Garden Chick's Design Tips

How do you market imperfection?

The topic of lawn substitutes is everywhere these days, my blog included.  I write about them, speak about them, am interviewed about them, and yes, even plant them in my own garden.  But here is the dirty little secret no one wants you to know…

There is no substitute for a lawn.

Nothing else looks so pristine, green and lush, yet takes such abuse.  And while caring for a lawn means keeping to a regular maintenance schedule, it’s certainly less complicated than babying along a lawn substitute that may take years to grow in.

Lovely photo of a front yard meadow featured in the Bringing Back the Natives Tour.  But does it look like a lawn?  Not really.

So what’s a self-respecting proponent of lawn reduction supposed to do?  Two experiences lately have got me thinking – instead of searching for the ultimate groundcover to mimic a lawn’s perfection, why not choose ground covers that aren’t meant to replicate its monotonous, manicured sameness?  How about a little diversity?

Experience number one:  Here is a photo of the lawn around the grounds in the B&B we stayed at during a recent trip to Mendocino. 

 

Not certain what the white flowers are – an ornamental strawberry? – but honestly, even the dandelions look cute to me. And nothing seems to mind being stepped on, or so I assume, as I ignored the paths to stride across it every morning in my zeal to get to the homemade breakfasts before the chocolate chip muffins were gone.

The second experience came via my computer visiting Susan Harris’s Sustainable Gardening Blog.  In April, she had an interesting post updating her own lawn replacement project and followed this up later with a video tour of her garden, chronicling her successes and failures.  Her photos inspired me.  All the advantages of a lawn, with just enough imperfection to make it look like a garden.

 

This perfectly imperfect lawn belongs to Susan Harris

So how do I sell this idea to my clients?  “Hey, here’s a bunch of groundcovers; let’s shove ‘em in anywhere and don’t worry about the weeds!”  Hmm, hard to charge the big bucks for advice like that, particularly in California, land of golf courses and 24/7 landscaping.

I’ll come up with something.

"If you can't be a good example...

Then you'll just have to be a horrible warning."

This great Catherine Aird quote was brought to my attention courtesy of Mary Ellen Hunt, a garden writer who recently contacted me on a shrink the lawn article for the San Francisco Chronicle - or SF Chron as the cool kids call it. 

So this quote is my inspiration to take you on a tour of my own little plot of earth.  But first, some back story – last spring we had our fence replaced and the garden was pretty relentlessly trampled.  I asked the contractor to try and save the climbing roses and apparently what he heard was, save only the climbing roses.  How did I deal with this gardening disaster?  Mostly by ignoring my back yard’s gardening chores all year.

Now that my self-serving excuses are out of the way, let’s begin the tour:

Good example:  Carex pansa lawn substitute

 I planted this low water lawn alternative last fall.  It’s not growing very fast, but I’m hoping for a burst of speed and some greening up now that it’s had all winter to establish some roots.  This photo is from when it was first planted as there's a giant shade stripe across the the front yard from the house this afternoon.On a side note, notice the lavender to the left?  The sizes are even more mismatched now. When you plant a row of the same thing, why do they always grow at different rates?

Horrible warning:  Lawn in the wrong place

My husband has been in denial for years about the fact that there is not enough sun for a lawn in this part of the garden.  We’ve actually resodded three times but are finally facing reality.  He’s not bothering to mow it anymore since we are starting a new garden project to replace this area in a few weeks (hint, it involves purple paint).  I know, I’m excited, too.

Good example:  ET controller

 Last October, we switched out our traditional controller for a smart one that relies on weather station data magically beamed in every day to determine when and how much to water.  Check out my earlier posts here and here if you want more info.

Horrible warning:  Tree roots

These columnar ornamental pears are great for privacy screening in a narrow space, but the surface roots take over, making it extremely difficult to plant under.  If you’re going to use them, plant your understory right away, and try to stick with your original choices, as replanting later is challenging. (Probably pointless advice, since how many gardeners plant an area only once? Snicker, snicker.)

Good example: Raised mounds

We mounded the soil and planted this Kangaroo Paw and Walker’s Low Catmint last spring.  The extra drainage is really helping the plants thrive – everything will be blooming in a few weeks.  It also allowed me to work around the stump left over from the London Plane Tree we removed a few years ago, a cheaper alternative to stump grinding.

Horrible warning:  Messy patio tree

We chose this Brazilian Pepper 11 years ago before I knew much about plants.  On the plus side it’s a great shade tree and evergreen, but on the downside, it drops litter all the time.  Nick sweeps the patio almost daily in the summer.  It's only tidy right now because he swept last evening.  Oh well, at least the leaves cover the bird poop.

So as not to end this post with the words “bird poop”, I will say that publicly revealing the state of my garden is inspiring me to whip it into shape so I can stun you with some after photos.  In the meantime, here’s a photo I took a few years ago, back in its glory days.

 

How about you - any good examples or horrible warnings to share?

Garden Dos and Don'ts

Or what I saw on my walk this morning

This morning I took advantage of a break in the rain to head out for walk.  Not surprisingly, my favorite aspect of this choice of exercise is the opportunity to see what people are up to in their front yards.  Of course, most of my energy goes towards mentally redesigning the landscapes I pass by, but I often get ideas that are particularly useful because they are real world examples - not something out of a glossy shelter magazine.  So, in the inimitable style of Glamour Magazine's Dos and Don'ts, here are some of my observations:

DO  replace lawn with low water plants

 

 
A little dated, the phormiums to either side of the pathway have gotten too big, and this garden could use a bit more color contrast, however, this is an excellent example of a low maintenance, no lawn front yard.  Scale and balance are first rate, something much more difficult to achieve in lawn-free environment.  I sometimes forget the KISS principle - keep it simple, stupid- and this garden is a good reminder for me.

DON'T - create a fortress of green around your home

 

An oversized, looming wall is always unpleasant to be around - the fact that it's made of plants instead of wood doesn't make it any better.  Regardless, Italian cypress is a horrible choice for this sort of thing as it gets way too big, looks shabby up close and can't really be pruned attractively.  Leave it where it belongs; punctuating the countryside in France and Italy.

This one looks like some bizarre suburban game of hedge shearing one-upmanship. 

DO  make it easy to see the path to the front door

 

Another slightly dated lawnless front, but that just shows the owners were ahead of the curve. The path to the front door is easy to see and not overwhelmed by the plants, an important design objective in the front.  Love the red accents. 

 

DON'T  make the front door the only feature there is

This much hardscape is expensive!  Couldn't a little of the budget been spared for even one plant?

   

This is actually a charming entry and looks like it was recently done, but the no-plants look should have been a no-go and the funky path needs to be replaced.  Although speaking of paths...

 

...at least there is one!  I have the uncomfortable feeling I've somehow walked in on this house before it had time to dress.

 FYI, if you're wondering about the black blindfolds, in true Glamour Magazine Dos and Don'ts style, this is my attempt to black out the house's "eyes" to ensure anonymity.  And no houses were harmed in the photographing of this post.

Where's the love, people?

 Since I've become a regular visitor to fellow gardener's blogs, I've noticed a subtle prejudice against garden design - as if somehow a garden that begins on paper instead of beginning with a carload of impulse buys from the nursery lacks a true soul. I've read posts where bloggers "confess" to designing parts of their gardens, like it's a dirty little secret.  Now, unless the design includes a marijuana patch or a cockfighting arena, I'm not sure where this taboo comes from. 

I'm as guilty as the next person of the throw-it-in-the-wagon-I'll-figure-out-where-to-plant-it-when-I-get home approach to garden design (actual planting optional, Troy, the snowberry bush I bought from you in November continues to wilt sadly in its pot while it waits for a permanent home),  but when planning a major rennovation on a garden, taking some time to plan at least part of it can really pay off.

Here is a plan I completed for a client two weeks ago.

    

I wish this were my front yard

With all the talk about embracing native plants here in California, you'd think they would be easy to find.  The reality is, natives make up only around 2% of the nursery trade.  Even if I can find the plant that I want, making sure it  performs in whatever specific garden conditions exists is tough - i.e., does full sun mean the 90+ degree full sun of the East Bay or the "full sun-lite" of Berkeley and San Francisco?  In short, putting natives in a client's garden is a little scary, and I, for one would welcome some help.

Enter my new BFF, Troy McGregor, who owns and operates Garden Natives in the East Bay, which specializes in California natives.  Troy has agreed to contribute some posts to Garden Chick's Design Tips (maybe I should think about changing the name?) and will recommend plants for specific situations like deer resistance, erosion control, garden tolerance, successful combinations, etc.

As an unexpected bonus, Troy sent me these amazing photos of the front yard makeover he recently did at his own house, creating this fabulous, lawn-free garden.  I've included some photos here, but he has a wonderful  slide show documenting the complete transformation (including some of the plants used) if you want to see more .

before photo - nice but traditional

after - talk about curb appeal:

   

A little more about Troy in his own words:

"My interest in Californian natives began not long after moving here from Australia in May 2006. My visa restricted employment for the first few months so I volunteered with the Watershed Project in Richmond a few days a week, participating in native plant monitoring and invasive weed removal.

Looking to volunteer a little closer to home, I began with CREEC, a small non-profit organization in Crockett specializing in youth education and habitat restoration. In September of 2006 I was given the all clear to start working and was offered the role of Plant Propagation Coordinator. This position exposed me to the local flora of the Carquinez Strait and neighboring watersheds and the roles that these plants fill. I was fortunate enough to work with local botanist Dr. Dean Kelch who was always happy to answer my many questions about identification, cultural requirements and wildlife benefits. I’m still a frequent hiker of these areas and have come to know the plants and enjoy watching their many forms throughout the seasons.

I started Garden Natives in December 2007 to grow and sell the natives that I had wanted but could never find locally. The nearest native nurseries (excluding those for restoration efforts) to where I live were at least an hours drive away (less traffic) and located in different climates to my own.

Natives are still a little mysterious to a lot of people and unfortunately there are many misconceptions floating about. I’ll do my best to dispel these as part of this blog. I’m an advocate of lawn alternatives and look forward to discussing this further and hopefully convincing those toying with the idea to take the plunge. I don’t miss the mower one bit!"

Susan again. I'm logging ths one under 'We don't need no stinkin' lawn', but in future look for Troy's posts in the Native Gardening category, and please, leave a comment if you'd like Troy's advice on California native plant or design issue!