Water Conservation Garden Archives - Christiane Holmquist Landscape Design

SMALL BUT LOVELY: DIY landscape design ideas for small spaces

September 16, 2011 By Christiane Holmquist 2 Comments

Replace the lawn with a pond for greater entertainment

The pond is the focal point of this small back yard

Good things come in small packages!

I invite you to my upcoming class at the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon next Saturday. Learn how to create a sparkling jewel of a landscape for your condominium, cottage, side yard, or smaller front or backyard.

I will share important principles of design to consider before beginning your project, show you inspiring visual examples of completed projects, and answer your questions about how to make the most of your small space garden.

This class will also be helpful for people wanting to divide larger landscape plans in to manageable sized projects.

Saturday September 24, 2011, 10am – 12 pm.

condo back yard landscape design in san diego, ca

Comfort, water trickle and colorful foliage beckon in this condo garden.

The lawn needs to go – but what then? Water Conservation Issues and Garden Re-do addressed at “The Garden”

March 24, 2011 By Christiane Holmquist 1 Comment

Prompted by the rising water cost and irrigation restrictions, San Diego homeowners consult the many resources available the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon (at www.thegarden.org ). Among these resources are landscape design and horticulture experts offering consultations on subjects like “California Friendly Plants”, watering, arboriculture (the science concerned with trees), construction issues and landscape design. I enjoy being one of those professionals, and I thought you might be curious to learn how such a consultation might work for the people that come there.

In my consultations I generally encounter the same objective: Feeling the need to reduce their water bill or wanting a landscape that is more practical and ecological, these homeowners are ready to retire their mostly lawn-centered landscape. They come to the Water Conservation Garden with the common question, “What do I plant now?” Most of them believe that planting the right plants would make their gardens better and solve their problems; isn’t that what the beautiful low-water-use plants at “The Garden” are all about?

I understand this thinking but, as designer and horticulturist, I don’t think that suggesting different, albeit drought resistant, water-wise or “xeric” plants, would address the underlying problem (although those plants are generally more sustainable). I feel that planting random groups of plants into the former lawn area would not create attractive, comfortable spaces for outdoor living that “work”. Since that is my focus, I explain to the visitors that it would serve them best if they considered first how to make enjoyable outdoor living possible, in separate spaces designed for different uses.

What needs to happen in a yard so it can become an “outdoor living room”? How do you convert it into a play room, or entertainment space, a space to hang out, relax, dream, rejuvenate?

A garden space needs to be organized spatially and hierarchically, and I start my design process, in which I involve my visitors, by asking them if they can think of an activity that they would like to do but never had room for or that was relegated to a back corner of their garden. Perhaps there is some almost forgotten vision of a garden scene in the recesses of their memory that they never took seriously? Take the example of my last visitors at the Garden:

This family, husband, wife and son, arrived well prepared for the consultation, with photos and a sketch of their garden drawn to scale. They had decided to take out most of the lawn, a large expanse right by the patio; they would only keep a small part of it for their son for whom lawn mowing is a therapeutic activity. Opposite the patio, far across the lawn, was a planter bed, but since it was so far away and confined also by a low wall, the flowers in it were not recognizable from the patio. To my surprise, the lady told me that it held roses! Her husband mentioned, almost in passing, that he would like to grow succulents. Some trees were there, but they had been planted around the louter perimeter of the lawn so that they couldn’t throw any shade where it mattered most, which was on their hot south-west facing patio.

“Hardscaping” elements such as patios, walk ways, fencing, arbors, boulders – convey permanence and add structure. Most of them don’t have to be maintained, except for some new coat of paint or occasional sweeping, depending on the material used. And they don’t demand watering, fertilization, pruning… So I suggest to incorporate them as much as possible into a design and let them “furnish” the garden, organize the space into areas of different use, provide separation as well as access, focal points, delineation and definition.

In the case of the before mentioned visitors, we found that a swing for adults, placed under a shade tree, would be lovely to have; I suggested to place it at the far end of the garden from where the family could see house and patio from a new perspective, and I drew its outlines on transparent paper taped over their sketch. And why not pull rose bed and succulents closer to the patio from where they could be seen? Of course not into one flower bed, but in different areas that are perhaps even mounded up, separated by a walk way: Gently curved mounds give movement to an otherwise flat plan, and the plants on them can be seen better, like on a painted canvas. And if your soil drains poorly, creating those mounds helps improve the drainage because you can mix the mounded soil to provide the drainage your plants need, such as many Mediterranean plants, California Natives and succulents, and even roses.

roses framing view

As for the lawn, we drew a much reduced kidney-shaped area that started at one end of the patio, wrapped around behind the rose bed and the succulent mound, and ended at the other end of the patio. This way it was still visible and easy to get to from the patio without dominating the foreground. And to make all the different areas accessible, we discussed stepping stones and DG as possible material for the walkways, even coarse landscape mulch was considered.

Lastly we reviewed the possible locations of trees, and I pointed to my most favorite reference books on this subject: Ornamental Trees for a Mediterranean Climate, the trees of San Diego, by Steve Brigham with book design and photographs by Don Walker, and the Sunset Western Garden Book. Here gardeners can research all their favorite choices before making the final selection; they can actually visit the trees shown in the tree book at their location!

Our time was up, and although we had not talked much about plants in detail, the family was happy (I suggested to look to the Water Conservation Garden’s displays for ideas). Both husband and wife had information and tools in their hands that will make “playing” with their spaces, on paper first, a fun and exciting activity; selecting goals that are realistic and achievable with their budget and energy will now be a manageable task. And finally, armed with the proper reference books and resources that the Water Conservation Garden and other public gardens in San Diego County offer, they will be on their way to a garden that they can enjoy, and live in.

Olives in January – Another California Winter Story

January 10, 2011 By Christiane Holmquist 4 Comments

Having my daughter home at Christmas is always a delight as we enjoy as much time in the sun as we can, while her home town is buried by several feet of snow. This last holiday, as we were enjoying some gardening chores together my daughter commented on the heavy olive crop that was still on the tree. I guess it was the appetite for another chicken baked with black olives, rosemary and lemon peel (one of our favorite recipes) that encouraged us to get serious about harvesting our olives before rodents, birds or insects would get them.

Placing the ladder under the canopy to get to the branches for hand-picking was difficult because of the many ornamentals planted in the dappled shade of the tree. (This drought tolerant, attractive tree with silvery-green foliage is a wonderful addition to the drought tolerant, Mediterranean garden, and many un-thirsty plants enjoy the dappled shade that it provides.)

Most of the other olives had to be gotten down without help of the ladder, so we tried raking or knocking them off with a long pole and catching them in a tarp that my daughter and I held up. All needed to be done carefully to prevent injuries to the branches because this could have invited “Olive Knot”, a bacterial infestation resulting in galls developing at the branch that will cause die back. (To protect from Olive Knot requires a couple of copper sprays each year, one in the fall following harvest and one in the early spring.)

We filled a few buckets, picking out the mushy or half eaten ones of which there were a few. This fruit has been enjoyed for thousands of years in the Mediterranean area (where it is still grown), so there is a multitude of curing recipes out there. We prefer the salty dry ones like the black, pungent French Nyons olives, so after washing them we are curing them now with salt. The curing is needed to remove the bitter glucosides (“Oleuropein”) that account for the horrible taste (which is a pity – they look so appetizing already uncured!) Other methods are water curing, brine curing and lye treatments (See “Safe Methods for Home Picking” , a publication by the University of California, Div. of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8267.pdf )

To try dry-salt-cure olives, use a pillow-case, for which you have made a drawstring top. Mix the olives with their own weight in non iodized table salt, pickling salt, or rock salt. Pour them into the pillowcase and cover with more salt. Hang the pillow case in a place where the juice that will drop from it will not stain – perhaps in a tree? Stir them once a week for 4 weeks or until they have lost their bitterness. When they are no longer terribly bitter, rinse in water and allow to dry overnight. Then pack them in oil until you are ready to consume them. (From “Lost Arts, A Cook’s guide to making vinegar, curing olives, crafting fresh goat cheese and simple mustards” by Lynn Alley, Ten Speed Press).

It was particularly interesting to learn from the Olive Grower’s Council of California in Visalia that some small olive oil presses may actually still cold press. However, most modern olive oil equipment warms (not heats) the paste to allow better release of the oil from the olive flesh.

Here some more background info that Mr. Adin Hester of the Olive Grower’s Council shared with me: Table olives are an important economic crop in California. Major producing counties include Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Glenn, Tehama and Butte. LA County/San Fernando Valley at one time was a major producer of olives for oil and table use. (About the same historical time, Butte County was also a major table and oil producer.)
Now the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valley are the major producers.

The 2010 crop produced a record setting 164,984 tons. About 5% was left on the trees because of small size and freeze damage in late November. This year’s harvest was one month later than normal. The industry generally begins table olive harvest in mid-September and finishes by November first.

Olive oil harvest begins in late October to early November and generally finishes by the end of December. The later harvest, the greater the risk of freeze damaged olives. Frozen olives produce an unacceptable oil.

Today two major varieties of table olives are grown in California: Manzanillo (80%), and Sevillano (the big green olive that gets fermented and stuffed with almonds) (20%). There are still minimal acres of Mission, Barouni and Ascolano table olives grown in California. Even a few acres of Kalamata olives are found in the state.

Olive tree culture:

Cold hardy to 15 degree F / -9 degrees C, it thrives in areas with hot, dry summers but also perform adequately in coastal areas.

This very ornamental willow-like tree with its soft silvery-green foliage grows slowly, typically to 25-30 ft high and as wide. Young ones put on height fairly fast. It is a more of shrubby tree so training begins early in life, where for a single trunk side branches are shortened and later pruned away below the point where you want branching to begin. The old-timers suggest letting the seedling grow freely for the first 3 – 4 years, then prune for shape. The tree can be also trained into a multi-trunked form; for this, stake lower branches or basal suckers to continue growth at desired angles. It likes well drained soil but also grows in deep, rich soil, or stony soil with little fertilizer.

Pruning is important to maintain a champagne-flute shape of the foliage – if you are interested in a healthy tree and a good crop. The tree is self pollinated, and opening the canopy will enhance air flow and good fruit setting. Pruning should be done after harvest and when the danger of frost is over, which suggests early spring as the best time. The new wood the tree produces during the g rowing season is where the buds will form to produce the following year’s crop.

The Olive tree should not be topped. An exception to this rule is the use of the olive as a hedge. It will form a dense, attractive hedge if topped and trimmed.

Water: It is drought tolerant; however, to produce a crop they need moisture consistently. Spain has over 5.5 million acres, most of which are dry-land farmed. This results in not much production per tree or per acre, but the acreage multiplier still gives them the recognition of being the largest olive producing country in the world.

Sources:

A lot of interesting information, history and great recipes can be found on the website of the California Olive Oil Council http://www.cooc.com/culture_heritage.html

Olive curing recipes: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8267.pdf

also “Calendar of Backyard Gardening Operations for Olives” at http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts/Olive/

Information about Olives: Safe Methods for Home Pickling

http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts/Olive/

(Table) Olive Growers Council of California at http://www.olivecouncil.com/index.html

“Trees in my garden?…. No tree, please!”

August 8, 2010 By Christiane Holmquist 2 Comments

Front yard before re-landscaping

I never thought I would have to come to the defense of trees in the landscape. One of the most perplexing moments in my profession happens when a client says that they don’t want trees in their garden. Upon my rather baffled question why, their response is usually “too much water use”, “too much maintenance”, “not needed” or “just too much trouble”.

Hearing this makes me cringe, but I imagine what might have caused their feelings: High maintenance (such as pine needles in their pool filter), nuisance (like olive stains on the pavement), or danger (such as a branch dropping out of a Eucalyptus tree). With these images in mind, trees are for them undesirable members of the plant family that they don’t want in their garden, and they don’t share the notion that “trees are deeply rooted into the human psyche; in a hectic and chaotic world, greenery provides you with a safe, nourishing haven”. (Fran Lambert, Consulting Arborist, in “Trees and Turf”, April 2006).

Front yard after introduction of trees and other colorful plants

I am passionate about good design as well as about plants, so remaining calm in this situation and not becoming “preachy” is a challenge. The role of trees in the landscape seems uncontested, but when you think about them, what comes to your mind besides beauty, shade, stature?

For me as landscape designer, I am foremost interested in the architectural aspects of trees. First of all, their size and mass establish the overall framework of the spatial composition; in this way, they are among the most important landscape design elements, creating floor, walls and ceilings of “outdoor rooms”. A vegetative ceiling can provide a sense of vertical scale in an outdoor space, a feeling of comfort and shade.

Trees give a house scale and place it in proportion with its surrounding; a house without trees therefore feels like a box that isn’t grounded, like a container that hasn’t settled into its site.

Back side view of house with tree

Back yard without trees

Trees can act as windbreaks or screen of an unsightly view, or frame an attractive one like a picture frame. With their color and structure, they can be used as an accent point in your landscape picture.

Besides being indispensable parts of a design, trees play a great role in human as well as the environment’s health: Their canopies contribute to air quality by filtering dust; they also provide some noise reduction (the tall, densely planted trees with fleshy broad leaves do the best job). And, as a tree provides nesting and shelter for birds, they assist in insect control, and listening to the song of birds is usually very pleasant.

Shady pond

As energy consumer I consider also the energy savings through trees, and last but not last SHADE! “It never rains in California”, and the whole world envies us for it, but to have endless sunshine in a garden would be like living on a sunny plaza that has no shelter from the sun. A man-made shade structure can be a great element in a landscape, but it doesn’t quite have the same effect as the dappled, cool and moist shade of a tree! Summer shade from the deciduous trees placed on either south or west sides can lower utility cost by amazing 10-15% (and allow for solar heating in the winter months).

These are measurable benefits that we gain from trees (not to mention the delight that a tree in full bloom can create). And the cost of trees, you may ask? Of course, there is some maintenance: A young tree will benefit from yearly inspections and minor corrective pruning during its infancy to assist it in growing into a well-shaped healthy specimen; this way a costly restorative pruning can be avoided when the tree is much older.

And water needs? Of course you will need to water your trees; even trees indigenous to our dry Southern California need water during their establishment phase which can last a couple to 3 years depending on the amount of rain during the winter months and other factors influencing establishment.

Weighing the investment in trees against their benefits, consider this: The National Arbor Day Foundation states that “A well placed and properly irrigated tree will have a measurable return on investment”: In deed, the Foundation estimates the value that trees add to properties at 15-20%!

In order to assure the most pleasure out of your trees and the least trouble, here are some suggestions how to avoid problems with your trees:

Select trees that:

– are in the most natural state as possible and have a good trunk taper

– have juvenile branches spaced throughout the trunk (until trees are anchored and established, lower juvenile branches need to remain on the trunk and main stem and therefore looks more like a shrub)

– are appropriately sized for the container

– have branches with wide angles of attachment (larger than 45 degrees)

Avoid trees that

– have been pruned into a lollipop shape

– are supported by a nursery stake (whenever possible)

– have pot-bound or girdled roots

– appear weak, sick, or unhealthy

– show mechanical damage or other wounds

And don’t plant trees too close to power lines, nor closer than 10 ft to permanent structures. (Check also on proper guide lines for tree planting in fire-prone areas).

There are great resources in our County for people that want to learn more about trees: The book “Ornamental Trees for Mediterranean Climates; the trees of San Diego” is a colorful guide and compendium of a host of trees that thrive here, with descriptions, photos, and even addresses where the photos were taken. The Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon (more info at www.thegarden.org ) showcases many suitable and lovely trees for our area. And of course there is Balboa Park with its trees, and the San Diego Botanic Garden (formerly Quail Gardens at www.qbgardens.com ).

I don’t think I’ll ever be detached and impartial when it comes to trees, but armed with the above list of arguments and paybacks I hope to be more neutral and professional when explaining how trees will benefit my clients and how fundamental (could you say imperative?) they are for their home landscape. Despite of their initial rejection none of my clients has yet refused to concede interest in trees, and fortunately, I haven’t yet had the commission to design a “tree-free” garden. That would be the saddest thing, and I hope it will never happen.

Christiane Holmquist

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