Garden Share Bristol

Busy, busy, busy.  We're all looking for ways to make out lives fulfilling while, at the same time, juggling work and family responsibilities, exercise, travel, and social activities.  How can a homeowner — even one who enjoys a bit of puttering around outdoors — create a landscape that is beautiful, eco-friendly, and engaging?

Here are 5 key ideas for designing low maintenance landscapes:

Reduce your lawn area to a size that can be mowed in 20 minutes or less.  Mowing a lawn that size is a quick bit of exercise rather than a weekend-draining chore. Other maintenance chores like watering, fertilizing and weeding — and the related expenses — will also be reduced. Once you've determined the size and shape of your 20 minute lawn, edge it with roll top steel set into the ground with only the top 1/2" protruding above the soil (the reason to use edging is to keep the grass roots out of the planting bed, not keep the mulch in it). Dedicate the rest of your yard to planting beds, native lawn to leave "rough", or hardscapes like paths, patios, decks, etc.

My back lawn takes 10 minutes to mow, the front about 8.

The anti-lawn.  Fescue grass in it's natural state.

Focus on woody plants.  Fill your planting beds with trees and shrubs, both evergreen and deciduous. These plants will give you structure and texture year-round, and require almost zero maintenance when the "right plant, right place" principal is followed.  Select from regional favorites with a good track record for hardiness. Choose an assortment to include colorful foliage, flowers, interesting bark, and small berry-like fruits. Avoid fast growing, weak wooded, messy species or those that can become invasive via root suckers or seedlings.   To lighten things up and add movement to the garden include ornamental grasses.  Most need a quick chop down to the ground once a year, and that's it.  If you want to include perennial flowers, keep them grouped together in areas of high visibility — near an entryway or patio, for example. Keep annuals and veggies in containers, exclusively. Here are some of my favorite, go-to plants.

A good assortment of shrubs, trees and a few perennials provide low care, multi-season interest to this sunny, corner property.

Different scale, different design style, same low maintenance concept.

Use weed barrier fabric and an inorganic mulch.  The monotony and glare of an entire landscape swathed in rock is not a pretty sight; it can also create a heat sink by absorbing the sun's warmth and radiating it long into the night (not what you want in the middle of summer, for sure!).  So I give this recommendation with the caveat that the landscape plantings are designed to cover at least 90% of it once they mature.  Keep these rock beds clean with a monthly rake/blow/vacuum to keep them free of debris and weed seeds.  The alternative, which can be very effective once established, is to plant perennial groundcovers to serve as a living mulch.

A clever design makes the most of an awkward space.  The unobtrusive texture of small scale pea gravel keeps the focus on the plants.

Buffalo grass as a groundcover / living mulch.   It's watered once a month in the summer and mowed once a year in early spring.

Use an automated irrigation system.  An investment, yes. But a truly effective way to save water and reduce hands-on time in the yard. Update your system to include a programmable clock for different types of sprinklers/plants/hydrozones (water delivery systems like pop-up spray heads for turf and low volume drip for shrubs), soil moisture sensors, and a rain shut off valve. Monitor your system on a regular basis to make sure that everything is running smoothly.

Use low maintenance hardscape materials.  Look for products that will age gracefully without the need to paint, spray, or power-wash.  Everything from fences, decks, and trellises to pathways, patios, and furnishings can be selected with low care as a priority. Natural stone, cedar, redwood,  and steel are just a few options.

This stylish metal gate by artist Dennis West will continue to age beautifully.

No maintenance necessary — this cedar trellis will age to a soft gray.

Whether you're starting to build a new landscape from scratch or just tweaking an established garden, I hope these ideas will help stimulate your landscape plans for the coming season.  Thanks for visiting!

Last summer, when I attended the annual Wheat Ridge Garden Tour, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to explore a beautifully designed and built modernist landscape.  The site is challenging; a sloping corner lot with a "built-over/walk-out" garage.  The 1950's era home features classic mid-mod geometry and deep roof overhangs.   In a nod to our region, pink flagstone was used as a decorative accent on the facade.

The homeowners worked with Los Angeles based landscape architect, Charles Elliott, and Kevin Bound of the local landscape design-build firm, Artscapes, to get a simple, elegant, low maintenance design and high quality installation.

Slopes were terraced with flagstone retaining walls and filled with colorful plantings, making access to both the front entry and the backyard most welcoming:

The backyard features multiple play areas for the family's young children.

A concrete "sport court" (in the foreground), a play structure with soft landing (upper right), and just enough level lawn area means lots of play space for everyone.

Distinctive dining and lounging areas are joined by a "soft" patio.

A platform deck floats over the sloping grade and minimizes damage to tree roots. Use a bunch grass (like turf-type tall fescue) for this type of planting rather than a sod forming grass (like Kentucky bluegrass) for lower maintenance (less trimming).

The original flagstone patio features vintage furniture, too!

The use of the cast concrete squares throughout the landscape is a nice unifying element — and a much more economical choice than cut flagstone.  They serve as a practical surface for stepping stones, and a decorative accent in larger areas of gravel mulch.

The limited plant palette and row plantings enhance the geometry of the house and make for lower maintenance, too.

Purple-blue is the key color for the entry garden, filled with xeric lavender, bluemist spirea, grasses, and mugo pine.

For those of you considering a minimalist, modern style, remember these key concepts:

• proper scale
• very limited palette of hardscape materials, harmonious to home
• geometric shapes for planting beds and hard surface areas
• limited palette of plant material

Thanks to the Mead family for sharing their beautiful, distinctive landscape with us!

Art may be the ultimate focal point in the garden.  Unlike plants, which are ephemeral throughout the seasons, art can be used as a permanent statement to express one's personal identity or enforce a sense of place.  The garden itself can be used to set the stage for the artwork and provide the backdrop, frame, and foreground.  Here are a few examples of art in the landscape, and why they work so well.

Representational artwork  may best represent / reenforce a specific place.  Nothing is left to the imagination; the association between object and place is clear, and the artwork contributes additional information about the space to the viewer.

This life size bear trio looms over the entry court of a private residence in Vail, Colorado.  They look like they've just emerged from their woodland home. Notice how the white trunks of the aspen trees create a nice contrast with the dark patina of the bronze.  The colorful flowers at the base of the sculpture catch the eye (as if the bears aren't enough!) and bring them into scale. The large size and prominent location make this a major focal point for this home.

A Japanese quince (Chaenomales japonica) paired with a Japanese lantern reinforces the identity of the Japanese Garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.  Again, a bright flower companion may initially catch the eye, but the dark, evergreen background in contrast to the pale stone sculpture is key.

This statue does not reinforce its urban Denver location but is, instead, a memento or symbol of a specific time or place that's important to the owner.  This small piece is part of a vignette within a garden — a treasure to be discovered. Here, the gardener has used a  Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) with dark foliage as a contrast and color echo to the clay.  I also like the way that the water's reflection has been used to magnify the presence of this little piece. 

Abstract artwork may be viewed as the self-expression of the owner. It represents an emotion or a memory — perhaps related to a specific person, place or time — that's meaningful to the owner.

This joyful sculpture of stainless steel by Denver artist Kevin Robb, is reaching up to the clear, blue sky. It's hard, shiny, geometric form is wonderfully contrasted by the organic, undulating forms (lavender? rosemary?) beneath it. Perfection is the color echo of matte gray foliage to the steel.

photo courtesy of Kevin Robb Studios

Another whimsical art piece is this sculptural gate by Denverite Dennis West.  The lively, nature-based forms bring a hard, impersonal entryway to life.

 Sinuous curves feature in the simple, repetitive design of this sculpture (perhaps originally part of an architectural detail), which is the perfect focal point of a small meditation garden. Note how the fine textures and limited selection of the companion plants create a calm and relaxed setting.


Last, but not least . . . my favorite art piece in my garden is this tile mosaic that hangs on our patio wall, adjacent to the place that inspired it.   It was made by our daughter when she was 10 or 11 years old (sadly, it's not dated) and is simple titled "Pond."  Erin went on to earn a degree in apparel design and production from Colorado State University and became a talented textile designer. She recently opened her own business and is the proud owner of Super Good Art Stuff in the Tennyson Art District of Denver.


Art is a wonderful investment (at any price) in improving one's quality of life.  Buy (or create) what you love, and integrate it into your garden.  Read more about art in the garden from my fellow members of The Garden Designers' Roundtable, or click on the direct links to their blogs here:
 
Susan Cohan : Miss Rumphius’ Rules : Chatham, NJ
Mary Gallagher Gray : Black Walnut Dispatch : Washington, D.C.
Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK
Jenny Peterson : J Petersen Garden Design : Austin, TX
Deborah Silver : Dirt Simple : Detroit, MI
Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In The Garden : Los Altos, CA
Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX

Design fail!

this "lawn" is about two feet wide

Wouldn't this planting strip be so much MORE if it were filled with billowing ornamental grasses,  colorful perennials, and texture-full shrubs?


They managed to get it right on the other side of the walkway, so what went wrong here?


A wasted opportunity is now a waste of resources, too.

Casa Benvenides, Taos, New Mexico

Gateways from the public space to the private;
Let your needs for security and/or privacy guide your choice of height and density.

Village of Rowdat, Afghanistan, 9.26.2011 - photo courtesy Jonathan Hooper, USDA

Classic walled garden:  RHS GardenWisley, Surrey, England - photo courtesy Elenor Welshon

The Waring House, Denver Botanic Gardens

Taos, New Mexico

Classic picket fence: Denver, Colorado

design by Jerry Nelson Landscape and Design,Greeley, Colorado

Gateways that create a sense of place;
Let the culture of your region guide your choice of materials.

Adobe and traditional blue trim (to ward off evil spirits): Taos, New Mexico

Wood & flagstone in Denver, Colorado - design by Phase One Landscapes

Asian influenced design: northern California

Gateways  reflect your personal aesthetic;
Let the architecture of your home guide your choice of design.

Classical styling for a Georgian home - Denver, Colorado

Custom artwork (23rd Ave Sculpture Studio) for a contemporary home - Denver, Colorado

Simple contemporary styling for a mid-century home - Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Southwestern gateway styling complements home in Denver, Colorado

 Now it's up to you to make that gateway meaningful by creating a personal outdoor environment that fulfills all of your dreams!

Need some help? Click on the tabs above to learn more about my landscape design and coaching services.

Be sure to visit my fellow members of the Garden Designers' Roundtable and our esteemed guests for more on Getting From Here to There:
Debra Prinzing & David Perry:  A Fresh Bouquet
Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX
Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT
Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In The Garden : Los Altos, CA
Jenny Peterson : J Peterson Garden Design : Austin TX
Susan Cohan : Miss Rumphius’ Rules : Chatham, NJ
Susan Morrison : Blue Planet Garden Blog : East Bay, CA
Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK
Christina Salwitz : Personal Garden Coach : Renton, WA

ETA: photo from Afghanistan;  brother-in-law working as agricultural consultant with USDA.

Instead of plant portraits this month, I'd like to show you the bigger picture: my September garden is lush and full of color!

View of the west border: Cerastosigma, Aster, Gaura, Oreganum and Sedum in bloom

A closer view shows how foliage plays an important role in this garden, too.

View to the east and south side of the bluegrass/clover lawn; Perovskia, Sedum, Ceratostigma, Aster and Chrysothamnus!

View across the south border, looking east: Buddleia still blooming! Sculpture by Mark Burton.

View to the "vegetable" garden: a bit of formality tames the chaos of the grass garden.

View from the patio: water lilies and water lettuce starting their slow decline.

Oh, and Lightening says "Hi!"

Thanks for visiting my garden today, and a special thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this monthly extravaganza - visit her site for links to gardens all over the world!

A large home is nestled into an awkward corner lot by a lush, lawn-free garden.*

I don't hate lawns. In fact, I have a nice little patch of bluegrass myself. What I do hate, are lawns in inappropriate places where they are wasting resources and not contributing to the function or aesthetics of a landscape.  Lawns work well as active play spaces for people and pets, and as "circulation corridors" through landscapes. Thanks to their uniform color and texture, lawns often serve as a  place for the eye to rest within an area of visual intensity.  My goal, as a professional landscape designer, is to help homeowners identify areas within a landscape where alternative plantings and/or hardscaping could substitute for a traditional lawn.

In October of 2005 I launched a new class at Denver Botanic Gardens called "Landscaping Without Lawn." In a region where many gardeners embrace the concept of Xeriscape, the move to lawn-free landscaping seemed like the obvious next step.  However, I soon realized that the biggest challenge facing most homeowners is the inability to visualize gardens as a larger, interactive, three dimensional space instead of the shallow perimeter/foundation plantings that are more familiar.  So begin with small steps and build on your successes.


Remove lawns where they struggle to survive.
This one seems like a no-brainer, but sometimes we are blind to the most obvious things! Get your lawn out of the deep shade, off the dry slope, and away from the burning pavement (i.e. the classic "hell strip" between the sidewalk and street).

The hot "no mans' land" between driveways is now a tough and attractive privacy garden.

This clever, serpentine hedge makes for a low care and low water "hell strip."

A difficult slope is tamed with stone terraces and colorful, xeric plants.

Remove lawns where they are hard to maintain.
Target narrow side-yards,  areas around trees and shrubs, and spaces smaller than 12' x 12'. Mowing, trimming, fertilizing and watering these small, awkward areas are difficult and time consuming; a real pain in the neck.  Who needs it?

Groundcover to the rescue!

Remove lawns where they are not being used for active play or entertainment.
Most of the lawn-free landscapes that I see (and design) are in front yards. These are typically smaller spaces that can become beautiful showcases for your home.

Big boulders for structure and a succession of colorful plantings for year-round interest.

A shallow front yard is given more depth with added paths and sculptural plantings.

Ready to tackle a larger area or go completely lawn-free? 

Create places to go and things to do.
Reduce large spaces into smaller areas and organize your landscape via hardscaping.  These, in turn, will inform the size, shape, and nature of your garden spaces.  For example:

An underused, but nicely shaded, space converted to a large patio.*

• Include destination seating areas or secondary entertaining/play spaces. A few years ago I saw a front lawn that had been replaced by an inviting entry patio and bocci court (sorry, no photo!) surrounded by informal plantings. Prefer peace and quiet? A labyrinth would be a wonderful option.

Take a seat in the garden.

• Add a designated food production area, i.e. a series of raised beds or an orchard.


• Create walkways to take you from Point A to Point B to Point C, etc., and also allow you easier access into deeper gardens. Walkways with high traffic should be wider and built of sturdy, permanent materials. Stepping stones are great for paths with less traffic, or they could even be more trail-like.

Secondary walkways and destination seating areas help tame a big area.*

• Use permeable surfaces like crushed rock, dry-laid flagstone, or decking as often as possible.


• Incorporate focal points that will provide both: visual focus and movement through the landscape.  See the previous Garden Designers' Roundtable post on this topic here. 

Water is always welcome in the garden, even in its simplest forms.

Choose appropriate plants.
Trees, shrubs, perennial flowers, grasses and vines can all be used to great effect when converting a lawn to a garden. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing plants:

• The majority of plants should be hardy for your region and long-lived, and easy to maintain.

Celebrate the plants that love to live where you live!*

• In areas with a long winter season, about 30% of your plants should have evergreen or ever-present foliage (many plants with blue or gray foliage hold onto their leaves when dormant).

The predominant, blue flowering plant here is semi-evergreen Veronica pectinata.

• In my opinion, a combination of woody plants (trees and shrubs), ornamental grasses, and true groundcovers (creeping, or large mat-forming perennials) is the best balance of plant interest to level of maintenance required.

Think, Gradation and Repetition.
Gradation is a principle of art and design that refers to the transition between opposites.  When designing your garden areas - large or small - site the largest/tallest plants first, then expand outwards with, first, the medium,  then small, and finally, smallest plants. This technique will help you create a garden that is full of fluid visual movement instead of jerky stops and starts.

Repetition is a principle of art and design that can be applied to landscaping in terms of creating visual mass and unity.  Large scale lawn-free plantings benefit from large, single species plant groups for higher visual impact. Repeated use of a particular plant, or color (like the blue/gray foliage in the photo below) will carry the eye through the landscape and give it continuity.

A gardener's garden of woody plants, perennials and  ornamental grasses.*

Still a bit overwhelmed?
Contact me for a personal consultation, coaching session or landscape design!

And read on --- join my fellow members of the Garden Designers' Roundtable  and our special guests from the  Lawn Reform Coalition for more, much more, on  Lawn Alternatives:
 (and no, you’re not seeing double, Susan Harris has contributed two posts!)

Susan Harris : Garden Rant : Takoma Park, MD
Susan Harris : Gardener Susan’s Blog : Takoma Park, MD
Billy Goodnick : Cool Green Gardens : Santa Barbara, CA
Evelyn Hadden : Lawn Reform.Org : Saint Paul, MN
Saxon Holt : Gardening Gone Wild : Novato, CA
Ginny Stibolt : Florida Native Plant Society : Green Cove Springs, FL
Susan Morrison : Blue Planet Garden Blog : East Bay, CA
Shirley Bovshow : Eden Makers : Los Angeles, CA
Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT
Rochelle Greayer : Studio G : Boston, MA
Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In The Garden : Los Altos, CA
Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX
Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK
Laura Livengood Schaub : Interleafings : San Jose, CA
Ivette Soler : The Germinatrix : Los Angeles, CA
Genevieve Schmidt : North Coast Gardening : Arcata, CA
Douglas Owens-Pike : Energyscapes : Minneapolis, MN
Debbie Roberts : A Garden of Possibilities : Stamford, CT


*Landscape design by Jocelyn H. Chilvers. All others of unknown origion.