her great joy

From Boring Yard to Garden Joy: Six Steps to Help You Create Your Dream Landscape Design (Part I)

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Rachel's outdoor living area Are you dreaming of a peaceful, functional and relaxing outdoor living space?

One that you want to spend every free minute in?

For a successful home landscape design that brings you enjoyment, peace and comfort, take these ingredients:

  1. Dream it (and now’s the time to pull all the stops)
  2. Determine your needs (i.e. what you can realistically do);  assign required space dimensions to each element
  3. Define your style
  4. Draw a plan (or get landscape design help)
  5. Remove and keep only what’s desirable (f. ex. a shade tree) and put it all together
  6. Enjoy!

It’ll work for you, too, with this recipe!  Here’s how we did it for Rachel’s garden:

Grasses soften the edges of the walls1. Dream it 
When I first met Rachel she had come with her garden club to visit a garden that I had designed. She complimented me on the beauty of the design and asked if I’d be interested in helping her with her yard:  She didn’t think much could be made of it since it was so small, but could I come to see it anyways?

Rachel, at her wonderful age of 83, is a very active member in a few different clubs, and as we talked it was apparent that she had a clear idea of what she dreamt of:

  • Have more friends over and entertain them in her garden.

She hoped for a space in her garden in which to serve some light foods and drinks, surrounded by color and beauty.  The lawn wasn’t comfortable anymore to walk on, and over the years the shrubs had been disfigured and pruned into boring blobs; many had just disappeared and had never been replaced.

  • Where would I create this entertainment space, since the yard was so small?
  • And would there perhaps be room for a lounge chair in a reading nook?
  • And could she have a fountain, or other water feature?
  • And would we have enough room still for many flowers and interesting textures?
  • The entire yard was enclosed by a 5 ft wall not high enough to block out the neighbor’s window.  Could we make the garden more private without blocking her view of the ocean?

A comfortable chaise-lounge invites to reading and dreaming

2. Determine your needs (i.e. what you can realistically do);  assign required space dimensions to each element

The first thing I asked Rachel was to define and tell me about how she planned to entertain her friends:

  • Would she want to sit down at a table and serve food there?
  • And how many people would she like to seat?
  • And where would the food be served from, since the main kitchen was upstairs, on the first floor?

We determined that she wasn’t going to serve hot food but only salads and finger foods prepared in the smaller downstairs kitchen in her guest apartment. This way she wouldn’t need any tables to sit down as most people (mostly groups of up to 10 to 15 people) would be standing or strolling through the garden; some seating could be provided with benches.

(Note: To seat 4 people around a table we would have needed at least 10 sq ft ; this seems to be the bare minimum, and if you need circulation space around it or your chairs are a bit oversized, 14 sq ft for this dining area would be needed.)

However, to accommodate these groups, two “entertainment” areas would be best, and I suggested to allow for each about 12 x 12 ft : This would allow room for benches, some additional (temporary) seating if necessary, and still have enough planting space around them to soften all.  Also, these spaces would need to be connected with easy pathways.  (Inviting people to stroll from one area to the other would be a perfect way to display plants to be discovered on the way.)

Since most of her friends are elderly, the pavement under foot needed to be safe, which in my mind excluded any materials with uneven surface such as flagstones or gravel.

This left stabilized/compacted DG (decomposed granite), concrete, tiles and interlocking pavers; which one would we be using?

A plain as-is 3. Define your style

Examining her house and garden for elements that would help define the style of this new backyard landscape design, I noted these clues:

  • The main assets of the existing garden were a mature Pine tree in the corner that provided lovely shade (unfortunately pruned very unprofessionally but not beyond repair); also two mature fruit trees in the other corner, and a beautiful view of the ocean, in between a couple of roofs in the neighborhood. We would try to keep the mature trees.
  • Enclosing the garden was a 5 ft wall that had the potential of making it more private if it could be raised in a few critical areas?
  • Architectural style:  Her house is a Southwest/Perceived Spanish 2-story building with white stucco and red tile roof, and an upstairs balcony from which she views her garden and the ocean.
  • There was an existing, albeit small patio paved with grey concrete; any new pavement would need to harmonize with it since we there was no budget to remove this pavement.
  • About Rachel’s preferred style:  The strongest clues as to Rachel’s taste were, as with so many design clients, visible inside the home:  She loves Mexican and Southwestern art, as displayed everywhere in terracotta tile floors, furniture, colorful cushions, glazed ceramics, paintings and souvenirs from the Southwest. Red tile was used everywhere, and the walls surrounding her garden are reminiscent of a Spanish courtyard whose surrounding walls allowed a beautiful view of the ocean.

We have now assembled the first ingredients of this recipe .  For how to put them together for your dream garden, please read my follow-up post.

As Fall Brings Harvest, and Score Yields Music, So Does Design Yield Award!

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(Regarding my “Gardens of the Year Award” in Eva Ditler’s article
“On key”, in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles, September 2013. 

Photography by Martin Mann, Patricia Bean/Expressive Architectural Photography and Christiane Holmquist

  Garden of the Year Final _3

Finding the beautiful photos of my award winning design in the San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine and reading Eva Ditler’s melodic description of the garden gave me a jolt of pride and delight. It’s with amazement that I realize how many talents went into the creation of this article:  My client Melissa’s almost lyrical explanation of the garden and reference to the music she “hears” in it and that went into its creation; the writer’s skill that gave such a pleasing and expressive rendering of it; the photographer’s craft in capturing the light and atmosphere of the garden; and the experience, focus on detail and enthusiasm that went into the design.

Yes, and music (as the article refers to): Perhaps, with my love for it, I grasped what Melissa had in mind and was able to create a “melodic landscape garden that takes its cue from music” and that is so enjoyable. And during the creation I enjoyed the exploration of exceptional materials, the symphony of colors, and the concert of ideas between me and Melissa like two instruments playing together.

I deeply appreciate the opportunity to work with her, as I appreciate the award and the coverage of it in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles.

Garden of the Year 2013 in late afternoon

All of this is impacting my understanding of what I do and where I have arrived, after 15 or so years in this craft.  Designing a garden is risky endeavor:  When I design something, I base it on the client’s mostly verbal description of the desired garden.  At the time of presentation of the design this vision exists only in my own mind; by sharing it with the client, I hope to communicate this vision to her, and, in doing so, expose myself to her “verdict”: Did I capture her description and the desired mood?  Can I communicate, with my craft, my vision, and will she agree with it? Can I then follow where she wants me to take the design and get even more into her head, while applying my own design principles?

GOY 2013 with steel fountain

The present design is one very individual response to a particular set of challenges and demands. However, its results and appeal are based on the same principles that must be applied to all designs and that, as they are applied to a different set of challenges and demands, will create a very different garden and feel:  It’s the balance of hardscapes with living plantings; the juxtaposition of delicate foliage and intriguing materials; the functionality of spaces and the harmony of colors that result in a garden that is useful.  This will be a garden that is deeply satisfying to live in, and that everybody can enjoy.

A big thank-you to the judges that voted for me!

GOY 2013 Award

Read more about this garden in my earlier post “Joint Venture in La Jolla”.

MORE GARDENING & ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

The Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon/CA is a place that I cherish as place of fun, entertainment and education on water conservation and sustainable landscape design. It offers 5 acres of displays that are easy to walk and explore and that are filled with great drought resistant plants and educational displays of landscape materials.  It offers classes on all manner of landscape issues.  Other events offer landscape design help that can make life easier for novices or those that are into DIY landscape design.

The WCG will celebrate its “Fall Plantstravaganza” on Nov. 2, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 3 pm.  These events have always been highly educational and entertaining to all gardeners and those who love plants and landscapes. You can even buy exceptional drought tolerant plants here and bring your questions to the horticulture “experts”, such as vegetable and Master Gardeners, arborists, and representatives of water authorities; and you can schedule a low-fee consultation with a design professional.  (“I’ll be one of those professional landscape designers here; I also offer classes here and 1 hr consultations.)

Don’t forget to mark your calendars  –  hope to see you there!

The Eye-Catching Bromeliad – No Tenderfoot in the Drought Resistant Landscape

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105 revIn my previous post I wrote about terrestrial bromeliads, a group of plants that can make beautiful, even majestic attention-grabbers in your garden while being perfect companions to many drought resistant plants.  Their form, foliage and colors lend themselves very well to be paired with succulents, cacti and other low water plants in the sustainable landscape design.

Bromeliads can be attractive specimen in the difficult areas of your garden, such as in hot reflected light or one that hardly sees any as on the north side of a house, under the eaves.

With this ability to do double-duty they can therefore be a great help with the tough spots when you design your landscape.

They all prefer these growing conditions:

  • Good drainage
  • Overhead watering
  • Full sun or partial to full shade
  • Frost resistant to about 20°
  • Resistant to salt spray
  • Low in fertilizer needs (which will speed up the growth at the expense of some of the leaf color; in general it will make the leaves greener)
  • Moderate watering: overhead; 1x/week, sometimes more in hot weather (or hotter location, as an inland valley); 1x/month in cooler areas

Some noteworthy peculiarities of the bromeliads:

Most of the bromeliads that people grow only bloom a single time; some re-bloom. (The process is explained in detail at the site of the Bromeliad Society International.)

However, it can take years before they reach maturity and bloom; some produce flowers that stay on the plant for months or even years. Some grow “pups” or “offsets” before bloom; others grow these after the mother plant is done blooming and can now direct “her” energy into producing pups (some bromeliads also grow seeds).  So for the one mother plant, you’ll probably end up with between 2 and 5 smaller plants once bloom has finished,.

These offsets can be cut or dug up and re-potted. For some of the bromeliads, especially the larger Vrieseas, I’d suggest to buy a larger plant to replace the mother plant as it take a few years until the offsets have reached the parent’s size..”.

Here now are the ‘toughies’ that I was talking about and see whether you can’t find one that would bring pizzazz to your garden.

Vriesea imperialis

The Vriesea imperialis in bloom is an unforgettable sight.

The Vriesea imperialis (now classified as Alcantarea) is regal bromeliad with leathery, green strappy leaves with a deep wine-red tinge to it that intensifies in the sun. It is spectacular plant even when not in bloom because of its perfect form that relies solely on its rosette, and is as such a good companion to a modern/contemporary design.

It will develop, with several years of growth, a giant rosette, 4 to 5 ft large.  It can tolerate full sun, even in my Ramona valley, but also tolerates partial shade.  (When the temps reach 100 ° consistently, it’s better to give it afternoon protection.)

When it has reached its mature size which can take several years, it produces a giant inflorescence (flower stalk) that reaches up to 10 ft  into the air and lingers for 4-5 months.

The New Zealand site “Bromeliads online” says about the Vriesea imperialis:

“In the garden these stately plants are easy to grow and trouble free.  They will grow in virtually any soil, but prefer free draining soil. Application of fertiliser will certainly get them growing faster and bigger, but a reduction in leaf colour in the red types may result. They are completely resistant to salt spray and wind, coping with near cyclone conditions even when planted in an exposed position.  They are surprisingly cold hardy, coping with up to frosts of several degrees. However young plants may be frost burnt. Full sun produces the best leaf colour and form, even with the green types. In tropical conditions some burning may occur in the middle of summer, but in temperate climates burning is rare, unless the plants have not been acclimatised before planting out.”

Here are more bromeliads for the full sun:

Neoregelia compacta

Neoregelia compacta

Neoregelia 'Fireball'

Neoregelia ‘Fireball’

More bromeliads for the sun are the red Neoregelia ‘compacta’ and Neoregelia ‘Fireball’; they won’t get bigger than 1-2 ft wide and tall, and it’s the sun that brings out their red coloration, but they can also tolerate partial shade (which will make them greener).

Neoregelia pauciflora

Neoregelia pauciflora

Neoregelia pauciflora is nice and apple green that stays the same in sun or shade in cooler/more moderate climates; in a hot inland valley it will probably prefer the dappled shade under a tree  -  you might find it’s worth a try in your location.

For these bromeliads applies that the sun brings out their coloration.  They can reach up to 2 ft across, spreading slowly by “offsets” (called “pups” with succulents) their flowers are short in the cup. They have most spectacular colorful foliage.

Aechmea blanchetiana

Aechmea blanchetiana

The Aechmea blanchetiana is a striking one with its apple-green foliage forming a rosette, up to 2-3 ft tall and 3-4 ft wide, slowly widening.  Its “sister’  Aechmea blanchetiana ‘Tangerine’ will intensify its orange hues with more sun exposure.

Aechmea cv. 'Prietro'

Aechmea cv. ‘Prietro’

The Aechmea cv. ‘Prietro’ is a bromeliad with almost black foliage black that produces striking orange red flowers. This would make a great companion to purple or chartreuse and yellow succulents, and it likes the full sun.  Size: smallish, 15-18 inches tall, by 18×18 inches wide.

Aechmea comata 'Lemon Lime'

Aechmea comata ‘Lemon Lime’

Aechmea comata ‘Lemon Lime‘: This is one that can take any exposure and has the perfect size of 2-3 ft x 2-3 ft.

Aechmea recurvata

Aechmea recurvata

Aechmea recurvata, another one for the sun, short 1-2 f x 1-2 ft. Beautiful and striking when planted in masses.

Bilbergia Baton Rouge

Bilbergia Baton Rouge

The Bilgerbia Baton Rouge is one for the worst sites:  heat (even reflected), sunny. It can therefore be easily paired with cacti and some succulents.  It will grow with vase-shaped rosettes that are about 12 inches across and to 24-30″ tall, and will slowly form an ever widening clump.

SHADE bromeliads

Vriesea sanguinolenta

Vriesea sanguinolenta

The Vriesea sanguinolenta is also a stately plant. This one prefers the dappled shade.  It can grow to 3 x 3 ft.

Vriesea fosteriana

Vriesea fosteriana

The Vriesea fosteriana is another interesting one,with its marbled strappy leaves. It forms a rosette to 2-3 ft large.

Neoregelia 'Magic Star Mint'

Neoregelia ‘Magic Star Mint’

Here’s one that can  do both: Shade or sun. Is the modest sized Neoregelia ‘Magic Star Mint’.  Its size is 1-2 ft x 1-2 ft (with slowly ever widening clumps).

Dyckia fosteriana hybrid 'Brittlestar'

Dyckia fosteriana hybrid ‘Brittlestar’

From the Bromeliad family:  Dyckia fosteriana hybrids ‘Brittlestar‘. It’s suitable for bright light, full sun or shade. Dyckias are succulents from the bromeliad family that form small clumps to about 8 inches by 8 inches, slowly widening, that bloom with orange flowers on a 2-3 upright, slightly branching inflorescence (here: flower stalk). With stiff and thorny leaves, prefer rocky and/or sunny areas and have a natural tendency to clump leading to thick, large mats. It’s cold hardy to 20-25 °.

Don’t forget that all these bromeliads are un-demanding in their water-needs and  fit beautifully into xeriscape designs.

I thank Eric from Rancho Soledad and deeply appreciate his generous help with this article!

Is Your Front Yard the Final Frontier? Conquer Your Home Landscape Design with These Distinctive Exotics

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Vriesea imperialis is a regal presence in this garden. Greene garden, Encinitas

Vriesea imperialis is a regal presence in this landscape. Greene garden, Encinitas

Searching for unique and exceptional plants that could be worthy complements to the striking and curvilinear architecture of a client’s home in Carlsbad, I visited Rancho Soledad Nursery in rural Rancho Santa Fe/CA.  This grower specializes in unusual specimens and is responsible for many exciting plant innovations in the plant world.

The plants that I was after would also need to fit other important requirements:  They needed to be non-fussy plants, fitting into a home landscape design, and be low water landscape plants.

After describing to Eric, one of the sales managers there, what I was after, he led me to a group of plants that grabbed my fantasy immediately:  All had a round form of fleshy, almost leathery leave rosettes reminiscent of a pineapple plant; some had dreamy marbling and textures on their leaves while others stood out by their foliage color. Some would bloom repeatedly, and others would develop majestic flower “inflorescences” that would stand out in any garden for months. What were these, I inquired, and what were their growing requirements?

Vriesea imperialis

Vriesea imperialis makes a good companion to other low water plants

Eric explained to me that these subtropical plants were terrestrial bromeliads, relatives of the Pineapple family  (Bromeliaceae), native to the Americas from the southern United States all the way to the tip of Argentina, and growing from near sea level up to 14,000 feet. The ones that grow in the open on rocks or in soil are very drought resistant plants. (Other ones called epiphytes grow on trees, and then there’s a genus of bromeliads called Cryptanthus that is not drought tolerant.)

Because of their striking, sometimes spectacular form these bromeliads would make great additions to any modern garden design with their forms ranging from small prickly agave-like plants, to spectacular basal rosettes open to the sky; some have narrow pointy, spiny-toothed leaves, others grow strappy ones like a New Zealand Flax, only with a softer, more arching and less stern appearance.

 

Vriesea imperialis inflorescence

Vriesea imperialis inflorescence

Some produce drooping clusters of showy bracts and tubular flowers; others send out an upright stalk decorated with the most striking and brightly colored inflorescence that makes a giant focal point in the landscape. All are easy to grow, requiring well-drained soil and only average watering; it is important for water to collect in the cups or center of the rosettes.

 

 

 

 

 

Aechmea recurvata

Aechmea recurvata, tolerant of full sun with only little water

As the Cactus and Succulents Society of America recommends, “Division of rosettes is the standard method of propagation, though of course new hybrids must be started from seed-it’s fun to plant seeds and see what develops. Some plants cluster very quickly and can give the grower a real problem when it comes time to divide or re-pot them. I recommend a pair of long leather gloves (sometimes sold as “rose-pickers”) and a sharp knife plus some sort of pry-bar. Weeding around them is best done with the “cactus-grabber” (actually a fishhook-disgorger) that most of us who grow spiny plants have bought in self-defense. The plants do not seem to be subject to many pests or diseases, though some from Brazil, as mentioned above, may be sensitive to low temperatures. Many are really beautiful and a great asset in the plant collection. “

 

Aechmea cv. ‘Prietro’ : Its dark foliage would make an eye-catching contrast to any fleshy or feathery foliage, or a pleasing complement to any orange, red or yellow color.

Bromeliads have great color, ranging from grey to bronze to almost black; other ones sport blades or straps from chartreuse-green to orange to flaming red.  Some of them can tolerate bright hot sun (that actually brings out their flaming color) while others ones prefer the shade, perhaps under a canopy of a tree, or even on the northside of a house, under the eaves.

 

 

 

 

Aechmea comata 'Lemon Lime' -- more striking and softer than New Zealand Flax

Aechmea comata ‘Lemon Lime’ — more striking and softer than New Zealand Flax

These xeriscape plants are entirely compatible with succulents and other drought resistant plants in low water landscaping. In the design that I was preoccupied with they would make exceptional companions to the other architectural plants, such as the exotic looking Silk Floss Tree Ceiba speciosa and the bold Small Cape Rush Chondropetalum tectorum…

 

 

 

Aechmea blanchettiana. Design by Glorious Gardens, Encinitas

Aechmea blanchettiana makes a fine centerpiece in this succulent arrangement.
Design by Glorious Gardens, Encinitas

Since I have a penchant for extravagance and am always on the look-out for unusual plants, I’m happy that with these Bromeliads I have found a group of plants that will grab anybody’s attention.  With their resilience in hot sun or dry shade and their low maintenance or water needs, they seem to fit the sustainable landscape design needs.  And with their strong form, their intriguing coloring and exciting textures  they make upstanding elements of any landscape design that wants to stand out and hold your attention for a long time.

I’m happy that these plants seem to fit the needs of any lover of plant exotics AND  plant lover the bill of any sustainable landscape design and since I have a penchant for extravagance,  I’m sure I’ll be using these whenever They fit into my , are tough and beautiful, and that  integrate well into the sustainable landscape design.  Since they perform so well in tough spaces, hot sun or dry shade, I’m sure to see more of these in my designs and expect them to perform well in difficult places, whether tough hot spots or dry shade.

I’ll describe some of these in the 2nd part of my post “The eye-catching bromeliad -  No tenderfoot in the drought resistant landscape”.

 

Sources:

You can admire many beautiful terrestrial bromeliads at these locations:

San Diego Botanic Garden, Encinitas.

The Botanical Building (or Lath House) at Balboa Park, San Diego, features many shade loving bromeliads.

Here’s where I photographed most of these bromeliads:

Rancho Soledad Nursery, Rancho Santa Fe, CA

A Glorious Garden Garden and Design Center, Encinitas

From Boring Yard to Garden Joy: Six Steps to Help You Create Your Dream Landscape Design (Part II)

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In my previous post, I described the first 3 ingredients to creating your most inviting outdoor living space:
1. Dream it;  2. determine your needs and assign physical space  requirements to each element;  3. define your style.

Here now are the remaining three steps to make this happen:

4. Draw up a plan for your home landscape design (or get professional landscape design help)

curved wallTaking in all the clues from Rachel’s interior design, the architecture of her house and her preferred color palette a picture was quickly emerging in my mind:

  • I pictured a low water landscape breathing peace and beauty, brimming with color and plant life.  The garden would be laid out around two main paved areas reminiscent of Spanish/Mexican courtyards.
  • Benches would offer seating to take a drink or finger food, to enjoy the many colors or to feel the comfortable atmosphere and peaceful mood of the garden.
  • One area would invite more  for quiet sitting and contemplation of a fountain ;
  • The other area, closest to Rachel’s kitchen, would be the main food serving area.  Here two benches would form a square for people to mingle, with room for side tables that Rachel could bring in if she had more trays than she wanted to place directly on the benches.
  • A walkway would be connecting these spaces, and their layout would be following the shape of the house (its walls were slightly curved outwards); the new pavement would be placed directly adjacent to the existing patio to allow people comfortable access to all areas of the garden.
  • Doing this suggested either a similar or a completely different pavement…
  • The benches would allow me to introduce more colors into the garden: They would be in  complementary colors to each other, to the perimeter walls that I’d also paint, and to an additional, purely ornamental wall that I would use as “room divider”, “weight” and upright element in the garden.
  • This wall, in the shape of an undulating wave, would complement and contrast a water feature that would be the focal point of the quieter sitting area.

Rachel First Draft
 5.   Remove what’s not needed;  and put all ingredients together:

Rachel was very excited about the first draft of this backyard landscape design and approved all of it.

She was most thrilled about the idea of applying paint to all of the walls, the perimeter wall included.

Stone slab fountain

And she loved the fountain idea which consisted of two stone slabs, mounted one on top of the other at differing angles, with a central core from which water would run over both stones.

For the new pavement we opted for grey concrete with an acid wash finish (which brings out the sand aggregate in the mix).  This seemed the most elegant and cost-effective material that would harmonize with the existing grey concrete. (In the photo outlines of the future design elements are drawn onto the ground to help fine-tune their shape and dimensions, and to help the homeowner visualize the future look of the garden. It also shows how all plants have been removed except for the fruit trees and the Pine Tree in the opposite corner.)

Accents

And so the final design came together very quickly.  After a soil test we chose a mix of some  “Southwestern”  plants with some other ones that like it here in Leucadia, too: Rock Purslane Calandrinia spectabilis, Aloe ‘Red Hot Chili Pepper’, Red Yucca Hesperaloe parviflora,  Aeonium ‘Cabernet’ and Crassula ‘Campfire, to name a few’;  more drought resistant plants such as Sundrops Calylophus drummondii and Penstemon Margarita BoP; the “bones” and structure of this low water landscape would be provided by the shrubs ‘Goldstar’ Yellow Bells  Tecoma stans stans ‘Goldstar’ and Dwarf Variegated Myrtle Myrtus communis variegata compacta,  to which Rachel added a favorite of hers, a Yellow Mexican Bird of Paradise  Caesalpinia gilliesii.   We placed another shade tree to shade the reading nook (Crape Myrtle “Centennial Spirit” Lagerstroemia x hybrids), over at the other end of the garden; its orange-red color will be a nice color teaser when in bloom.  Ornamental grasses add a light and airy, even dreamy character to the plantings. Here we used Hairy Awn Mulhly Muhlenbergia capillaris, Golden Variegated Sweet Flag Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’, and Blue Oat Grass Helictotrichon sempervirens.

Purple Bougainvilleas drape a post-and-wire-trellis in two critical places to raise the privacy screen around the perimeter but leave a window to view the ocean.

To the colors of the plants those of the walls would be a permanent contrast, stimulus and harmonious “compliment” .  We chose Orange for the perimeter wall; “Violet Majesty” purple for the seatwalls; and Chartreuse/lime for the curved wall across from the fountain.

Rachel and me

6. Enjoy!

Sitting in the sun with Rachel recently on one of the colorful benches, and enjoying a sweet breakfast Danish (a “prop” left-over from staging her garden for the photo shoot),  she remarked on how much she loves her garden now, and how she marvels at discovering, every morning when she comes outside to visit it, another plant in bloom or just colorful on its own.

At that moment a bee was visiting a rock purslane flower right behind her shoulder, and as I was pointing the bee out to her she hardly moved away and said she loved how so many of them are now visiting her garden.  This is what she had dreamt of, and she’s learning to take care of the plants and delight in them any moment she can.

This backyard landscape design was faithfully executed by  San Diego Landscaper  Mark Sterk/Columbine Landscape Inc.

A Rock Purslane draws the visitors hungry for its nectar

Thank Heaven for Little Trees, for Little Trees Grow Bigger Every Day! The Role of Trees in Landscape Design

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Tipu foliage and flowers

Recently, on a hot Sunday afternoon, I noticed a curious thing:  On a comfortable chaise-lounge in the shade of my Tipu tree,  I was reading a good book when I felt drops of water or some other liquid falling on me.  Was it raining? The drops were so tiny that I couldn’t even see them on my skin, but there was no doubt about what I was sensing. Wondering if I was experiencing aphid droplets falling out of the tree canopy, I examined the surrounding furniture on my deck, but there was nothing of that sticky substance that aphids exude and that is known as honeydew.  What could these droplets be?

Tipuana tipu

Knowing about how trees cool themselves, I imagine that it was the tree itself that sprayed on me:  Evaporation (“transpiration”) of water from its foliage in the hot afternoon was extra fast and generous to form the minutest droplets that ‘rained’ on me.

A gentle spray to cool me off – how awesome!

Have you ever noticed how wonderful the shade under a tree feels, especially on a hot day? The lovely sensation on my skin made me think again about how important trees are in the sustainable landscape design, no matter which climate you live in.  Consider the most obvious at this time of year: Beauty from bloom and form; shade and reduced energy cost, and an emotional connection that we all have to trees.

As I was lounging in the shade, I was wondering how big the temperature difference was that I felt there:  In the full sun it was close to 100° F that afternoon; in the shade by contrast a comfortable 85° F!  And the air that I was breathing under it was fresh and cool – the tiny droplets were just an added pleasure.

Silk Tree Albizia julibrissin

Numerous authors and organizations have made a valuable contribution to this subject and demonstrated to homeowners and planners alike, with hard numbers, the measurable payback of trees, even the increase in real estate value! There are many fun facts about the social, environmental, economic and communal benefits of trees at sites like these:

“Trees are Good”,  by the International Society of Arboriculture; “Canopy”, a publication by a volunteer organization in Palo Alto that cares for trees; “Why Shade Streets? The Unexpected Benefit” by the Center of Urban Forest Research.

DSC_6214 rev

As gardener and landscape designer San Diego  passionate about sustainable landscape design another benefit comes to mind that many gardeners have certainly noticed, too:

The canopy of an evergreen tree provides a perfect microclimate for cold-sensitive plants as well as for those that prefer the dappled shade over a sun-baked situation. This is particularly true of inland valley or desert situations where many plants, even the desert plant species, that tolerate full sun closer to the coast appreciate the reprieve that a tree canopy provides as too much sunlight creates problems with the plant’s ability to regulate photosynthesis (this is the chemical process by which plants convert water and carbon dioxide from the air into carbohydrates).

Palm shade

The shade also translates into lower water needs for everything growing beneath as well as prolonged growth and flowering:  While many plants, even drought resistant plants, go limp or floppy in the mid-day heat of summer, the ones in the shade show more intense color and firmer foliage. (Some plants respond to the heat and drought by going dormant and dropping their leaves, such as California Buckeye, a California native plant.)

Drought resistant plants that actually prefer the dappled shade (or afternoon shade from a building) are many succulents, such as Aeoniums, Sedums and Echeverias, even Foxtail Agave Agave attenuata prefers this situation.  Also many flowering perennials and soft-leaved plants such as Sundrops Calylophus drummondii, Copper Canyon Daisy (Mexican Marigold) Tagetes lemmonii, and Purple Sage Salvia leucophylla come to mind.

Bougainvillea TreeAnd then there are the strictly aesthetic-driven aspects of designing with trees, and I can’t even begin to consider a home landscape design without them, or any landscape design for that matter. (I wrote about it already in a previous post “Trees in my garden? No trees, please!”). They are a garden’s upright support and beams; they are the main structural elements around which all other plants are arranged.  They feel to me like the “ceiling” and walls in the garden; shrubs and flowers are the furniture so to speak…

Trees also give a garden its mood:  Compare the feel that a palm tree creates in a garden, with that of a deciduous Sycamore; or picture the branches of a pine tree and the “whoosh” of a breeze going through it, and compare it with the burning orange fall-foliage of a Crape Myrtle or Western Redbud!

Trees can mark a spot as focal point; they can denote a boundary; they can frame and enhance a view or screen out an unsightly one.  Most  important perhaps is the comforting, protected feeling that we experience: There’s something primordial about sitting under the canopy of a tree:  It connects us with ancient, genetically anchored memories of our cave days, I imagine, and sitting in an open field has a very different, un-sheltered feel.  A landscape without them is feels lifeless to me, depressing even; there’s not much shelter for birds so they stay away, and it doesn’t feel nurturing.

If all this makes you want to design your landscape and select the best tree for it, here are a few more resources specifically for San Diego homeowners:

San Diego Tree/Palm/Plant Pictures at http://www.geographylists.com/sandiegoplants.html

And perhaps the tree down the street that you have been interested in has already been identified and listed in our own San Diego Tree map?

This fun interactive map lets you search for a particular tree by neighborhood:  Just locate your street, zero in on it and see whether the tree you are interested in has already been identified.  Conversely, if you have identified a tree in your neighborhood and want to contribute to this database, just upload a photo and the information, and you’ll help your neighbors learn about it.  This great resource also shows you some of those ‘hard numbers’ that I mentioned above as the trees’  “Yearly Eco Impact”.

tree protecting pond

To get a feel for the physical presence and characteristics of a tree, especially at maturity, nothing suits this better than a visit to any of the resources that we have here in San Diego:  There’s the San Diego Zoo of which its founder, Dr. Harry Wegeforth said,  “A luxuriant growth of trees and foliage was one of the chief features of the Zoo as I planned it in my mind’s eye.” (Read also “San Diego Zoo Gardens”).

Then there’s the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas, and the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon. Or the San Diego Safari Park that  is home to 4 ac of California nativescapes, with more than 1500 individual plants representing 500 species, all of which historically call SoCal home.   And then there’s their conifer forest with more than 1,000 plants representing 400 species of conifers..

And don’t forget San Diego’s Balboa Park!

Take a stroll one of these summer days and marvel at the beauty and cool comfort that the shade of the trees provide.  Send me photos of our finds, share your landscape design ideas with me and let me know if there’s a resource that I didn’t think of!

ART IN THE HOME LANDSCAPE DESIGN – Is It a Case of “You Know It When You See It?“

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Realizing that the competition among landscaping companies San Diego is strong, landscape designers vie for the homeowner’s choice with their best photo of their most artful work because to do so is accepted theory practiced and taught by marketing experts.

This puts me into a bind of sorts:  What is my best work?  I thought I knew that, but when I show my portfolio to potential clients I get the most divergent comments on my work that make me question this assumption. Take this example:

Lots of grasses, a large boulder and colorful perennials give this scene a naturalistic look.

This landscape design appeals to me, and I feel it is one of my more successful ones.  I love how the grasses capture the light, and how the pinks and purples in the foreground harmonize with the greens.  It’s a romantic and successful arrangement of textures and shapes, evoking an idealistic and earthy mountain scene, and many people who see it exclaim “How beautiful this is!”  and “I love this”.

You can perhaps imagine my amazement when I experienced for the first time a client who, with a crinkle in her eyebrow, said “Nah… This looks too weedy for me”.  Other comments have been “too crowded”  and “too jumbled”.

Or take this example of a DIY landscape design:  Here I helped a homeowner fine-tune her front yard landscape design ideas, advised on her selection of drought resistant plants and assisted with the plant layout (this was in order to qualify for the City of San Diego’s  Lawn Replacement Rebate Program.)

Example of DIY design showing front yard landscaping design ideas

The application for the rebate was successful; the homeowner received a partial reimbursement of the turf removal/installation cost.  Better still, her front yard captures the admiration of her neighbors who admit that “there’s now so much more going on” in her yard and that “it is so alive”! My client loves it and is very happy with the design.

(The project is shown here right after planting; nothing has grown in.)

Would you say that the photo of this garden deserves a place in my portfolio as my “best work”?  Is this design artful? Would you like it?

Contrast this project now with this:

Two chairs against a green backdrop invite to sit and relax

I just love this arrangement of two classy chairs, the glimpse of an elegant pavement and a pretty table décor, against a green plant screen that evokes privacy and peace.  The vase and flowers on the table add beautiful, warm colors to the scene and give it a lively spark. Who wouldn’t want to sit here? Don’t all elements combine to make you relaxed as you imagine yourself sitting here?

Without doubt this is a very inviting scene, and I have yet to hear an indifferent comment about it, but is it artful?

In the end I think this is a fairly irrelevant question.  I have found that what counts to my clients is the style they prefer, that speaks to their aesthetics.

Since I have realized this, I find my work much more satisfying.  Of course there’s the tough project once in a while: Designing a garden that excludes anything attractive to bees is “unnatural” to me, even though I understand the client’s fear of bee stings… …(This design incorporated lots of grasses and plants that don’t flower very often, such as Agaves, and wind-pollinated plants, as much as I could determine this.)

Equally, creating a landscape that categorically excluded trees was a challenge.   But I tried my best and gave him what he wanted -  he wouldn’t have felt at ease in a landscape with trees.  So even this was in the end a good experience, and the homeowner was very comfortable with the design.

When I help my clients turn their landscape design ideas into a project that works for them, I’m successful, and they enjoy the beauty they see. And although I have my personal preference as to how I want to use plants to give life to a space, I try to temper it and put my client’s glasses on, so to speak. (That’s why designing a garden without trees or flowers is harder to do).  Sometimes the happy circumstance puts me together with a homeowner who loves my own style, and those designs are most inspiring to me.  But whether those designs or any other ones that I do are artful only you, the user, can say.

 

 

 

Sustainable Landscape Design – Celebrating California at its Best

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Drought resistant plants enhance the bungalow.

Everything about the location of their new home appealed to Ara and Diego:  Conveniently located at a comfortable driving distance to schools, work (both work in medical research at a local university), shopping and cultural events of San Diego, and located in a quiet residential neighborhood, it offered a magnificent view of San Diego Bay, right from their back patio.  It had a good-sized landscape with many fruit trees and room for Diego’s exotics collection; it even had a pool and large play lawns for the couple’s three children.

The house before the transformation

The home’s architecture and layout however left a lot to be desired:  The 70’s style red tile roof of this Perceived-Spanish fantasy weighed heavily on it; chopped-up rooms and lack of windows and doors were not taking advantage of one of the most prized attributes to Southern California lifestyle:  Our brilliant skies and mild temperatures inviting “inside-out living” spaces that blend seamlessly together.  Ara and Diego dreamt of taking advantage of all as much as possible; with their love of contemporary and mid-century modern art and architecture they decided on a radical transformation of their new home. The changes would not stop at the home itself; picket fence, spindly palm trees and neatly hedged shrubs did not fit into their aesthetics either nor into their sense of sustainability.

One of the first things they decided on was to lift off the heavy roof, revealing the clean horizontal lines of a modernist bungalow, and refreshing the exterior with a white smooth “Santa Barbara” stucco.  On the inside, rooms were enlarged, and in the center a large community space created that floats seamlessly from living to dining to living space. The old entry hall was removed and replaced by a courtyard that is open to the front yard; a room addition created a U-shaped patio in the back yard.  Here a warm, barefoot-friendly Ipe deck is a continuation of the wood flooring indoors and invites as much living outdoors as possible, facilitated by sliding doors that connect every room with the outside.

The xeriscape design of the front yard

Ara’s and Diego’s creative passions didn’t stop at the house : They were interested in landscape design help that would complement and soften the crisp edges of the home’s modernist design; it needed also to reflect the couple’s artwork and accommodate their active lifestyle. The new landscape design should work with the dry California climate as a low water landscape; it should only require a modicum of maintenance, and it also needed to incorporate Diego’s exotic collection of cacti and succulents. 

Play lawn and drought resistant plants

As we were brainstorming possible landscape design ideas, we agreed that the lawns had an essential place in the landscape as much-used play areas for the couple’s children and their friends. Both the back yard landscape design as well as the front yard are designed around the children’s activities.

The entrance patio, right next to the garage and the driveway, was a bit too open to the public; we wanted it to be off-set without employing a heavy screen.  The pavement here consisted of a beautiful travertine tile into which we cut out a row of tiles, just between it and the driveway.  Here we placed a couple of naturally rusted steel troughs that “enclosed” the patio and created a visual although very low separation between the two. More a suggestion rather than an actual screen, a lacy curtain of horsetail reeds creates greater privacy for this courtyard that is open to the public yet can’t easily be scrutinized by passersby.

Artwork in the entrance courtyard

Decorating the wall across from the breakfast room we mounted a red metal sculpture fabricated after Ara’s and Diego’s design. It decorates a fountain trough made also of steel left to rust naturally.  (The fountain is presently under repair, and the trough not filled.)

Ipe fence and gate in the side yard

With the heavy roofs gone, the horizontal lines of the architecture dominated the landscape.  I employed xeriscape plants whose dramatic shapes, intricate textures and sky-reaching forms contrast with the regularity of the architecture and lend an exotic touch to the landscape:  Dracaenas Dracaena marginata, Ponytail Palm Beaucarnea recurvata, Caribbean Copper Plant Euphorbia cotinifolia and Purple Peppermint Willow Agonis flexuosa ‘After Dark’ lend the height and the dark color accent; Agaves and cacti the exotic notes; bold Aeoniums and Rock Purslane Calandrinia spectabilis  the color and visual interest.  A giant New Zealand Flax, Rushes and False Yucca Hesperaloe parviflora lend the airier character, and to all xeriphytic perennials contribute a softening effect.

The old access to the side yard was re-designed; a good-looking Ipe fence picks up the material used in the back yard for the deck extension and inside the home for the flooring. 

Cereus monstrosus

Diego had already started a substantial collection of fantastic cacti such as Cleistocactus and Cereus monstrosus; also Foxtail Agaves, Aloes and a giant Euphorbia canariensis; some of them had been salvaged from his previous home.  They all found their new home in this xeriscape San Diego and are a much better aesthetical fit for the home’s architectural style than the clipped shrubs and fence of the former landscape.  Some of them act as their own dramatic pieces of art and have prominent places in the landscape (here across from the red metal courtyard sculpture).

Desert plant species set off by gravel

A local gravel called ‘Palm Springs Gold’ serves as mulch and adds a textural element. It is also a clean foil against which the colors and textures of these plants stand out. It evokes a desert  scape in which succulents are used in great numbers together with long-flowering and lasting perennials and other drought resistant plants.

Getting ready for outdoor fun

More from common sense and the desire for sustainability than aesthetics, the existing pool and part of the previous deck (bordering the new Ipe deck) were integrated into the new landscape and allow a smooth access from house to pool, play lawn and garden.

When the weather is warm which is around 300 days a year, the family keeps the windows and sliding doors to this terrace open.

Colorful low-maintenance xeriscape plants plants

What an exciting project this was, and how satisfying.  To me as landscape designer San Diego it reflects a new “California Mix”:  A definite aesthetic sense influencing the design of home and garden without ever imposing a purist’s approach; a strong desire for a sustainable landscape design that honors the style of the owners while acknowledging the needs of the family and the environment.

Shade sails – an airy, energetic and imaginative structure element in the landscape

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Whenever I see the shade sails in this garden, I have the sensation of floating through the landscape, as though the patio was a ship sailing past islands of colorful plants and fun activities.  I also think of comfort; activities beneath these sails are protected from drizzle, fog and sunshine without being weighed down by heavy beams.

sail shades protect from UV rays and unwanted viewsCASE STUDY IN LA JOLLA

In the above backyard landscape design, the installer designed a combination of 2 super-imposed sails made to specs from sun-rated HDPE (high density polyethylene) fire rated shade fabric, sage green, both in a triangle shape. After determining the specific angle that was needed to block out the noon sun, one sail tip was attached with a strong stainless steel cable to the 1st story façade of the L-shaped house; a second point of attachment is on the roof of the lower arm of the L, where the actual anchoring was achieved by attaching to the roof beams.  The 3rd sail tip is attached to a steel post with a 4’-6” foot-deep base set in concrete that is hidden among the bamboo culms. Together both shade sails are very efficient at blocking the sun of the dining area, and their swooping outlines impart motion and energy to the landscape.

These sails can also be mounted vertically to block out a bad view; in this project the sails served to screen out the neighbor’s house that was looming behind the fence.

In cases where there is no house or roof to attach the sails to, free-standing posts are planted to which the sails are attached.

DETERMINING SHADE AND EFFICIENCY

The shade sails above were tested in a mock-up prior to installation. Other methods include “shade auditing” and  shadow mapping.

BENEFITS

  • Protection from UV rays (some fabrics offer up to 97 % UV protection);
  • Custom designed to fit the project’s requirements, in triangle, or trapezoid/square shapes (some standard sizes are available);
  • They represent cool landscape ideas that add value to the home and attractiveness to the landscape;
  • They can serve as vertical screen to increase privacy or block out a bad view;
  • They can be designed and installed to withstand high wind ratings.
  • Low maintenance: Yearly washing is recommended (some installers offer this service).

PRODUCT QUALITY
Every component of a shade sail is designed to stand up to the rigors of day in–day out exposure to the sun.  Many shade sails also have an up to 10 year manufacturer’s warranty against UV degradation.

DESIGN

As landscape designer San Diego, I love the contemporary character of these structures, their playful and even elegant forms and subtle colors. They make for an artistic statement, be it in a Mediterranean landscape, an eclectic “California mix”, or the landscape design adorning a modern home.

Since the sails can be mounted on roofs, façades or free-standing posts not planted in a fixed square or rectangle, I enjoy the artistic freedom that this allows my residential landscape design; these free-form shapes can totally transform a bland landscape into an architectural showpiece.

Christiane, your design is beautiful. Viewers love the design and color. Thank you so much for all your support while the project was being developed. It would have been more stressful for me had you not held my hand regularly.

Rachel Michel

CHRISTIANE HOLMQUIST LANDSCAPE DESIGN


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