landscape project

Inspiration on a napkin turns ideas into reality in the new garden

I woke up at 5:15 Saturday morning, as excited to wake up and start the day as if it were Christmas morning.  Saturday was planting day.  I could hardly control myself as I tried to go back to sleep for at least a little longer.

When we moved last summer, I knew I would have a blank landscape canvas with which to work.  Now on a large, shaded and very hilly corner lot, the conditions in this garden are dramatically different than our previous garden.

I’m reminded of the adage, “be careful what you wish for…” and smile when I think of my complaints that the other landscape was flat and boring.  There’s nothing flat here!  In fact, the only thing here is ivy.  Lots and lots of ivy.  I’ve found Jasmine, English ivy, trumpet vine and Virginia creeper, all intermingled in an incestuous mess, threatening to eat the trees and the house and everything else in its path.

Over the last few months, I’ve tried to focus on the area that runs along the lower side of the property.

One of our first projects when we moved in was intensive pruning of the wonderful, yet long-neglected heritage trees.  We removed a few dead ones, and opened up the canopy of trees along that side of the property.  Because of the overgrown trees, all that remained in the total shade was dead grass, soil and exposed tree roots.  Now, the afternoon sun shines in this area, and I decided that it might be my best bet at creating a bed friendly to sun-loving plants.

I’ve scribbled on several napkins and I’ve had a few snippets of ideas about possible plant combinations.  Luckily, I came to my senses and decided to take the time to assess the space, allow my vision to evolve, and focus on some of my favorite plants.  The sketch of plants grew as I decided to intersect the long space with a dry creek, boulders and a large ceramic pot as the focal point.

Last week, I put the plan into motion as I drew out the creek outline with construction paint and got the crew digging and delivering rock.

Over the week, I finalized my plant choices and placed my order.  Saturday was the day.

I lovingly placed every plant and every boulder, turning and adjusting and moving an inch to the left and then a half inch to the right and then another half inch back to the left!

At the top of the hill, I’ll add a very large ceramic pot, filled  with a focal point plant and trailing potato vines or maybe silver pony foot.  It will be nestled in the middle of these boulders at the headwaters of the creek.

Bordering the sidewalk entrance, a few dianella, a purple trailing lantana, a red salvia Greggii, blackfoot daisies and damianita surround a regal purple Amistad salvia.  She’ll be the star of the show in short order with her almost foot-long plumes.

To create year-round interest, catmint is intermingled with the elegant and strappy leaves of Agapathus.  I like the textural contrast between the delicate, gray-green catmint and the lime-y foliage of the agapanthus.

In mild winters like this one, catmint was evergreen in my previous garden.

It will be interesting to see how plants fare in this new garden.

At the other end of the bed and the creek, the shining star will be a deep magenta Maggie rose (which I haven’t found yet).  She’ll be flanked by Dianella, a Mediterranean fan palm, trailing white lantana,  purple skullcap and a Weberi agave.  Just past the Weberi, another Dianella keeps an Indigo spires salvia company along with an artichoke and a scattering of sculptural foxtail ferns.

I didn’t realize how much I missed my other garden until I started to create a new one.  It’s filled a void and I’m excited to be moving forward.

I have lots of other ideas swirling around in my head.  And now that this bed is spiffy, neighboring areas definitely look shabby in comparison.

Now I’m dreaming about new stucco bed-bordering walls (to replace railroad ties), driveway flanking beds, and a possible new entrance from the street.

I’ve stocked up on napkins, there is plenty for me to do.  I’ll keep you posted!

Creating a new garden and dog-friendly landscape

We moved in June, and left behind the garden I built over 16 years.  I feel like I’ve left behind so many dear friends and labors of love.

I have moved on, as the new garden really needs me desperately.  The new owners of my garden have asked for my help in getting to the know the garden and how to care for it.  And, they’ve been very generous about my collecting some seeds and a few volunteers as well.  I look forward to teaching them to care for all my plant children.

So, the new house.  The new old house.  Ivy, actually, three kinds of ivy – English, Jasmine and Virginia creeper, have eaten the entire large, corner lot, and are now trying to eat the house and all of the beautiful live and red oak trees.  Ugh.  And because I need to keep a little of it, eradication is going to be labor-intensive to say the least.

In the back, there was a tiny square of what I believe may have once been grass.  But, it was sad – invaded by ivy, a half dozen volunteer trash trees and a small circle of weeds, it was a poor excuse for a yard for the boys.  So, the first step was to clear the trash trees, dig out the ivy and the primrose jasmine, and open the chain link fence to install a gate to the next grass-creating project.

Dog inspection was critical to the leveling and retaining wall work and they were eager to check out their new space.

Once done, it was a fine yard for exploring and enjoying, and a lovely loquat tree was rescued from the encroachment, providing just a little shade.

Then, onto the next part of the project.  Along the back of the deck, another incredibly steep slope of ivy and trash trees.  (Surprise, right?)

More leveling, more retaining walls, more soil and more Zoysia grass.  Opening up the trees and adding irrigation made a great, long yard for the boys to run behind the deck all the way down to the side street to watch passersby.

 

A gate at the bottom gives us some more flexibility and access.

The retaining walls will hopefully keep water from rushing down the hill during the periodic gully washers.

One last dog-friendly project awaited.  On a steep hill, the house has catwalks from the driveway and carport to the house.  In the space below, the owners had let poor grading and dirt erode the side of the house, so we regraded, took out more volunteer trees, installed a French drain and filled the space with river rock.  I had two more gates created so the dogs could run from the back yard and deck to the front next to a courtyard where they watch everyone go by the front yard.

Then it was time to create the first garden bed!  Whoo hoo.  I was so ready for it by this time.  It was the peak of summer and I didn’t have a single flower in the ground on the entire property.  I can’t tell you how depressing that was.

A spindly Crape Myrtle reached so far into the other oaks above the only bare trunks were visible, so we removed that and added an attractive curve to the river rock, building a bed behind it.  A spindly Crape Myrtle reached so far into the other oaks above the only bare trunks were visible.

In sad shape, the enormous concrete wall needed attention.  Step number 1 – get the bed prepped and find the right plants.

 

Then came concrete painting.  After a good bit of pondering what color would work with the dark sage green of the house, the gray fences and the red doors, I settled on a medium shade of blue.

 

I decided that the iron art I designed was worthy of so much more than an air conditioning screen, so I placed three of the panels as a focal point in front of the blue.  Wow, does that pop.

We’re not sure if the large plastic owls mounted all over the property were to keep the local hawk family away from their tiny dog, or to keep birds from pooping on the deck or what.  But, for all the trees, there are precious few birds.  I put a birdbath on the edge of the courtyard and since we are rarely out there, I’m hoping some nearby feeders and houses serve to invite some feathered friends.

Add a table, more plants and a chandelier and, voila, the perfect spot for morning coffee or afternoon iced tea.  It’s starting to feel like home.  Once again, I’m able to say I have a “happy place” to sit and relax.

Check back for the next saga of “Save the Garden,” where I’ll walk through the before and after of the two main beds directly in front of the house.

Tuscan transformation…

It’s really quite an honor when a former landscaping client calls us back to design again at a new home. Several clients have entrusted us with repeat projects, including our current installation.

Located on a large ranch in the Hill Country, this Tuscan farmhouse begged for a fresh landscape to match the grandeur of this beautiful home.

I was first struck by the way the existing split rail fence seemed to detract from the view of the home. The entrance to the front door came in from a tight, side angle, the existing path gray and worn limestone. As I walked the front of the property, inside and outside the fence, the existing beds appeared tiny and out of scale. I realized that the front of the home, with it’s fairytale front door, roofline and window detail was lost to visitors coming up the walk from the side so close to the house.


As I explored further back, two large oaks caught my eye and I envisioned a new entrance, winding through the oaks and arriving at the front door straight on, giving guests an opportunity to experience the stateliness of the home.

With the cornerstone of the design determined, the rest of the plan fell into place.

We moved the new fence back a full 40 feet from the house, tore up the existing path and front stoop and build a mortared Oklahoma flagstone path that meandered from the driveway to the entrance. New, deeper beds enveloped the front of the home on both sides, anchored by a series of ‘tiny tower’ cypress trees and traditional xeric, Mediterranean-style native and adapted plants.

You can see where the old stone path came out and the new, albeit muddy, flagstone path meandering through the trees.

Having redesigned a landscape with these clients before, I knew their taste well, so choosing plants they would love was easy. We did leave the existing mature Crape Myrtle in the new landscape. The beds include a mix of rich red Salvia Greggii and Texas Betonies along with Zexmenia, Jerusalem sage, dwarf Greek Myrtles, ‘sandankwa’ Viburnum, Foxtail ferns, Dianella, Catmint, ‘new gold’ and variegated gold Lantana, ‘soft caress’ Mahonia, yellow shrimp plant and an existing Sago palm. The blend of texture and form gives the design a lush feel with many traditional Texas plants.

The project is ongoing – we’ve moved onto the back of the property now, building stone beds around the pool and creating a rose garden. More photos to come as we progress, though it may take a while with rain forecast for the next 7 days.

Join me for my Spring Landscape Design Workshop in Austin…

SPRING GARDEN DESIGN WORKSHOP — Thinking about making changes to your landscape this year? Well, NOW is the time to start planning. Whether you’re just making adjustments to your landscape or you’re ready for some serious refreshing or expansion, understanding the basics of garden design will give you a roadmap to ensure beautiful results.

I will be hosting a 4-hour Garden Design Workshop in Austin in March and would love for you to join me. In this exciting 4-hour class, you’ll learn:

• the principles and elements of landscape design, 
• how to assess your current landscape’s strengths and shortcomings, 
• which native and adapted plants to use to create 8 specific garden styles:


        Southwest Desert

        Texas Native
        Cottage
        Formal
        Asian
        Contemporary
        Mediterranean
        Tropical

• and how to design a landscape – including drawing a sample plan with my personal review of your design ideas.


If you’re interested in taking the class, please leave me a comment with your contact info and I will contact you with the registration information and the workshop cost. 
Details are still being finalized — date and location will be announced next week based on number of participants, so let me know if you’d like to attend.
If you know someone else who might be interested, please feel free to pass along the information.
Hope to see you soon!

New dry creek project done and ready for rain!

The dry creek remodel is done and I can’t wait for it to rain so I can see how well it works.

I know that the very front of the dry creek already works because I washed all the dried dirt from the driveway puddle area into the creek bed and it just dropped down between the rocks like it’s supposed to, instead to swirling in the dirt and lapping back at me.

The moss rocks are gorgeous. (I know my crew thought I was crazy when I oohed and aahed over the great colors on them!)  They’re set for the most part, but I will adjust them some more so that they look random.  (I don’t really do random, so it will have to be a very carefully-arranged faux random.)

And, as always, one project begets another.  During these two days, I:

  1.  created another bed which begs to be filled,
  2. extended the path and opened up more area that needs to be planted,
  3.  removed rock from a bed that now needs more of the moss rock and Oklahoma to define it
  4.  put two new Oklahoma flagstones where old limestone steps were, so now I need a few more to make it look even nicer,
  5.  need to take all of the white/gray flat native stone that used to line the bed and move it to the back of the property to make a path to the shed so we don’t have to walk in the mud back there when it rains.

Then there are the plants.  It’s time to move a few things, say good bye to a few things and go nursery trolling for some fabulous new additions to fill holes and begin new experiments.

This week’s lows in Austin range from 44 to 31 and next week’s lowest point only gets down to 39, so I will go ahead and start planting.  We can most certainly have another freeze as far out as the next 4 weeks, but isn’t that what gardening is all about?  Testing Mother Nature!

After the last two wonderfully warm days, I am eager to get into the garden – and glad to be done with digging and moving rock.  Plants are much easier.

What tops your garden to-do list for this spring?  Happy Gardening.

Landscape bed getting stone edging facelift…

No more pondering — it’s time to get started on the next landscaping project here.  In an effort to address some erosion and drainage problems and spruce up the front walkway – the beds on either side of the walkway will be getting stone edging.

As it is now, the sprinklers cause water runoff — the path here has a slight decline, but as you walk around the corner, it slopes down dramatically and turns the sidewalk into a pond in front of the porch every time it rains.  And that leads to soil and mulch erosion, because the bed level is slightly higher than the walkway.  And the lack of mulch along the edge also creates a weed wonderland for me.

Our house is limestone, so a 4″ limestone border will be laid, topped by a thin cap of Oklahoma flagstone in darker browns and tans.

 

This is what it will look like.

But no project is ever that simple.  (We knew that, didn’t we?)

First, the sprinkler heads that line the bed will have to be moved  inward by more than 4 inches.  Then they will have to be raised to accommodate the additional yards of soil and mulch that will then have to go into the bed.

Then we’re going to raise up two sections of existing concrete to level the sidewalk and place drainage pipe under it from one side of the dry creek to the other to help with drainage.

I can’t wait for the freezing weather to be over so I can visit all my favorite nurseries and put pretty plants into the garden.  But, this is winter and I can’t do that yet.  So, hard scape it is.

I hope when it’s all finished, the pretty, newly-lined beds will be ready to welcome spring and a bevy of new plants.

I can’t wait…

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