Eclectic Garden for Spring Ideas and Designs
Urban Oasis Landscape DesignA bubbling basalt stone fountain creates a soothing audible backdrop and is much loved by the birds and wildlife that flock to this garden which is a certified wildlife habitat.
FormLA LandscapingCalifornia natives, including Hummingbird Sage, Salvia Clevelandii and Indian Mallow thrive in the bioswale. Here, grape seems to reach for the sun from the rebar arbor. Photo: Lesly Hall Photography
Landscape Projects, Inc.Tulips and pansies provide early spring color to raised bed containers constructed with M-Brace brackets for added interest. In the summer, the owner plants two of the beds with vegetables (all of the sun on the property is in the front yard).
©Melissa Clark Photography. All rights reserved.
Taproot Garden DesignPatrick & Topaze McCaffery - Taproot Garden Design
"Calamagrostis foliosa (Mendocino Reed Grass) is most happy in part shade."
Garden Lights Landscape and Pool Development Inc.Steve Lambert,Winner Beautification Award for Small Landscape Design - Build
Small Country-club Project, with courtyard deck, low maintenance, Bitter root walls,
Terra Ferma LandscapesThe gravel path leads past the willow sculpture and towards the gate to the vegetable garden.
Sweet Smiling LandscapesThis very social couple were tying the knot and looking to create a space to host their friends and community, while also adding much needed living space to their 900 square foot cottage. The couple had a strong emphasis on growing edible and medicinal plants. With many friends from a community garden project they were involved in and years of learning about permaculture, they wanted to incorporate many of the elements that the permaculture movement advocates for.
We came up with a California native and edible garden that incorporates three composting systems, a gray water system, rain water harvesting, a cob pizza oven, and outdoor kitchen. A majority of the materials incorporated into the hardscape were found on site or salvaged within 20-mile of the property. The garden also had amenities like an outhouse and shower for guests they would put up in the converted garage.
Coming into this project there was and An old clawfoot bathtub on site was used as a worm composting bin, and for no other reason than the cuteness factor, the bath tub composter had to stay. Added to that was a compost tumbler, and last but not least we erected an outhouse with a composting toilet system (The Nature's Head Composting Toilet).
We developed a gray water system incorporating the water that came out of the washing machine and from the outdoor shower to help water bananas, gingers, and canailles. All the down spouts coming off the roof were sent into depressions in the front yard. The depressions were planted with carex grass, which can withstand, and even thrive on, submersion in water that rain events bring to the swaled-out area. Aesthetically, carex reads as a lawn space in keeping with the cottage feeling of the home.
As with any full-fledged permaculture garden, an element of natural building needed to be incorporated. So, the heart and hearth of the garden is a cob pizza oven going into an outdoor kitchen with a built-in bench. Cob is a natural building technique that involves sculpting a mixture of sand, soil, and straw around an internal structure. In this case, the internal structure is comprised of an old built-in brick incinerator, and rubble collected on site.
Besides using the collected rubble as a base for the cob structure, other salvaged elements comprise major features of the project: the front fence was reconstructed from the preexisting fence; a majority of the stone edging was created by stones found while clearing the landscape in preparation for construction; the arbor was constructed from old wash line poles found on site; broken bricks pulled from another project were mixed with concrete and cast into vegetable beds, creating durable insulated planters while reducing the amount of concrete used ( and they also just have a unique effect); pathways and patio areas were laid using concrete broken out of the driveway and previous pathways. (When a little more broken concrete was needed, we busted out an old pad at another project a few blocks away.)
Far from a perfectly polished garden, this landscape now serves as a lush and inviting space for my clients, their friends and family to gather and enjoy each other’s company. Days after construction was finished the couple hosted their wedding reception in the garden—everyone danced, drank and celebrated, christening the garden and the union!
Urban Oasis Landscape DesignA bubbling basalt stone fountain creates a soothing audible backdrop and is much loved by the birds and wildlife that flock to this garden which is a certified wildlife habitat.
Garden Lights Landscape and Pool Development Inc.Steve Lambert, Winner Beautification Award for Small Landscape Design - Build
Small Country-club Project, with courtyard deck, low maintenance, Bitter root walls, With Black Bubbling Pot
![Hygge [ hoog-uh ]: Cozy and comforting](https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/6881394f012e7996_9327-w360-h360-b0-p0--.jpg)
BE Landscape DesignThe instructions were clear, make it cozy and comforting. Incorporate natural materials, don't hurt the environment, use lots of native plants, create shade, attract bees, butterflies and humming birds. BELandscape design, created a backyard that is an escape for this hard working couple. Scroll to the 'Before' photos to fully appreciate this backyard transformation.
Lucy Cotes' Beautiful GardensA winding path - done on a low budget using old upcycled paving edged with bricks invites you on down the garden.
Landscape Projects, Inc.A view from the gate from the alley into the garden. By dividing the space into a series of "rooms," the garden seems larger than it is. © Melissa Clark Photography
J.P. Franzen Associates Architects, P.C.Landscape design enhances and enriches natural surroundings. Custom stone work, patios, stairs, walkways, driveways, plantings, pools, and entertaining areas are functionally designed to enhance and enrich. Hardscape details are compatible with both traditional and contemporary features.
Eclectic Garden for Spring Ideas and Designs
1