Natural Companions
In preparation for creating plant palettes for my projects, I typically spend hours poring over my Sunset Western Garden book. I thrive on finding plants I haven't tried before, and I look especially for those I haven't seen in anyone's garden. Before I'll try any of these discoveries out on someone else, however, I'll pick up a sample plant and bring it home to my own garden - part science project, part proving ground to see how the plants perform away from the nursery. I've had many successes through the years and probably as many failures, but I learn something from every attempt. What I sometimes find are plants that are
I never really thought much about the plants and trees surrounding me until I started edging my way toward the landscape-design business. Growing up, I'd look out my bedroom window and into our backyard and see plants and trees, but I didn't know that they were called Junipers or Giant Birds of Paradise or Ficus trees. They all looked pretty much the same to me - a generic veil of greenery. My path of discovery began when I bought my first house on Long Island. All of a sudden, there were rules about
Here in America, our idea of history goes back only so far. That's particularly true in southern California, where "older" architecture is anything before about 1960 and very few structures date to a time before 1920. But it's also the case for most of the rest of the country with reference to architecture: We don't have the "ancient" structures that still set the tone and architectural vocabulary the way they do in Europe, Asia and other places. For those who prefer modern or contemporary styles, this lack of history may be irrelevant. For those who feel an affinity to older styles, however, there's a tendency to cringe every time an older house is torn down to
I was hired recently to work on a substantial restoration project in a prominent Los Angeles neighborhood. I'd worked previously with the architect on a large estate, and he had referred me to the homeowners. After a couple of meetings, we determined we were all a good fit, and I was hired to design the exterior spaces of the home in collaboration with the architect, the contractor and the decorator. About a month into the project, the interior decorator was let go in favor of a restoration specialist. By that time, it was clear that many of the design decisions being made were not in keeping with
I found a new "favorite" plant last summer. It's called Dalechampia dioscorefolia, otherwise known as the Costa Rican Butterfly Vine. Its stunningly beautiful, exotic flowers were unlike those on any of the vines I typically see at nurseries and easily earned a place in my disorganized (and experimental) backyard garden. Given its unique beauty, I placed it on a trellis directly outside my bedroom window so I could see it every day and observe its progress. After a few months of growth, it was still quite floppy and had not wrapped itself around places high enough on the trellis for my liking. So one Saturday, I went out and wrestled apart many of the branches of the vine that had wrapped around themselves and set them up to reach
Rocks are, in my opinion, among the most versatile of all elements that can be added to landscape designs. As was discussed in my last column, they can be used to add texture or dimension or retain soil; they can also be used to add background or hide eyesores, and there are myriad other uses creative designers can find for them. Of course, different design styles call for different uses of rocks, stones and pebbles. An Asian garden, for example, might use them to simulate or represent water or mountains in a landscape, while the very same stones used in a cottage or natural setting might serve no purpose beyond providing a place to sit or a focal point that
If I were to ask the average watershaper to name the most versatile element in any landscape, he or she would probably reply by talking about water or plants or some other equally prominent component. If you asked me the same question, however, I'd almost always say rocks. Some of you might be thinking I have a few too many of them rolling around loose in my head, but there's a good explanation for my response. First, rocks come in an infinite number of forms, shapes, compositions, colors, textures and sizes. Second, they can be used to sit on, walk on, retain hillsides or create small mounds. Third, they add dimension to designs and contribute in countless other ways to the
In all my years as a landscape designer, I've always told my clients that nobody can know ahead of time how a plant will adapt to or behave in any given situation. "Each place on this earth has its own microclimate," I tell them. "Trying to foresee how a plant will grow is like trying to predict when the earth will end." Most plants, of course, really are somewhat predictable when you place them in a client's yard. As long as you pay attention and use those that are typically considered to be noninvasive, for example, you're generally safe in planting them and needn't spend time worrying about their futures. By contrast, plants that are considered invasive - whether it's all the time or only some of the time - should, under any and every circumstance, be
Few plants have been written about, lingered over and so passionately associated with fragrance, healing and serenity as lavender. Beyond stunning beauty of the sort seen in the vast purple fields of Provence, lavender has spread worldwide, leaving a trail of exquisite aroma and touching everything from our imaginations to our health. Some say lavender has pain-killing, antiseptic and skin-rejuvenating properties and that it's great for toning skin, fighting acne and soothing burns and cuts. This versatile plant is used as well to infuse perfumes, oils and soaps, and I know from my own experience that it makes a great marinade for lamb and adds
Nobody seems particularly thrilled by environments devoid of light. Even at times when a lack of light is welcomed - as in the desert when you want to see the stars, or on a holiday night when you want to see a fireworks display - the events are related to light in some important way. The same attitude about light comes up when we speak of landscapes. We're always talking about "brightening up" a dark corner, for example, or "adding light" at one point or another. Whether the absence of light makes us uncomfortable or its presence is simply a
