I was hired by a nice couple in north Tustin/Santa Ana to design their front yard. It was a yard filled with grass, some shrubs and trees but not much of anything else. They wanted a yard that brought in all the beneficial wildlife, was pretty to look at and did not need much upkeep. What they got was just that with some hidden surprises. This garden consists of decomposed granite paving, California native and some California friendly plants. A brand new overhead irrigation system, some lighting and boulders.
The plants are:
- One dwarf Lemon tree
- One Arctostaphylos 'Lester Rowntree' that is used as a statement large shrub
- Arctostaphylos densiflora 'Howard McMinn' (McMinn Manzanita), Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Skylark' (Skylark Ceanothus) and Salvia clevelandii (Cleveland Sage) that is used as 6' tall accent shrubs.
- Anigozanthus spp 'Red' (Kangarro Paw_, Hesperaloe parviflora 'Break Lights' (Red Yucca), Salvia millifera 'Hot Lips' (Hot Lips Sage) that is used as 3-4' tall accents.
- Calylophus hartweggii (Sundrops), Erigeron 'Wayne Roderick' (Seaside Daisy), Heuchera maxima (Coral Bells) that is used as 1-2' high groundcovers.
- Some succulents that were existing that were transplanted.
- Flats of Carex pansa (California Meadow Sedge) that is used as a lawn substitute.
In regards to the irrigation and why we did not go drip... Well most of the plants are native to California and these plants in the wild are never drip irrigated. In this case we had to redo the entire irrigation system because some of the pipes were really old and in need of repair.
The only negative issue that we had with this garden is nut sedge. The homeowner's were certain that their gardener had removed it all but well as we found out after installation... Not so much. But with some care it can be removed never to return again.
This video is a progress from the beginning of the installation till the end. Enjoy!
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