Life After Conventional Gardens: a Liberating Experience

A climate appropriate garden is a beautiful garden!

Now that 2015 is waning and lawn replacements rebates are uncertain (in Santa Clara County, as of this writing) there are plenty of reasons to go ahead with your lawn replacement projects. I hope to continue to see more people taking action to replace high water-use gardens with climate appropriate ones. The current severe drought has forced us to rethink our gardens, and it's been a liberating experience for many.

Several of my garden design clients have been very pleased and excited by their new water-saving gardens that offer flowers and seasonal beauty to enjoy, as well as fresh herbs for the kitchen. I have the impression that many homeowners (especially non-gardeners) have traditional lawns as default landscaping, since it's difficult to figure out what to do otherwise. 

Besides the water savings, a huge bonus is not having to mow and fertilize a high maintenance lawn. A careful selection of appropriate plants leads to a low maintenance garden- that's also liberating!

But even if a patch of lawn is desired (for example, in a kids play area), there are several alternatives to conventional high water-use turf. See the Delta Bluegrass website to learn more. Native grasses offer seasonal beauty and elegance, but are not yet as tough as varieties that have been bred to withstand lots of foot traffic. 

An urn as a recirculating fountain attracts birds to this new garden (former lawn)

In the photos above, a garden we installed last May has grown to be a lush pollinator garden with native and ornamental sages, plus prolific culinary herbs for the kitchen (near the recirculating fountain, above). 
The photo below shows the garden after the lawn died and before the garden re-design:

Former conventional lawn before garden make-over 

A discarded but very nice pedestal fountain in the photo above was repurposed into a charming succulent planter by drilling holes into it so that irrigation tubing could be put in place (top photo). Succulents (as a group) are a great choices for low-water gardens. This group includes sedums, agaves, echeverias, sempervivums, aloes, as well as cacti. Nurseries have greatly expanded their offerings of succulents to meet the current demand.

The image below demonstrates the drama and color that succulents bring to the garden. 

Echeverias are paired with a large sculptural agave for an attractive color scheme
Photo taken at Succulent Gardens, Castroville, CA

The good news is that if you are ready to rethink your conventional landscape and make a liberating shift to a more climate appropriate one, there are more resources than ever to help you make the transition.

Here are some inspirational links to get you started:

Inspiring images of low-water gardens, Sunset Magazine

Santa Clara Valley Master Gardeners Drought Information page- chock full of resources

Xerces Society information page for creating pollinator gardens in California


Garden designed by Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke, Mountain View, CA
Garden installed by Jackie Marsey, Paradise Landscape and Garden, San Jose, CA

 Photos by: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

Flip This Lawn - Don't Water, Be Happy

A newly installed front yard garden with gravel paths and a bocce court

If the California drought convinced you to replace your lawn (front or back yards) with plants that have lower water needs, you will want to take advantage of the rebates offered through the Santa Clara Valley Water District.  The rebate periods have been extend yet again in response to our extended drought.  Applications will be accepted if postmarked by December 31 (extended from October 31). UPDATE: REBATES HAVE BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH 2015

The rebate program is an incentive to convert water guzzling lawns or swimming pools into gardens that feature plants appropriate for our Mediterranean climate. Under this program plants are chosen from an extensive approved list. Rebates rates are $2 per square foot for most cities in Santa Clara County, and a whopping $4 per square foot in Palo Alto for qualifying lawns. Even lawns that have been let go dry may qualify.

Many California native plants are drought tolerant, like this Matilija poppy

Life Without a Lawn- Don't Water, Be Happy

What does a garden look like if there is no lawn? Letting go of the lawn aesthetic opens up many possibilities that can add to our quality of life. Now there is room for a butterfly and hummingbird garden, perhaps with a quiet place to sit with your morning coffee before starting a busy day.  A birdbath placed in view of a window amid greenery and flowers becomes a welcome refuge for neighborhood birds, and you get to enjoy the show. Concerned about the decline in bees and other pollinators? Choose from a long list of flowering perennials that provide food for them and beauty for you. Add simple paths with stepping-stones or a rock garden with succulents to provide interest and structure.

I find it extremely satisfying to include a kitchen herb garden in my lawn replacement projects. Several of our essential culinary herbs are approved low-water needs plants, including: rosemary, sage, thymes, and French tarragon. Once established they need only occasional watering.

Several culinary herbs qualify as low-water lawn replacements

Challenge yourself to brainstorm creatively about garden features that fit your lifestyle and interests.

Recently, I redesigned a front yard to include a bocce ball court at the client’s request.  They now enjoy this traditional family game together, surrounded by a mix of attractive flowering shrubs, gravel paths, and seating areas for visiting together. It was satisfying to watch the visiting grandkids playing in the court together. I don’t think they miss the old lawn.

How to Apply

First, make an appointment to get a pre-inspection survey. Water district representatives will visit your garden to determine if you qualify. They’ll take measurements of the lawn or pool, check irrigation, and let you know if you qualify. They will fill out a request for application form, and you will be sent the application package. Follow the instructions in the application package, which typically requires photos, a plant list and simple diagram (or description) of the garden design.

You can do this yourself or hire a garden designer to design the space and also take care of submitting the application for you. Or hire a designer on a consulting basis, if you’d rather do some of the work yourself.  A designer can help you find a landscaper too.

Resources:

Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation Hotline at (408) 630-2554

Santa Clara Valley Water District Landscape Rebate Program

A version of this article appeared in the Los Altos Town Crier

Photo credits: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

Bocce court garden installed by Jackie Marsey, Paradise Landscape and Garden

408.691.9358