earth friendly landscapes

EARTH LOG GIVEAWAY

2012-02-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

Have you ever found a cool product and wanted to try it out? Then I have the right product for you. The Earth Log is a great alternative to your traditional fire wood. It's sustainably made and is better for the environment. Now here is the cool part... Two lucky blog readers can win the Earth Log and test it out. It's that simple and easy. All you have to do to be entered to win is three of the following...

Post a comment on here indicating that you really want to win this Earth Log.
Like the earth friendly landscapes facebook page.
Write on the earth friendly landscapes facebook page wall that you want to win the Earth Log.
If you use twitter then tweet @earthfriendly that you want to win the earth log.
Share on your facebook account (tagging earth friendly landscapes) about this giveaway.

This contest end on March 14th 2012. You can also enter multiple times (as many times as you want). Each entry (name) will go into a hat and at the end one name will be selected. By the way the photo is exactly what you will win. A whole case of earth log. How cool is that!

PLANT JOTTER

2012-02-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

I came across the Plant Jotter and had to share with you all. It's like writing down everything you ate but only for the garden. You can write down what you planted, how much fertilizer to add and even when you last maintained that overgrown plant. This is not free (30 day free trial) but the paid version is only $21 per year which is not that expensive. The video below give you more information. The company also has more videos posted on their YouTube channel about how to use the online journal. Happy jotting!

FORMER FOUNTAIN VALLEY CLIENTS HOME

2012-02-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

When I started this video blog series I was not sure how I would like it. But it has been over two years now and I am loving every minute of it. I use a free program called Windows Movie Maker. It's a really simple and easy program to master. You can make all kinds of movies and in this case I made one about my Fountain Valley clients front yard that was installed in 2010. This particular garden was featured in the California native plant society's May 2011 garden tour. I had also previously done another blog post about this garden, which you can read here. Below is the video!

If you would like to increase your property value like this client did then feel free to contact me and I would be happy to help you.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - ELECTRIC BLUE SAGE

2012-02-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

MAKING SEED TAPE

2012-02-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

I like watching Garden Girl TV on YouTube where I can get a lot of ideas especially for an edible garden. I don't have land to garden in but someday when I do I will have all kinds of ideas to help my future garden grow. This particular video that I would like to share with you is about making seed tape. The cool part (besides having fun with the kids or friends) is that you can make these in advance and plant them when you are ready. It also makes spacing the seeds much easier. Enjoy!

A POP OF COLOR IN FOOTHILL RANCH

2012-02-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

I had previously blogged about my Foothill Ranch clients concept design and final design. This is where my client will be having his lawn killed and will be getting money for doing so. At this point in the project the architecture has been painted. When you are thinking about painting your house bear in mind that you should not go too dramatic (like painting the house orange) and you should not play it safe either.

I would suggest picking a house color that is completely different than the trim color and using the front door to add some pop. In this case the house has been painted a light gray because some of the ornamental grasses we are using have gray/green leaves. The trim, garage door and fascia is chocolate. The door and faux shutters are red which coordinates well with the existing brick. This client could have even painted the architecture a beige or a light yellow and it still would have worked.

This is the time to think outside the box and get creative. Don't just pick any color. Make sure that it works with everything else that you are doing in your landscape. Another tip is to have your house painted first before you redo the rest of the landscape. This way if any plants or grass get ruined it won't be a total loss since it was going to get replaced anyways.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - CEANOTHUS THYRSIFLORUS 'SKYLARK'

2012-02-01T10:14:00.001-08:00

FOOTHILL RANCH CLIENTS FINAL DESIGN

2012-01-31T10:45:00.000-08:00

I had previously blogged about my Foothill Ranch clients concept designs and how the lawn was going bye bye. There were two concept designs and after careful thought the client has made his choice. Bare in mind that it's not just about the design but in some cases budget can also play a factor. In this final layout there is plenty of entertaining space while leaving lots of room for plants. There is also going to be some fun containers to add a pop of pizazz. The most interesting feature is going to be the overhead structure in the backyard (see picture for idea). This structure is fun, inexpensive and removable. At this point in the project the architecture has been painted (see next weeks post) and the final design in being bid. Stay tuned as I keep you updated on the progress of this project.

TUSTIN CLIENT REVISITED

2012-01-30T16:01:00.000-08:00

I had previously blogged about my Tustin California clients front yard. From the design to the demolition, installation and final photos this has been a really fun project for me to work on. Now many months later I am please to share photos of the project as things are blooming and growing. Below is a video I made about the project. I am hoping to make more project videos about some of my other projects.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - ARCTOSTAPHYLOS 'BIRD HILL' - MANZANITA

2012-01-25T11:15:00.000-08:00

BYE BYE FOOTHILL RANCH LAWN

2012-01-24T14:07:00.000-08:00

I love designing landscapes that are tailored at killing the lawn. I will agree that there are some instances involving kids or dogs where a small amount of lawn may be needed but otherwise it is useless (you are more than welcome to disagree). I was asked by a homeowner in Foothill Ranch, CA to create a design that would kill his lawn and replace it with native plants.

Currently the front and back yard have lawn and dirt. In the first concept (right picture) the plan is to refinish the existing concrete in both the front and back yard while adding some additional brick paving in the back to create a bigger outdoor entertaining space. In the second concept (left picture) the plan is to gut the entire project and start the paving from scratch with a completely new layout. The planting choices are a bit of ornamental CA native grasses as well as some fragrant natives to attract the local wildlife yet deter the rabbits (rabbits and gofers will stay away from fragrant plants). This client will also reap the rewards like my other clients by getting free money for killing their lawn.

If you are interested in killing your lawn and getting free money then do not hesitate to contact me and I would be happy to help you. It's that simple. I will update you next week on the final design. Stay tuned!

DIY PAINTING CLAY POTS

2012-01-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

Once a year (usually in Jan.) me and a handful of my high school friends gather at my friend Ryan's parent's house to craft in his honor. Ryan passed away 9 years ago and yearly his parents host this event. We meet, chat, eat, drink, craft and share memories followed by a visit to the grave site. This year the craft was painting pottery and planting them with pansies. I love how one person could inspire so many of us to maintain that friendship that we may have otherwise drifted from.

Supplies you will need are...

Imagination
Clay pot
Craft paint
Paint brushes
Clear pot sealant
Glue
Decorative beads or stones etc.
Plants
Beer (21 and older adults only)
Food

First you paint the clay pot in any color scheme that suits your fancy. Then when the paint in dry you spray it with a clear sealant to help seal the paint. This will also ensure that the paint does not peal in the sun. Then you can glue decorative rocks or beads if you are so inclined and then you can plant inside. Simple, fun and a great project to even involve the little ones. If you have a cool DIY pot project that you have done then feel free to share. I am curious to see what you have done.

THE DOGS FRONT YARD

2012-01-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

I am not a dog person (I have two cats) but when I was asked by my Huntington Beach client to design her front yard and yet make it friendly for her 3 dogs I was in. This was a challenge I was looking forward to solving. If you notice in the before picture there is lots of lawn and more lawn. Most of it will go far far away. In addition some of the existing features such as the gate and brick pilasters etc. (see photo) will remain in place. The existing concrete paths will also remain but will get a new coat of life through paint/stain. All of the existing plant material will be removed to make way for new sustainable CA native plants. There will be a little bit of grass area brought back in for the dogs to be able to play. The rickety overhead structure will be redone while new pottery and a fountain will add interest to the space. There will also be a new location for the existing decorative mailbox and the parkway will be filled with groundcovers that need little water and maintenance. This garden will be the talk of the town and the turf rebate program will be in full swing as my client gets ready to reap the financial rewards of having less lawn.

Now if you would like to reap some financial rewards from your landscape then contact me and I would be happy to help you increase your property value and get money back. Simply email me and we can get rolling on getting more green in your wallet. I am also making a special limited time offer just for you!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - AQUILEGIA FORMOSA RED COLUMBINE

2012-01-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

COOL OUTDOOR FUNCTIONAL ART

2012-01-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

I like searching the web for cool and fun ideas to potentially implement in my clients gardens. Some ideas that I find will work and some won't. It all depends on not only the budget but also the size of the project. If you have enough room and a claw foot tub then you could turn it into a coach. Through in some decorative colored pillows and you have a cool yet funky outdoor coach.

How much do you like colored pencils? I like to color with them when finalizing a concept plan. I like the wide range of color choices. I even have a set of watercolor pencils that I use when I paint. Now how about having some in your garden? I will say that this for some might be too much but you need a new fence and you want to add some fun color then you might want to replicate the picture. You may even be able to recreate this with paint using a block wall as your canvas. Your options are endless and only limited to your imagination.

If you have created any cool outdoor art then please share as a comment on here. Photos are taken from Google image search.

NEWPORT BEACH MARRIOTT WAS A TREAT

2012-01-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my maternal parental unit and I decided to have brunch at the Newport Beach Marriott (in Fashion Island). First off let me say that if you have never had brunch there it is worth trying at least once. The cost was $25 per person which for the quality of food and service you receive is worth it. After brunch we walked around the hotel and I found myself amazed by their outdoor seating areas. I could totally see myself going there one day and just relaxing in their outdoor lounge area for a few hours. Perhaps with a mimosa in hand and my mp3 player playing my favorite tunes. I like how they have created so many different seating areas that appeal to all interests.

Inside one of the courtyards there was even a really large oversized fountain that would be too big for the average yard but works perfectly in this hotel. If you need something to do on a lazy Sunday then I would highly recommend brunch at the Marriott followed by hours of just relaxing in one of their outdoor seating areas.

EARTH LOG

2012-01-14T16:45:00.000-08:00

I was at an outdoor market window shopping when I came across a vendor who's product I found interesting. A log (fire wood) that is made of sustainable/recycled materials. None of the toxic odors. Earth Log is a great earth friendly alternative to real fire wood. Info from their website.

"The Earth Log (fire log) was created by American Green Products in Huntington Beach, California. We realized that there was an incredible amount of waste paper being generated by individuals, business and government. We searched for ways to reduce our own waste and to use or recycle all that we couldn't. After years of study, we found that most of this clean, dry paper waste could be mixed with a recycled candle wax to create a mixture that could then be compressed to make a cleaner. greener, better smelling fire log."

"Earth Logs have been proven to release less carbon dioxide, less particular matter emissions, lower opacity (smoke) and even less creosote accumulation when compared to cut hardwood. From our patent pending closed loop, zero waste production process to our grass roots waste collection system, all of our products are made from 100% recycled materials."

My impression of the product is that it was not heavy to handle and smelled nice. Easy to use would be my take on the product. I should mention that I have not actually used it as my place does not have a fireplace. But if you have used it and would like to share your thoughts then feel free to do so as a comment on here.

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE AND YOUR COMPETITORS? AND THOSE SLOPES?

2012-01-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But what about your competitors? Well I like to have a gay old time with mine. It's not about being in competition with one another. It's about helping each other learn and grow. Simply put I amongst other members of the Orange County Landscape Design Network meet once monthly to network, share idea, eat, drink

This month began a fresh start for the year in which our topic was slopes. Rick Harlow

A few points that Rick made... and be marry. (horticulture instructor at Orange Coast College) came to talk to us about said subject. How to design and properly irrigate a slope area is hard. The land is not flat and depending on how steep it is, it could give away if there is an earth quake or some other natural disaster.

When planting on a slope it is best to start with smaller size containers - this is true because smaller size plants have a much higher chance of acclimating to their new environment than more mature ones. This is also true with humans.
Depending on the width of the slope you may want to allow for a pathway - this will give you a flat surface on that slope to walk, stand or sit with a glass of wine and enjoy the view.
Creating a terracing effect will add interest to the landscape and allow for more planting combination's.
When irrigating a slope you should always put the top of the slope on a separate valve then the bottom - this is true because of water runoff. The bottom of any slope will always require a bit more watering than the top.

If you have a sloped yard feel free to comment on here and post pictures and tell us what you did in your slope.

FLOWERS MADE FROM BOTTLES

2012-01-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

I don't recommend drinking water from plastic bottles since plastic is harmful to the environment. But if you do and are wondering what to do with those left over bottles. Well. You could either recycle them or turn them into a flower art that could even be a fun project to do with the kids.

The Lost Bean coffee shop has explored this idea by creating an interesting window display (see photos). Attractive, fun and creative. This is also something that you could do in your garden as an outdoor art project to decorate a bland wall with.

I would love to not only see and hear about the fun DIY garden things that you have made but also blog about it. Send me an email with photos and a description. Happy crafting!

#LANDSCAPECHAT ON TWITTER

2012-01-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

Today I was catching up on social media marketing and getting to all those things that got put on hold. All of sudden I randomly stumbled upon a Twitter chat about landscapes (#landscapechat). For slightly over an hour me (@earthfriendlyla) and bunch of different landscape companies and a few landscape product vendors and contractors ended up chatting. The topic was a mixture of water, permeable paving and a few other things. I just love it how we can live so far apart and yet be connected through one site. Engaged in a conversation that really needs to be talked about. Water is a valuable resource that is being seriously depleted. Wasted is more like it. This got me to thinking that I need to do more post about said subject.

What I am having difficulty wrestling with is how some people use the "some one else will take care of it" stance. What if that someone else who could take care of it is assuming that you will so they don't have to. This has also gotten me to think about how much water I consume and or waste (future blog post about my attempt to save).

This is where I would like to offer a challenge for all of you to not assume that someone else is taking care of it. I wonder if you actually looked and evaluated you life would you be able to honestly tell me how much water you use. We shall see.

The attached picture is a snippet of today #landscapechat.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - RANCHO SANTA ANA BOTANICAL GARDEN PART ONE

2012-01-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

DESIGNER IN RESIDENCE AGAIN

2012-01-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

As you may know or not Tree of Life Nursery is doing their designer in residence program again and I am excited to be participating. It's only $25 per person to participate and what you get is a half hour of plant etc. ideas for your garden. How cool is that! All kinds of ideas right at your finger tips. Yours for the taking.

Is half an hour enough? Yes it's more than enough. I have participated multiple times and usually we have a minute or two to spare. I or any other designer that you may sign up with will take you around the nursery and show you what plants are available that would work best for your garden.

If I sign up should I bring anything? Yes! Bring photos of your garden to show the areas that you wish to redo. Do you have a site plan? If so then bring it. You should also take note of the areas in your garden in relation to sun/shade and soil condition. I am currently offering a complimentary landscape design checklist kit that you can bring with you (right hand side of the homepage).

If you are interested in signing up for a half hour consultation then you can do so with me on February 18th or March 31st. Those that sign up will get a free packet of native plant seeds. If you would rather have a consultation at your house then you welcome to sign up for one by contacting me directly.

LAST YEARS LESSONS IS THIS YEARS TO DO'S

2012-01-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

For me 2011 is long gone but it left many things behind. Lessons and more lessons. I learned a lot in 2011 and my goal this year aside from learning new things is to take the lessons that 2011 brought and use them to improve 2012 from the get go. Perhaps I need to get more personal in this blog and share a bit more.

My friend Rachel blogged about finally committing to blue finger nails. Something she was not sure off. Maybe she was just fearful of the result it might have. But she went all in and did it. Took that risk and liked it. She called it her "red sofa" moment. Trying that one thing that she was unsure of.

My red sofa moment relates to this blog and that is the amount of posts I do or lack there of. I don't believe that I post enough. Once a week is my usual routine and even that sometimes falls between the cracks. Surely I have not posted enough videos either. My intention for 2012 is to change all of that. More text posts and more video posts. Not just once a week bur several times. Even daily! Now that I have used the word daily I have to as least try it. No harm in trying.

This least me to my question to all of you out there and that is... What would you like to read/see on this blog? Anything? You are more than welcome to share. If you have a landscape related product I would be happy review it.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - CALIFORNIA POPPIES

2012-01-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

THE PROJECT IS COMPLETE AND $ WILL COME IN

2011-12-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

Well my Costa Mesa clients garden is done and ready for the local wildlife to come and play. In time the plants will grow create a bounty of food for the wildlife. Not to mention that water rebate. Oh yes my client is literally going to get money. Free money for killing his lawn. You to can get free money but only if you want to. Contact me and I will show you how. Below are updated pictures of his garden. You can also view the previous blog post I did about this project.

98% of the plants we used were California natives from Tree of Life Nursery. The permeable decomposed granite hardscape was from Larry's building materials, we also added some organic fertilizer from Marilyn's Own.

DIY DECORATIVE VASE FOR ANY OCCASION

2011-12-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

I would like to think that I am a crafty person. I like to make things that look nice but don't cost a lot of money. On that note. I took a plane vase and turned it into a decorative piece that you can use for any occasion. Totally customizable based on your personal preference. Enjoy!

If you have made any DIY things then please email me and I will share in a blog post called "YOUR DIY PROJECTS"

RESOLUTIONS AND A GIVEAWAY

2011-12-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

This holiday season is a great time for reflections and making resolutions worth sticking to. I am making a few resolutions of my own that I will try this year to stick to without fail. My first resolution is to find peace and let go of all the stress I feel. How? I don't know but somehow I will figure it out. My second resolution is to live the healthiest year ever. This will involve some eating changes and weight loss. The end result is going to be a healthier me. I will assume that if I am healthy then my business will be healthy. My third resolution is to continue to build my business. I have been thankful for the clients I have had thus far but like any other business owner I always want more. Cheers to more and more...

My forth resolution is to give away more goodies to the earth friendly landscapes readers. Little things, big things, cute things and even the quirky. So here is a special gift for one lucky reader this holiday season. The gift (pictured) is a quirky garden ornament. You could even plant inside of it.

Alright so in order to win this you must do 3 of 4 things...

Comment on here and tell me what you would do with this or where you would put it.
Like earth friendly landscapes on facebook (click link above).
Write on the earth friendly landscapes facebook page by saying "happy holidays".
Tweet @earthfriendlyla "happy holidays"

Each entry will be put in to a hat and one person will be selected at random. Good luck and happy holidays from earth friendly landscapes. The deadline for this giveaway is Dec. 31st, 2011.

MY COSTA MESA CLIENT IS GETTING FREE $$$

2011-12-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

I am not kidding you. Quite literally my Costa Mesa client who has 750 square feet of lawn is getting a $1 per sq. ft. for what he kills from the Municipal Water District of O.C. Applying and getting approved for him was really easy. He filled out the application, after he had hired me and a design was ready to be installed. A nice man from the Mesa Consolidated Water District of Costa Mesa came out to ensure that he indeed had lawn to kill. He was approved within a week and was given 60 day's to do something. From there once the project is complete that nice man (can't remember his name) will come out to make sure that my client in fact did something and then withing less than 90 day's my client will get a $750 check. How easy was that? Real money at the tip of your fingers. All you have to do is kill the water sucking lawn. I should mention that you cannot replace the lawn with more lawn or synthetic lawn. The point of the rebate is to convince you to plant drought tolerant plants. Better yet "go native" and save even more money.

As you can see in the before picture above there is lawn and dirt. The existing tree per city guidelines must remain and the existing driveway/entry is in really good condition but everything else is going far far away. Currently the hardscape has been layout and boulders have been placed. The plants have been ordered and should be planted this week.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - CA NATIVE IRIS

2011-11-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

OUTDOOR WALL ART

2011-11-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

Recently I went back to a clients Costa Mesa back yard to take follow up pictures. The project had been installed over 7 months ago and I was curious to see how the landscape had turned out. Overall I was pleased and found myself intrigued by the outdoor wall art that was put up. The wall color which I actually like was existing and is softened not only by the plants but the cute art decor. This is a great way to add interest to a wall.

Fellow landscape designer Rebecca Sweet ique to her family. Telling a tale of her past. Inspired by her photo I decided to sift through my parent's garage in hopes that I might find somethings worth hanging on my outdoor wall. Alas all I found were some empty suitcases, old shoes and used electronics. Oh well but I do wonder what you have hiding in a box that might work well as outdoor wall art? Do share! owner of Harmony in The Garden has an office shed in her home in which she decorated one wall with found things that she got from her parent's old garage. Tools n things that are vintage and un

ROSEMARY INFUSED MARTINI

2011-11-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Patti Moreno does it again making me want to try something that I would not normally. First it was the Sage martini and then the Thyme martini. Now it's time for some Rosemary. These recipes are great for any holiday occasion.

As I have asked in the past if you have made any of these I would love to share photos on here. Perhaps you have a variation of your own that you would like to share.

VODKA THYME LEMONADE

2011-11-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

Previously had blogged about making sage martini with apple. This time its all about thyme in honor of veterans day. As I have asked before give me a picture of whichever variety you have made and I will post it on here. Enjoy and happy tgif.

To those that served for our country and gave their life YOU ROCK!!!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - CLIENT PROJECT IMAGES MADE TO LOOK LIKE PAINTINGS

2011-11-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

SAGE MARTINI WITH APPLE

2011-11-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

I love watching Patti Moreno's videos about gardening or in this case making a martini with Sage and apples. Definitely something that I am going to try for Thanksgiving.

I would love to hear your comments on this drink. If you make it then email me pictures (info@creationslandscapedesigns.com) and I will share them on this blog.

HOW TO BUILD A SPIDER WEB

2011-10-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

I was sifting through posts on facebook and came across this video that my friend Shirley Bovshow posted. The lady from gardenmagik in the video shows you how to build a spider web.

This is really cool and the perfect thing to try with your kids. Enjoy!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - VITIS CALIFORNICA 'ROGERS RED' - EDIBLE GRAPES

2011-10-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

5 CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS THAT YOU CAN EAT

2011-10-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Having a California native garden is beneficial to the environment while having an edible garden allows you to eat from your very own backyard. In fact you can do both by using edible California native plants. You get the beauty of the colorful, low water requiring natives and the benefit of having a smaller grocery bill. Below are 5 edible California native plants that would be prefect in your edible garden.

Frageria vesca - Woodland Strawberry
Edible strawberries

Rhus integrifolia - Lemonade Berry
The berries can be used in lemonade

Rubus ursinus - Blackberry
Edible blackberries

Satureja douglasii - Yerba Buena
The leaves taste like spearmint and can be used in tea

Vitis californica 'Rogers Red' - California Wild Grape
Edible grapes

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - AUTUMN SAGE

2011-10-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - MY KIDS MYLO N DOTI

2011-10-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

KILL YOUR LAWN AND GET $$$ PER SQUARE FOOT

2011-09-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

The Municipal Water District of Orange County has an awesome turf removal program that you should take advantage of. It's really simple and here is how it works (info from the mwdoc website).

Only one turf removal rebate per address will be issued.
A minimum of 250 square feet of turn must be removed.
A maximum of 10,00 square feet of turf may be removed.
Notices to proceed are valid for 60 days. Projects must be completed and the post turf removal site inspection scheduled prior to the authorization expiring.
Rebates may be considered taxable income and a signed IRS W-9 form is required for rebates of $600 or more.
Converted areas are subject to mandatory pre and post turf removal site inspections.
The converted area must remain in compliance with all program conditions for a period of 5 years.

Click here to read the participation process and read the eligibility requirements. Click here
for the application. Below is a list of participating retail water agencies.

City of Brea
East Orange County Water District
El Toro Water District
City of Fountain Valley
City of Garden Grove
Golden State Water Company
City of Huntington Beach
Irvine Ranch Water District
City of La Habra
Laguna Beach County Water District
Mesa Consolidated Water District
Moulton Niguel Water District
City of Newport Beach
City of Orange
City of San Clemente
City of San Juan Capistrano
Santa Margarita Water District
City of Seal Beach
South Coast Water District

If you are interested in killing your lawn and not sure what to do next then you can contact me and I would be happy to help you with a one hour consultation to give you all kinds of ideas for your garden.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - CALIFORNIA NATIVE IRIS

2011-09-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - PURPLE PENSTEMON BLOOMING ITS HEAD OFF

2011-09-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

10 PLANTS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER PLANTING

2011-09-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am all about planting natives but I also like the idea of being able to go grocery shopping in my own garden. I believe that the combination of both can really make for a great sustainable garden. You will get to enjoy the sights and sounds of the beautiful wildlife that will come to the natives. You will also get to eat organically from your own garden. It's a win win for both you and the environment. Below are a list o 5 California native and 5 edible plants that you should consider planting in your garden.

5 California native to use...

5 edible plants to use...

Basil
Cirtus
Mixed greens
Peppers
Tomatoes

If you would like assistance to determine which other California natives and or edibles then shoot me an email and I would be happy help you out. You can also check out my September special offer.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - I LOVE DUDLEYAS

2011-09-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU LANDSCAPING NETWORK AND IRVINE WORLD NEWS

2011-09-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Happy happy joy joy is my current mood learning that the Landscaping Network had written about a project I designed and also learning that I had made page 3 of the Irvine world News (bottom right). If this is not a sign of great things to come then I don't know what is. When you are running a business any free publicity is always welcome especially when you as the business owner did not have to beg for it. haha At the moment I feel really grateful and happy. Below is a copy of the Irvine World News article. Click on the two links above to see the actual online version.

BTN BUILDS A NURSERY PART 1

2011-08-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

If you are interested is helping save the habitat than Back To Natives Restoration is the perfect non profit for you to volunteer with. They specialize in habitat restoration by using (as locally as possible) native plants. Currently they are in the process of building a nursery to help fund their restoration efforts. The below video is part 1 of the nursery being built. Being involved in the process was a lot of fun and not to mention that giving back through volunteerism is beneficial to the growth of this environment.

If you are interested in saving the habitat in your own garden then below is a list of California native plants depending on your needs. Remember that using natives will cost less money, use less water and will attract beneficial wildlife to your garden. Use as locally native as possible whenever possible.

Planting perennial beds and borders in California
Planting groundcovers up to 3' high in California
Accent plants up to 4' high in California
Accent plants up to 5' high in California
Plants suitable for slopes in California
Plants suitable as background and screening up to 6' high in California
Planting with hedges in California
Planting with deciduous trees in California
Planting with evergreen trees in California
Planting with vines in California
California native grasses
30 California native plants

Back To Natives Restoration is always looking for volunteers. If you are interested in giving back then you can email them at volunteer@backtonatives.org.

Stay tuned for part 2 in a few weeks!

BRIBERY GOT ME IN

2011-08-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

I was going to my former Costa Mesa clients house to take photos of his back yard (while he was at work) months after it had been installed. On the one hand I was excited to see progress but on the other hand I was nervous. My client has a lab mix named Molle and I was convinced that he would not remember me. Uh oh! What was I to do? After minutes of pondering I realized that if I go armed with dog treats and a rawhide then maybe Molle will like me enough to let me in. It was an adventure. Me the "I am scared of large dogs" landscape designer being forced to face my fear alone.

I started by calling his name and throwing a treat over the gate. 5 minutes later I opened the door and stuck my right hand out with another treat. Then I went all in taking photos and giving him treats every so often. I am not sure if he remembered me or just pretended to for the treats. Below are pics of the garden featuring California native plants, existing non native plants, edible garden area, rainwater harvesting tanks by Bushman, permeable pavers by Vast Carex pansa (used as grass alternative). and an area of California native

AUGUST GIVEAWAY FOR YOU

2011-07-26T16:29:00.001-07:00

The month of August is right around the corner, which makes for a perfect opportunity to have a giveaway for that month. The prize will be the soil stick which is a great tool for determining your soils PH. Now on to the contest which will involve YOU searching through this blog for the answer.

Question: name something that I accidentally ran into?

Clues...

My encounter resulted in a bit of swelling followed by itching.
I don't believe that I am the only gardener or landscape designer that has encountered these.
Although I have conquered this fear I would never get too close to one of these again.
Luckily I only accidentally ran into one of these and not it's brothers or the entire nest.
What I encountered is parasitic during the baby stages.
This is related to a fear that some gardeners may have amongst others.

The person who can answer correctly will win the soil stick!

CRIMES AGAINST HORTICULTURE

2011-07-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

It is a crime against horticulture to hate on the plant world. To improperly prune a plant and shape it into a q-tip or square or anything else that destroys the integrity of the plant. There are exceptions at Disneyland but... These crimes have been documented and shared by Billy Goodnick aka Garden Wise Guy and others on the facebook page titled "Crimes Against Horticulture". Now go over there and spread some love by sharing your found crimes against horticulture. Go go go! ;-)

PASADENA HOA PROJECT

2011-07-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

I don't often get design projects outside of Orange County and Long Beach but when I do I only take the gig if I feel that it's worth my time and effort. In this case I was hired by a 10 unit hoa in Pasadena to do planting design for their complex. This was an interesting project because rather than having a singular client or a couple, there were 10 town home units. Luckily it was not a bad experience and everyone was nice and easy to get along with. The best part of this project was removing most of the non native plants and replacing them with natives. Below are some pictures during the plant placing phase of the project. Final pictures will be added to this post as soon as I have them.

This project was installed by Ed Wallace of Midwest Landscaping.

TUSTIN CLIENT - FINAL PHOTOS

2011-07-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have been having a blast working on this client's front yard. I have been lucky in my business to have never (yet) had a client I did not like. It is a nice journey especially when I get to virtually share it all with you. Well this project has come to a close. Below are pictures of the final product.

Yes there is new lawn installed, however it is significantly smaller in size that what was existing. In this case the husband really wanted lawn incorporated. Regardless this garden is a great eye catcher. The client has said that the neighbors and passer byes are loving what they see.

If you would like to see the previous posts about this project then click...

Design
Demolition
Installation

Click here if you would like to see the complete photo album of this project (via facebook).

If you are interested in having your very own beautiful garden designed then feel free to contact me.

TUSTIN CLIENT - INSTALLATION

2011-07-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

The Tustin, CA client's front yard that I previously blogged about is moving along smoothly. As I had mentioned in the my demolition post the entire front yard minus the existing deck and some existing trees were

Today the grass area is being installed. Yes there is grass in this project because when you are designing for a couple you must design for the sexes. Although I normally advocate to kill the lawn but in this case the areas of lawn are much smaller than what they used to be.

This project has been a blast to design and watch the installation of. I love how what was first a bunch of lines on paper is now an almost completed garden for the homeowner to enjoy. It's moments like this that make me love what I do. I also love having been able to share the process with you the readers. I hope that you enjoyed the virtual journey with me and hope you stay tuned for the final reveal.

If you would like to see more pictures of this project site (demolition to installation) then click here to go to the earth friendly landscape facebook page album. going to be demolished and replaced with new. At this point in the project the boulders are placed, the plants have been installed and the new irrigation and lighting system is in. The concrete driveway and decomposed granite path (with brick inlay) has also been installed.

TUSTIN CLIENT - DEMOLITION

2011-06-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

I had written a previous post about the design of my Tustin, CA clients front yard. Well to give you an update the entire front yard has been gutted. The contractor aka Laura Dalton Landscapes is making great progress on this garden. As you can see in the picture to the left one of her crew men is jack hammering the existing cracked concrete walkway. All of the lawn has been removed and only a few existing plants that are to remain in place are left behind. The hardscape has been formed via spray paint and the existing driveway is no more. The house has been painted a green color with other accent colors. This garden should be completed in 3-5 weeks and is going to be the talk of the neighborhood. Soon everyone will want a sustainable garden in their front or back yard. It's the only cost effective option that not only reduces your water bill but also increases your property value.

If you would like to see more pictures of this project site (demolition to installation) then click here to go to the earth friendly landscape facebook page album.

TUSTIN CLIENT - DESIGN

2011-06-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

I recently got hired by a client in Tustin,CA to design their front yard. A nice husband and wife that wanted to kill most of their lawn and have an energy efficient landscape designed and installed. I was thrilled since this is right up my alley. You want me to kill your lawn? With pleasure! However in this case there will be some lawn brought back in but it won't be the water sucking kind.

As you can see in the before picture there is lots and lots of lawn. Not energy efficient by any means. So there is a new plan to kill the lawn, add California native and a few drought tolerant non native plants and permeable hardscape which combined with pots and accessories will create the landscape that suits the homeowners every life style. Not to mention this landscape will be kind to the environment.
Currently all the lawn has been removed and the existing hardscape in being demolished. I will make updated blog post about the progress of this garden. Stay tuned for the big reveal.

If you would like to see more pictures of this project site (demolition to installation) then click here to go to the earth friendly landscape facebook page album.

5 TIPS FOR GARDENING OUTSIDE THE BOX

2011-05-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

When it comes to gardening outside the cookie cutter box it is often best to do so for the right reasons. I am not saying to just use any material or any old design but to actually think outside the box and create a garden that is beneficial to all. You and the environment as well as your wallet.

Tip #1 - Choosing the right materials - It often becomes easy to choose the same materials that everyone and their cousin has used. But in most cases that is not really safe for the environment unless everyone were using native plants and designing with permeable hardscape. Permeable hardscape allows for water to flow into the ground rather than into the storm drain. Native plants require far less water and maintenance then their non native counter parts.

Tip #2 - Plant outside the box - You are not limited to using the same containers. In fact a simple basket could make a nice planting arrangement that may even be a nice gift for that special someone. One suggestion would be to go thrift store hunting for interesting containers. Another option to plant outside the box is to garden upwards. If you have extra blank wall space then you surely have the room so why not take advantage of it.

Tip #3 - Gather free water - Mother nature gives us free water yet most people don't harness that extra water. Harvesting that rainwater allows you to to irrigate your garden without having to pay for it. This reduces your water bill. If you daring enough you could even use greywater. If you really don't want to harvest rainwater or use greywater then I would recommend having an energy efficient irrigation system installed (stay tuned for future posts on this topic).

Tip #4 - Grocery shop in your garden - I highly advocate using native plants but I also like the idea of being able to eat organically. In any landscape design there is always the design alternative to have an edible garden area. Better yet you could use all native shrubs and groundcovers with edible trees. There are even some edible natives.

Tip #5 - Give back to your garden, not the landfills - There is an easy way to reduce waste in the landfill and create great organic matter for your garden and that is to compost. Compost is the best material to add to your garden to add beneficial plant nutrients to your plants. You acquire all that food waste so why not use it to benefit your garden.

THE PURPLE CHAIR

2011-05-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

The bench that I got for free 8 years ago was looking a bit ratty. It was uncomfortable to sit on and was on it's last leg. So after much debate and thought I decided that it was time for something new. Saying that I need something new in my front porch to sit on was the easy part. Actually finding something that was reasonably priced was the hard part. I searched every place I could think of.

Ikea had some really cool stuff but the price tag was not so cool. Craigslist had one item but the seller never replied to my email. I also checked out other stores and found nothing that was within my price range. Finally by random chance I decided to go to the local thrift store in hopes that maybe they would have something worth looking at and something worth looking at they did. It was like I had hit the jackpot. The mother load or whatever you would like to call it. At first when I saw it I asked myself if I could live with a chair that was purple in color. I almost said no until I noticed that it was $25 + tax. This chair had been previously loved but the price was beyond just right. It was perfect. Super comfy, stylish and in good condition.

Now I can sit out in my front porch blogging or drinking some green tea with lit candles and enjoying the moment. The colors in my garden are turquoise, black, nutmeg, cream and fuchsia. My plants do have a variety of color flowers but since my garden is in full shade I will never see anything other than green leaves. So this chair becomes the perfect compliment. I am curious what items you have in your garden that you did not pay an arm or a leg for. Do share! :-)

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCEITY GARDEN TOUR

2011-05-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

This past Sat. I had the pleasure of having a garden I designed in Fountain Valley be listed as one of the gardens on the California native plant society garden tour for the Orange County chapter. This event showcased a bunch of native gardens that were located all over Orange County. From as far south as San Juan Capistrano to as far north as Westminster those that attended were able to get a whole slew of free ideas.

I was worried that my clients garden would not look nice during that day but boy was I surprised when I arrived. What did I find? I found most of her plants in full swing. Blooming like they had never bloomed before just on that day for the right occasion. The purple Penstemon (all of them) were blooming their heads off while the other plants like white and red Autumn Sages and the coral / red Monkey Flower were just finishing their bloom cycle.

As you can see in both pictures it is very possible to have a colorful attractive garden that is easy on your wallet and beneficial to the environment. Imagine sitting on that chair at night with a glass of wine and all you see are pretty colors, birds, and butterflies strutting about in your garden. This garden was installed in September of 2010 so just visually picture what it will look in another 6 months. How lovely would it be for you to have that garden that suits your every life style.

For those of you that attended the tour I hope that you saw enough gardens to get a wide range of ideas from hardscape to planting etc. I sincerely appreciate that you took time out of your busy schedule to come out. I am sure that most other gardens would say the same. As a thank you to all who came I would like to offer a complimentary consultation in which you will get an hour of my professional time followed by a contract for professional landscape design services.

ONLY A BIT OF LAWN

2011-04-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

I am usually the one that advocated lawn less gardens but in this particular case with my San Juan Capistrano client it was necessary to have a bit of lawn. She has a dog and wanted a soft surface for the dog to run around in. Luckily the lawn is existing and only a bit of it will remain while the rest will go bye bye. As you will see in the legend there are some existing plants that are being kept with an area of lawn that is also remaining in the back yard. The new plants will be a mixture of 95% California native and 5% non native.

Currently this garden is being bid and if all goes well then by the end of the this month there should be significant progress. I will keep you updated with several blog posts. What excites me the most about designing landscapes is making the clients dream come true. The dream of having an outdoor space to relax and enjoy. A space that suits their every lifestyle. Inexpensive, sustainable, earth friendly and organic is the only way to go in this harsh economic times. It's not just about having a functional garden anymore. It's also about reducing your energy bills while increasing your property value. Below are pictures of some proposed plants.

The left image is of Ceanothus concha while the right is of Heuchera hybrids and the center is Electric Blue Sage.

APRIL 2011 LANDSCAPE EVENTS

2011-04-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

This month is awesome as there are many cool events for you to enjoy. You will learn something about design and plants and a whole slew of other things.

First Annual California Native Plant Week at Tree of Life Nursery
April 16th - 23rd
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Landscape designers will be there to give you advice, tips and tricks.
A MUST ATTEND!

22nd Annual Spring Garden Show
April 28th - May 1st
Costa Mesa, CA
Many interesting gardens to check out as well has many vendors and great speakers.

Going Green In Orange County Meetup
Please click on the link above to see their event calendar

OC Green Drinks
Thursday April 28th
Irvine, CA

Events at Rogers Gardens
Please click on the link above to see their event calendar

GREENBO PLANTER

2011-03-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

As a landscape designer I am always searching for new products and things to use in my designs so when I saw that aHa Modern Living was selling the Greenbo planters I just had to have one. I contacted the manufacturer and asked if I could test one out. Woo hoo they said yes. I was also subsequently contacted by Fern from Life on The Balcony who had a Tree of Life Nursery groupon that she wanted to donate to me. Happy happy joy joy! The result was a railing planter that looks great in my garden.

So far I am loving this planter and highly recommend it for those of you that do not have land to garden in. For me personally I have a specific style of plants in my garden that I like to call California native so the plants I chose for this container were along those lines.

The planter is only big enough to fit 6-4" plants (3 on either side). Your options are not limited. I chose Satureja douglasii - Yerba Buena (edible groundcover where the leaves taste like spearmint) (right picture) and Monardella villosa - Coyote Mint (low growing shrub that gets 2'tall if planted in ground) (left picture).

If you wish to purchase this planter then click on the aHa Modern Living link above.

VERTICAL GARDEN INSTALLATION

2011-03-17T10:19:00.001-07:00

When I met and heard that Rebecca Sweet and Susan Morrison were writing a book about vertical gardening called Garden Up I was excited that finally someone was taking the concept to print. That got me to thinking about what it takes to install such a garden, so I contacted Scott Hutcheon Owner of Seasons Landscaping and asked if I could video tape one of his vertical garden installs. Thankfully he said yes and now I have the pleasure of sharing that video with you. Vertical gardens are great for those of you that don't have a lot of land to garden in or for those that want to dress up an otherwise bland wall.

Bare in mind that not all plants will work in vertical gardening as the amount of room that some plants need is more than what is available in this vertical system. But for the most part you may be able to use any low growing shrub or succulent and you could even get creative with texture and color.

As you can see in the video the blank white wall has been transformed into something pretty that anyone can appreciate looking at. I personally have a blank boring wall in my front porch and I plan to turn into something similar (stay tuned).

PLANTS FOR WILDLIFE

2011-03-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I was at Tree of Life Nursery for the California native plant society San Diego chapter plant sale. While I was there I had the pleasure of listening to landscape designer Connie Beck give a lecture on plants suitable for wildlife. Connie shared a few of her choice plants that she recommends for attracting those wonderful animals into your garden. From bats to birds and butterflies these plants are sure to add life and spunk to your garden. Enjoy!

Other posts you might like...

For a complete list of plants suitable for attracting birds click here.
For a complete list of plants suitable for attracting hummingbirds click here.
For a complete list of plant suitable for attracting butterflies click here.
If you don't have land to garden in but still want to create a wildlife attracting container for your balcony or front porch then click here.
For a guide to beneficial insects for your garden click here.

DECOMPOSED GRANITE AS MULCH

2011-03-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

I have a client in Costa Mesa, CA that wanted to go a different more sustainable route to designing his garden. He did not want the cookie cutter landscape that is not even earth friendly. This meant thinking outside the box and coloring outside the lines. As you can see in the before picture the garden is full of lawn and more lawn and more water sucking lawn.

The end result is a California native, sustainable garden that suits the clients every lifestyle. The plants are California natives with the exception of some existing plants. There is a small area of California native Carex pansa

The hardscape is a permeable products made by Vast. The actual tiles are made from recycled materials and because it's not mortared in the seams become permeable. The rainwater harvesting system is from Bushman.

In this case the decomposed that is used as lawn for the dog and the clients little girl. granite was used as mulch to add a pop of color to the garden. Yes typically decomposed granite is used as paving but it can be used as mulch. It comes in a wide variety of colors and can have the same affect as typical bark mulch. This is nice for gardens that are monotone in color and need a bit of pizazz. KRC Rock sells a variety of decomposed granite colors or if you don't like a standard color them you can have one custom made.

MARCH 2011 EVENTS

2011-03-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that March has come already. Oh my how the year seams to have flown by so fast. I will say however that this year has been productive and I am certainly seen an increase in business. So I will conclude that the rest of 2011 will be nothing but awesome!

Below are some events happening this month worth checking out...

Tree Of Life Nursery

Sat. March 5th @ 10am
Native plants for wildlife: birds, butterflies, bats and bees
(video post to follow - stay tuned)

Sat. March 12th @ 10am
OC Hikes author Karin Klein

Sat. March 19th @ 9am
Kill Your Lawn
This is a great lecture for those that want to save money and increase your property value by killing the lawn.

Sat. March 26th @ 9am
Design Elements - so you killed the lawn and then what?

Rogers Gardens

Sat. March 5th @ 9am
California Friendly Gardening

Sat. March 12th and Sun. March 13th ALL DAY
Edible Plant Weekend - FREE vegetable give away

Sun. March 13th @ 10am
Edible Landscape Demo - How to plant with Rex Yarwood

Sat. March 19th @ 9am
Grow Veggies Year Round, the Organic Way with Pat Welsh

Sun. March 20th @ 10am
In the Garden Workshop With Rex Yarwood - Spring Color Bowls

Sat. March 26th @ 9am
Cook Simply With Zov - Recipes From Earth to Plate - Demo and Book Signing

Sat. March 26th @ 9am
Spring Wreath Workshop

Other Events Related to Landscape and "Going Green"

Wed. March 2nd @ 6pm
Home Skills for the Green Citizen

Sat. March 5th @ 10am
Biodiversity and Why We Care

Wed. March 9th @ 10am
Propagation of Native Plants

Wed. March 9th @ 1pm
Composting Workshop

Wed. March 9th @ 3pm
Permaculture: Edible Landscape

Sat. March 12th @ 9am
Designing and Installing Sustainable Native Plant Landscapes

Sat. March 12th @ 11am
Eugene Cook and the Edible Garden

Mon. March 14th @ 10am
Rainwater Harvesting

Sun. March 27th @ 10am
Build Your Own Worm Composting Box

Please bear in mind that I did not plan any of these events and they are all subject to change by the creator. I am merely posting it for those that might be interested. Most of these events are happening in Orange County.

The first photo is of a Dark Star Ceanothus planted in my clients Fountain Valley front yard. The second photo is of an Encelia californica taken at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE

2011-02-17T09:35:00.000-08:00

In the year of making new resolutions and finding new things to do I would like to ask YOU the viewers of this blog about what you would like to see more of. I have a few ideas that I would like to share with you as well as get your thoughts for future topics n things.

More posts about irrigation design etc.
Video blog posts about design
Video blog posts about proper plant selection and selection of other materials
Video blog posts about installation
Series of videos about canning and preserving food and planting edibles

If you have topics that you would like to learn more about on this blog then let me know by commenting on this post with your idea.

FEBRUARY 2011 LANDSCAPE EVENTS IN ORANGE COUNTY

2011-02-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to get out and garden. The season to do what ever it is that you love that brings you joy and happiness. For me it's attending events that are educational. I find that in my business there is always room to grow and learn. Maybe some of these events will be educational for you or maybe just a fun thing to do this month with your valentine.

Tree Of Life Nursery Events

Sat. Feb. 12th at 10am
DIY Valentine Workshop - native plants in containers

Sat. Feb. 19th at 9am
Ocean friendly gardening, hosted by the Surfrider Foundation

Sat. Feb. 26th at 10am
DIY natives in containers

Rogers Gardens Events

Sat. Feb. 12th at 10am
Orchids with Dr. Koopowits

Sat. Feb. 19th at 9am
A Citrus tasting - taste it before you plant it

Sun. Feb. 20th at 10am
In the garden workshop with Rex Yarwood - edible potted creations

Sat. Feb. 26th at 9am
Grand ideas for your wedding day

Going Green In Orange County Meetup

Thurs. Feb. 10th at 6:30pm
Rainwater harvesting presentation with expert Brad Lancaster

Thurs. Feb. 10th at 6:30
OC Renewables Feb. speaker Kevin Ross of SunPower

Costa Mesa Green Task Force

Wednesday Feb. 16th at 6pm
The Fundamentals of the 4 R's - Resufe, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Wednesday Feb. 23rd at 6pm
Conscious Consumerism - The real cost of what we consume

As you can see there are a lot of things going on related to landscape and gardening for your enjoyment pleasure or just a fun day with your valentine. Enjoy and may the force be with you.

First photo: Dudleya taken at my clients Costa Mesa garden
Second photo: Same Costa Mesa clients driveway chunks of concrete reused to make a bench in the backyard

FOUNDATION CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS

2011-01-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

When it comes to planting design it can sometimes get overwhelming with massive amounts of plant choices. Luckily there are places like Tree of Life Nursery that like to make it a little easier by giving you tips, suggestions and nice lectures geared to help you find the right plant for your garden. In this video Mike Evans talks about foundation plants for the landscape.

Below is a list of plants (some mentioned in this video) that would be great as foundation plants...

Quercus agrifolia
Platanus racemosa
Prunus lyonii
Cercis occidentalis
Arctostaphylos ‘Lester Rowntree’ or refugioensis or ‘Byrd Hill’ (tall)
Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ or ‘Snow Flurry’ (tall)
Mahonia ‘Golden Abundance
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Rhus integrifolia
Rhamnus californica ‘Eve Case’
Arctostaphylos ‘Sunset’ or ‘Howard McMinn’ or ‘Louis Edmunds' (medium)
Ceanothus ‘Joyce Coulter’ or ‘Dark Star’ or ‘Skylark’ (medium)

If you would like more info on California native plants then click on any of the links below that suit your needs.

Planting perennial beds and borders in California
Planting groundcovers up to 3' high in California
Accent plants up to 4' high in California
Accent plants up to 5' high in California
Plants suitable for slopes in California
Plants suitable as background and screening up to 6' high in California
Planting with hedges in California
Planting with deciduous trees in California
Planting with evergreen trees in California
Planting with vines in California
California native grasses
30 California native plants
California Native Hummingbird Containers

2011 LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY SHOW

2011-01-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

I love attending the CLCA landscape industry show and getting a peek at the different landscape products that are out there. This is also a great way for those of us in the landscape industry to come together, network and share ideas and products. This year there were a lot of vendors sharing their knowledge and helping us designer and contractors grow.

From plants to energy efficient irrigation controllers these products are beneficial to your wallet and the environment. In the attached video some vendors share a sampling of their products. Bear in mind that there were over a thousand booths and there was no feasible way to take video of each booth and be able to share it in only a few minutes.

If you have questions on any of the products in the video or if you would like a complimentary landscape design consultation to discuss how any of these products would work in your landscape then kindly email me (info @ CreationsLandscapeDesigns dot com) and I would be happy to assist you (OC and LB residence only).

Above photo is a Ginkgo shaped rain chain.

GARDENING ADDICTIONS

2011-01-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have addictions! No I am not referring to something illegal. Hah But just things that I do repeatedly or obsess over. As you have guessed by the title it's gardening related. It's like the person who just can't get enough.

If you come to look at my garden you will notice that there are a lot of Dudleya's. I am obsessed with them. In fact I have a big empty blue pot that I plan to turn into a Dudleya garden. Every time I go to Tree of Life Nursery I just have to look at their Dudleya selection. If it is weird to be addicted to one specific plant then I am totally a weirdo. hahaha ;-)

Brenda Haas of BG Garden say's that her #1 addition is seeds. She has enough to fill a football field with a thin layer. Ok so maybe not that many but she does have a lot. She also has a bitchen green house where she keeps all her seeds. Her addiction is not necessarily collecting them but also sharing them. What a novel idea to share extra seeds with people who may need what you have and have what you need.

Landscape Architect John Denson who also proudly served for our country has an Orchid

Yolanda Vanveen of Garden Naturally Group is addicted to exotic plants. Hibiscus, Clivia and Voodoo Lily are just a few of her obsessions. She lives in an area that has cold winters which makes keeping some of these plants alive a challenge.

Suzanne Hetrick of Laura Dalton Landscapes tells me that she has a fancy for unusual succulents. The uncommon or maybe just the ones that are rare and illusive. I see where she is going with this.

Everyone has addictions of some kind (hopefully nothing illegal). I would like to know what your gardening addictions are. Something related to gardening that you are just obsessed with. What ever it is I dare you to share by commenting on this post.

The above picture is of Chalk Dudleya with some Hass Dudleya behind it. addiction. Yep! He has an entire website devoted to them. He is surely the go to guy for anything and everything related to Orchids.

BEST GARDEN BLOGS

2011-01-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

I was curious when my friend and fellow garden writer / blogger Ana Looper created a website dedicated to garden blogs. I thought it was a really nice concept that would bring all the garden bloggers together on one site. The surprise was on me when she featured my blog and added it amongst the others. For a minute I felt special. I must have passed her test ;-)

Best garden blogs is a website that features the best garden blogs from around the world. If you want to know about the different types of garden blogs that are out there then this is the site for you. A great way to get hundreds of useful information and whole slew of valuable resources. Below are a few words from Anna the creator...

Overview: Catalog of the top garden blogs on the internet. Only the best garden blogs will be listed. They are referenced by state, zone, and area of expertise.
Mission: To create an easy access to the top gardening blogs on the internet by listing them on this site.

We are many and while we may have our different styles of gardening, the one thing we do have in common is our love and passion for the environment. This will always bring us together and keep us close.

Thank you Anna for creating a platform for all of us to be able to virtually connect and get together.

MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

2011-01-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

I have a digital vision board that I created which lists all the things I would like to accomplish or have in my life. I had not looked at this list in years until now. The nice part is that some of the items on the list I was able to cross off as accomplished. Other things on the list are up in the air. I realized that perhaps if I am attempting to encourage you to make resolutions then perhaps I should follow suit and do the same. On that note I revised my vision board and thought I would share some of what's on there.

Grow business - no matter what, this is something that any business owner will have on any life list. I want my business to grow to the point where I can financially breath right.
Improve my credit report and finances - I fit the typical story of a former college student that got credit cards and spent and spent... If only someone had warned me! Now I am paying for those mistakes. Some how before 2012 (god willing hah) I will have better credit and less debt.
Be a better landscape designer - I love designing landscapes and living my passion. But even the sharpest tools in the shed could use a bit of extra sharpening. I like to believe that I am a great designer who can always strengthen and grow more.
Connect with Mr. Right - OK so this has nothing to do with earth friendly landscapes but it does have to do with me as a person. Wanting to find the right person is something that anyone would ultimately hope for. "I am human and I need to be loved. Just like everybody else does" The Smiths :-)
Exercise more often - I will admit that I don't work out as often as I should but this year will be different. This year I will loose those extra few pounds and stop the yo yo effect on my body.
Get out more often - as a designer I spend most of my time at the office. As much as I love what I do, I need to get out more often and just enjoy the beauty of the natural environment.
Go someplace outside of California - this is something I have not done is many years. It's called a vacation (what's that haha) and somehow I will take one before 2012.
Be a better mother to my kids - I should clarify that my kids are legally classified as felines. One 7 year old male (Mylo) and one 4 year old female (Doti). I love them as if they were biologically mine and vow to be a good mother. :-)

I am curious what is your new years resolution? I hope that this year brings you lots of happiness, joy and all the good things that you desire.

The above photo is of my cat Mylo who's new years resolution is to be more sneaky and not get caught. The other is Doti who loves to sleep and do not much of anything.

5 NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER MAKING

2010-12-31T14:12:00.000-08:00

I believe that 2010 especially towards the second half was a sign that the economy is getting better. Even a little bit better is a good sign. On that note I would like to suggest that you make some new years resolutions that are good for you and the environment.

Have your garden done right to avoid having to waste money redoing it - on the one hand I get that you may be strapped for cash. On the other hand hiring a professional may actually save you money. Not to mention that you will have more time to enjoy life and spend with your loved ones.
Reduce your water bill, while increasing your property value - this has a simple solution and that is to install drought tolerant plants. The best type of plant is one that is native to your region.
Save the water that mother nature is giving us - the rains that we have had have done two things. Cleansed us and given us free water to use to irrigate with etc. In 2011 you should take advantage and collect that water to be reused in your garden. This is also a great way to accomplish #2.
Reduce your grocery bill - the easiest way to do this is to grow your own food. This basically means that you will be growing non chemically treated foods to enjoy. Another option is stop buying junk food. Which I might add is not good for you to begin with.
Volunteer to help save the habitat - instead of watching hours and hours of TV, why not put those hours to good use by volunteering to help have the habitat. If you live in Orange County you should consider helping Back To Natives.

JANUARY 2011 LANDSCAPE EVENTS IN ORANGE COUNTY

2010-12-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

Do you live in Orange County, CA and are wondering about what landscape events are happening in your area. Well then this is the post for you. Below are landscape events that are happening during the month of January 2011 in Orange County.

Tree of Life Nursery

Saturday January 8th at 10am
Kill Your Lawn - how to etc.

Saturday January 15th at 10am
Creating and Caring for your California Native Garden

Saturday January 22 at 10am
Foundation California Native Plants
(video blog post forthcoming stay tuned)

Saturday January 29th at 10am
Flowering California Native Perennials
(video blog post forthcoming stay tuned)

Rogers Gardens

Saturday January 8th at 9am
My Edible Garden in February

Saturday January 15th at 9am & 11am
Rose Pruning Workshop

Saturday January 16th at 10am
In the garden workshop: winter color bowls

Saturday January 29th at 9am
Indoor gardening terrarium workshop

If you offer some sort of landscape event in Orange County then kindly email me (into at creationslandscapedesigns dot com) and I will add it on here.

As far as I am aware all of these lectures are FREE. Please double check with the nursery website for additional information.

ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA NURSERIES

2010-12-28T09:54:00.001-08:00

With so many nurseries how do you know one from the other? From California native plants California friendly plants how do you know where to buy what? There are many nurseries, but the two that are featured in this post are the largest to go to for what you need, especially if you are a landscape designer or landscape contractor in Orange County, CA.

The first is Tree of Life Nursery located in San Juan Capistrano that exclusively propagates and sells California native plants. Patty the retail manager gives a tour of the nursery.

The second is Village Nurseries (various locations) that has the largest selection of California friendly plants and a great selection of pottery. One of the managers Mike gives a tour of the Huntington Beach location.

Bare in mind that these are not the only nurseries in Orange County, however from my own personal experience Tree of Life has the largest selection of California native plants and Village Nurseries with it's many locations has the largest selection of California friendly plants.

Other nurseries in Orange County are...
to

Anaheim Wholesale Nursery & Landscape Supply- Orange, CA
Armstrong Gardens - Various Location
Bolsa Nursery - Westminster, CA
Brita's Old Town Gardens - Seal Beach, CA
Dana Point Nursery - Dana Point, CA
Dragonfly Shops and Gardens - Orange, CA
Eden Topiary Nursery - Anaheim, CA
Ito Nursery - San Juan Capistrano, CA
Living Green Nursery - Laguna Hills, CA
Laguna Nursery - Laguna Beach, CA
M&M Nursery - Orange, CA
Mimosa Nursery - Anaheim, CA
Pacific Paradise Nursery - Anaheim, CA
Plant Depot - San Juan Capistrano, CA
Roger's Gardens - Corona Del Mar, CA
Sakioka Wholesale Nursery - Westminster, CA
Seaside Growers - San Juan Capistrano, CA
Shore Gardens Nursery - San Clemente, CA
The Potting Shed At Fullerton Arboretum - Fullerton, CA
Tropical Vibe Nursery - Newport Beach, CA
Upland Nursery - Orange, CA

Note: if you own a nursery in Orange County, CA and you are not listed above them kindly email me (info at creationslandscapedesigns dot com) and I will add you.

If you are a homeowner and would like a personalized tour of Tree of Life or Village then contact me (info at creationslandscapedesigns dot com) and I would be happy to meet you and give you a lecture on proper plant selection and a tour. $30 per hour (minimum 1 hour).

I will also be doing a series of other nursery posts about San Diego county, Los Angeles county etc. for those that don't live or practice in Orange County. Stay tuned!

CALIFORNIA IS GETTING CLEANSED

2010-12-22T13:13:00.001-08:00

I live in Orange County, CA and as I write this post I can hear the sounds of rain and more rain and... I actually like the fact that this rain is giving us a cleanse and considering we are in a drought we sure do need it. This leads me to the thought that this is a great time to plant in your California garden. From California native plants to California friendly plants your options are not limited. In fact I have a series of posts about plants depending on your situation.

Planting perennial beds and borders in California
Planting groundcovers up to 3' high in California
Accent plants up to 4' high in California
Accent plants up to 5' high in California
Plants suitable for slopes in California
Plants suitable as background and screening up to 6' high in California
Planting with hedges in California
Planting with deciduous trees in California
Planting with evergreen trees in California
Planting with vines in California
California native grasses
30 California native plants

I hope that these posts help you in discovering the right plant for your garden. I also hope that this holiday season brings you lots of love and joy. The rain will surely bring an abundance of free water.

For a limited time I am offering photo planting design services (through the last week of February). Here is how the service will work...

You email me a photo of somewhere in your garden that needs to be planted.
You tell me a bit about your garden (sun/shade, rough size of planting area etc.).
I will respond with a proposed plant palette of California native plants suitable for that area of your garden. I could even go with you to a nursery to look at the suggested plants and assist you in the purchase and installation of the plants.

The cost for this services is free for the first picture and $20 each additional photo.

TWO UPCOMING BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR

2010-12-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

The First.....

Do you have a small front porch or a balcony that could use some tlc? Why use your hard earned dollars to improve someones landscape if you are just renting? If this sounds like you then this forthcoming book is just perfect for your apartment dwelling garden. My Balcony My Garden Fern Richardson is about gardening for those that don't have a lot of room, are renting or those that can only use containers. No mus no fuss ideas that will turn any brown thumb green.

Fern also offers container gardening services. If you have a balcony or front porch that is in need of some love then I would highly recommend you contact Fern to assist you. She also writes an award winning blog titled Life On The Balcony, in which she shares her experiences about apartment gardening and other fun things.

written by The Second...

Imagine if you had a less than attractive wall. How would you soften it? How would you add texture and life? Well! This is where this book comes in handy for you. Garden UP written by Susan Morrison and Rebecca Sweet is about gardening upwards (vertical gardening). Techniques, tips and tricks on how to successfully have a vertical garden. Below is the book trailer.

I will be filming the installation of a vertical garden this month designed by Season's Landscaping and will post the video on this blog. Stay tuned!

Photo courtesy of Season's Landscaping.

WICKED PLANTS & WICKED BUGS

2010-12-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

Did you know that there are certain plants that are deadly. Deadly as in "can kill you". Yep there are such plants out there and Amy Stewart author of Wicked Plants can tell you all about them. From Oleander to Sago Palms these plants are truly deadly. The author even grows some of these botanical nightmares in her yard. Below is the book trailer...

On the same token Wicked Bugs by the same author is about the deadly garden bugs. From lice to mosquitoes these bugs truly are one not to mess with. Below is the book trailer...

If there are any books that you are considering adding to your collection these two should be somewhere on that list. Kudos to Amy Stewart for going where no man has dared to go ;-)

SCCULENT CONTAINER GARDENS

2010-12-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

As a landscape designer I have a collection of books that are great to use when I need a moment of design inspiration and this is surely one of them. From pairing the right plant with the right pot to caring and maintaining a succulent garden, this book by Debra Lee Baldwin is a great resource.

This video made by the author shows you how to make a succulent container garden. Simple, easy and loads of fun.

Debra Lee Baldwin also sells neat and nifty succulent post cards, mouse pads etc. Click here to see a selection of her succulent art. Click on the image to purchase the book.

MY BOOK IS SO CLOSE

2010-11-30T09:45:00.000-08:00

Most of you may already know this and for those that don't you soon will. I am writing a book, which evolved through my research and love of California native plants. It was a day in the making by forces more powerful than me. I was making 8.5x11 plant fact sheets for a client for her native garden design concept. The sheets contained the basic plant information as well as lots of pretty pictures. Before I knew it I had 80+ sheets and realized one day that I had the basics of a book. I laughed at myself thinking yeah right! ME! write a book? I ignored the idea for a few months until one day I realized that making this book would be a great way to promote my business and the subject matter.

I started out calling the book "Easy to Use California Native Plants For Your Garden", which was nice but just not right for the audience I was going after. So after much thought and advice from fellow designers, the book took a turn in the right direction. This led to a name change calling it "60 California Native Plants to Experiment With in Your Garden". Easy to use, readily available and forgiving plants that you should totally try. Life is an experiment of trial and error, but these plants are the experiment that works the first time and lasts a long time.

At the moment the book is 90-95% complete, with no publisher other than my pocket. Hey maybe I will one day meet a generous donor hee hee. Either way I intend (god willing) on getting the book done before February or March. That does not mean that it will be printed by then but at least it will be ready for printing. You may be happy to know that I have contacted two publishers and will have to patiently wait and see. Wish me luck. On that note I would like to do a series of blog posts about upcoming books that you should check out when published as well as others that have already been published worth reading.

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments feel free to share them. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

BOOK PICTURES

2010-11-24T13:32:00.001-08:00

At this stage in the book writing I can officially conclude that I am 90% done and have sent info to two publishers (wish me luck). I am at the stage of checking all my photographs for quality and realizing that I still need more photos that are higher resolution for some of the plants. Thankfully I all the pictures I am currently using I have the legal right to do so.

On the subject of photos I thought I would share som
e that I am using in the book. So we are going to play a game. One in which the first person to guess the genus of all 3 pictures right will win the so il stick.

Some plant clues...

Book title is 60 California native plants to experiment with in your garden.
These plants are easy to use, readily available and forgiving.
First picture is a tall growing shrub, the second is a medium growing shrub, while the third is a low growing shrub.

In order to win or guess you must comment directly on this blog post! Happy Thanksgiving and good luck.

60 CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS

2010-11-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

I am sure that I had talked to you before about my book that is a work in progress. Since then I have made some changes and additions that have made me realize how much I really want to do this. I am not an expert writer by any means but I am a person with an idea that I think is relevant for sharing. I have also created a website for the book called www.canatives.blogspot.com. I would love to hear any comments that you have. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

The book is basically about 60 California native plants that I believe you should experiment with in your garden. These plants are readily available, easy to use and forgiving hence the experiment part. I will say that there are other books about plants that are really good and worth reading as I hope mine will be to you.

Click here to see a list of other books you should consider reading.
Click here to see some videos about California native plants.

Happy Thanksgiving! :-)

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT WEEK

2010-11-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

This is music to my ears and courtesy of the California native plant society. Effective immediately the week of April 17-23, 2011 will officially be known as the most awesome week ever. This is a measure passed by the California state assembly and senate called Resolution ACR 173. This measure officially announces that the 3rd week of April (each year) will be known as California native plant week. This measure was introduced by assemblywoman Noreen Evan with support from horticulturalists, conservationist and nurseries etc.

Click here if you are interested in where to use native plants.
Click here if you would like a complimentary one hour consultation to find out which natives work best for your yard.

Photo: Mcminn Manzanita

HOW TO PLANT A PLANT

2010-11-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

It's easy enough just to dig hole and put a plant into it right?. Well, not exactly. When you are planting a plant you have to understand how deep to dig that whole. How much soil amendments to add etc. Follow these tips for trees and shrubs and you should be good to go.
Soil amendment and growth amendment tips...

Compost Compost Compost is the best thing to ad to amend the soil. If you do not have any compost and are tight on budget then some potting soil mixed in with the ground dirt should do the trick.
You can add a growth amendment such as TRI_C Organics or Dr. Earth or Grow Power after you have planted the plant. Follow the directions that are given. This is not totally necessary if you are planting California natives.
Do you add mycorrhizae to the plant during planting? This depends on whether the nursery you bought the plants from adds it in when they grow or not. This is not 100% necessary but may be an option if needed.

The shrub planting diagram could also be used for trees.

OTHER GARDENING PEOPLE TO CHECKOUT

2010-11-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

On Twitter...

If you are an avid twitter user and totally into gardening then this is right up your alley. What is it you may ask. Well! It's a list of people in the landscape/gardening industry that you should consider following on twitter. This is all assuming that you are interested in getting the latest and greatest advice and tips about gardening.

http://twitter.com/earthfriendlyla/gardening

Tweet Tweet!

Other Gardening Blogs To Read...

I love blogging! Sharing thoughts and ideas. Ranting and raving about things that you should take note of. Luckily I am not the only one. Below is a list of a few other gardening/landscape blogs you should consider reading.

#GARDENCHAT

2010-10-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

Every Monday at 9pm E.T. a mass load of gardening / landscape peeps gather via twitter to chat. It is a fun and exciting way to spend what otherwise might be a boring Monday night. If you have a twitter account then you are welcome to join in the fun.

How to Participate in #gardenchat

If you have a Twitter account all you have to do is enter #gardenchat in the search box located on the home page of your account. You will begin to see what the garden world on twitter is sharing. You will have to refresh often to see what others are adding by the second to the conversation.

Lisa Gustavson (@getinthegarden) explains more about #gardenchat

Mondays, 9 p.m. (ET) – 10:00 p.m.

What do you get when you add one garden topic, one guest host who specializes in that topic, an avid and friendly group of gardeners and Twitter? The answer is #gardenchat, a forum for sharing all things growing as well as a host of other topics that relate to the gardening community. It’s fun, inspiring, informational and fast paced. VERY fast paced…the ideas, answers and questions all flying at Twitter warp-speed which can lead to a bit of confusion and unanswered questions. We can’t have that!

Welcome to the new format for #gardenchat. The format is similar to other chats on Twitter, with questions submitted beforehand and discussed in order that they are answered. Here’s how it will work:

Starting Monday and continuing throughout the week, the new #gardenchat topic and guest host will be announced. There will also be a link to a form where you can submit a question you have about the upcoming topic. Your questions can be entered at any time during the week up until Thursday at 11 p.m. (ET) to allow the guest host time to prepare their answers.

Your questions will be given to the guest host who will choose which to answer based on the time allotted. The new format will also allow for a brief live question/answer period as well.
#Gardenchat will now be broken up into three sections:

9 p.m. (ET)- 9:10 will be reserved for greetings and introductions.
9:10 – 9:45 is reserved for the answers to submitted questions. Each question will have a brief discussion immediately following the answer. (Discussion times will vary according to the number of questions being answered by the guest host.)
9:45 – 10:00 is reserved for live questions, answers and open discussion.

A big thanks to Brenda Haas (@bg_garden) for creating the #gardenchat facebook page.

Stay tuned for a list of gardening experts on twitter. In the meanwhile join us on #gardenchat and you can also follow me @earthfriendlyla.

ACCENT PLANTS UP TO 5' HIGH IN CALIFORNIA

2010-10-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in a garden it is nice to have an accent plant that is bigger than a small shrub yet smaller than a tree. Such a plant can make for a great sculpture in your garden. In one of my clients front yard we planted a Mcminn Manzanita (pictured) which will reach 6' at maturity followed by some Autumn Sages around it. This is also a nice way to add some color to your garden. Below is a list of California native plants that will work nicely as an accent up to 5' high.

Amorpha fruticosa
Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn' (pictured)
Arctostaphylos 'Sentinel'
Calycanthus occidentalis
Carpenteria californica
Ceanothus 'Concha'
Ceanothus 'Julie Phelps'
Ceanothus 'Skylark'
Cercis occidentalis
Cleome isomeris
Comarostaphylis diversifolia
Dendromecon rigida
Fallugia paradoxa
Fremontia species & hybrids
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Mahonia 'Golden Abundance'
Pinus contorta
Pinus monophylla
Rhamnus 'Eve Case'
Ribes speciosum
Thus lentii
Tecoma Stans

PREPARING FOR FUMIGATION

2010-10-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

This week my condo complex was fumigated. Luckily the process went smoothly without any major hitches. As I was bagging all the things I had to bag I got to thinking about my plants and and almost began to worry that they might not survive. Me and my neighbors pooled together and put all out plants in one spot by the pool because if they were in the tented area then they would have died. This got me to thinking about what I would have had to do if I actually had land to garden in. Below are some tips to ensure that your landscape does not die during any fumigation.

Remove all antennae or satellite dishes.
Detach all fences that abut the structure. Fences with gates do not have to be detached.
Trim back all trees, plants, shrubs and any ground covering foliage to at least 12 inches from the side of the structure.
Rake back all decorative rock and decorative bark (wood chips) from the side of the structure at least 12 inches.
Thoroughly water all the soil around the perimeter of the foundation and around any plants adjacent to the structure.
If you have container plants in your balcony or front porch then simply remove them to an area that is not going to be tented.
If you have open bags of soil then simply air-rate the soil by shaking up the bag and mixing it with a new bag.

SOMETHING TO DO THIS SATURDAY

2010-10-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

Fall is a great time to plant plants and an even better time to buy them on sale. Yes you heard me right. This Saturday the California native plant society Orange County chapter will be having a plant sale at Tree of Life Nursery. I amongst other volunteers will be there to help you find that perfect plant for that spot in your garden. There is also a lecture at 10am with Barbara Eisenstein who is a native plant expert. She will talking about picking the right plants for your garden.

This will be a great way for you to get some free design ideas and some great plants for you garden.

5 TIPS TO REDUCE YOUR WATER BILL

2010-10-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

I count myself amongst most Americans who are living upside down. Where you owe more on your house than what it's currently worth. Yep! I am right there with you. But just because the economy has gone to shreds does not mean that your wallet has to. Consider these 5 tips to give you ideas on how to reduce your water bill and add a little more "green" to your wallet. These tips may even add some "green" to your property value.

Tip #1 - Kill Your Lawn
Let's face it and accept the reality that lawns are a waste of money and valuable real estate. The amount of water you spend to water the lawn and money you spend to mow and fertilize it is not well spent. You could rather use up that valuable real estate to create a low water meadow garden or create a habitat attracting California native garden. You will become the neighborhood trend setter and the local wildlife will love you to pieces.

Tip #2 - Harvest Rainwater and Greywater
If mother nature is giving us free water then why are we not harvesting it? If you are going to have to use water to wash your cloths in then why not use the left overs to irrigate your garden with. Think for a minute and try this on for size... Get a large decorative pot in whatever color suits your fancy. Cut a whole at the bottom of the pot where a spigot will go into. A small hose attaches to the spigot. Put some mesh with thin holes at the top so the bugs don't get in and whoa-la! Place the pot under the gutter or attach a hose from the washing machine that leads outside to the top of the pot. You could even have the water connected to your irrigation system.

Tip #3 - Understand What You Have Planted
My mother is the classic person that always over water's her garden. As often as I tell her that the plants in her garden don't need much water she still insists on watering more often then necessary. By understanding what is planted in your garden and how much water each plant will need will better help you in using the right amount of water. If you have hired a designer then he or she should tell you all the details about the your plants and if you have had an irrigation system installed then your contractor should educate you on how to use it.

Tip #4 - Plant California native plants (assuming you live in California)
California native plants are from... Guess where? They are already adapted to the California climate and the gnarly clay soils that we have. They require much less water then any other type of plant material and the local wildlife love them. If you must have grasses in your garden then try these California native options.

Tips #5 - Sweep it
I have a front porch on the second floor of a condo complex and I would not dare use water to wash my front porch in. I just grab a broom and sweep. Gives me a good upper body work out and helps save our precious resource. Just imagine that the water you use to wash hardscape with is going into the storm drain and possibly destroying our watersheds.

Photos are of a lawn less garden I designed in Costa Mesa, CA.

WHAT'S IN BLOOM AT MY CLIENTS HOUSE

2010-10-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

I went to my clients house in Fountain Valley yesterday and was impressed at some the plants that were in bloom.

The Foothill Penstemon had bright purple flowers with blue ish tone tips

The Red Monkey Flower was a combination of reddish/coral flowers that looked gorgeous

The white Autumn Sages was not to bad either

This Hasse Dudleya is slightly creepy just in time for Halloween

Once this garden grows it will be a mass of prettiness that both the client and the local wildlife will love. I already do!

I am curious! What's growing in your garden?

ACCENT PLANTS UP TO 4' HIGH IN CALIFORNIA

2010-10-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

I like looking at designs where you can clearly tell that the landscape designer put some serious thought into it as oppose to haphazardly picking a bunch of plants and just planting them. A great design technique is to have a tall growing plant that can get up to 6-8' high followed by a lower growing plant that can get up 3-5' and some smaller growing plants suitable for perennial beds and border in front. This will create nice interest.

These California native plants listed below don't get more than 4' at full maturity and are great to plant in your garden.

Agave deserti
Agave shawii
Arctostaphylos 'Sunset'
Ceanothus rigidus 'Snowball'
Cneoridium dumosum
Coreopsis giganteum
Dudleya spp.
Encelia farinosa
Eriogonum fasciculatum
Eriogonum giganteum
Ferocactus viridescens
Galvezia speciosa 'Firecracker'
Iris douglasiana
Limonum californicum
Mimulus species & hybrids
Nolina parryi
Penstemon spectabilis (above picture)
Penstemon heterophyllus
Perityle incana
Romneya 'White Cloud'
Salvia clevelandii
Salvia greggii (right picture)
Trichostema lanatum
Yucca schidigera
Yucca whipplei

PLANTING GROUNDCOVERS UP TO 3' HIGH IN CALIFORNIA

2010-10-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

I like using ground covers to define the edge of a border or to just add some low growing interest in front of a taller plant. Whatever the use, these California native plants get up to 3' high and are a fun way to add interest. In the right picture my client in Costa Mesa had an existing tree that we potted and put a lot of low growing ground covers to add some color punch and interest. You are not limited in your options or your creativity.

Below is a list of California native groundcovers up to 3' high.

Arctostaphylos 'Carmel Sur'
Arctostaphylos 'Emerald Carpet'
Arctostaphylos 'Pacific Mist'
Arctostaphylos 'Point Reyes'
Artemisia californica 'Canyon Gray'
Artemisia californica 'Montara'
Baccharis pilularis 'Pigeon Point'
Baccharis pilularis 'Twin Peaks'
Ceanothus 'Joyce Coulter'
Ceanothus maritimus
Ceanothus 'Point Reyes'
Ceanothus 'Yankee Point' (right picture)
Epilobium californicum
Erigeron karvinskianus
Eriogonum fasciculatus 'Dana Point'
Eriogonum parvifolium
Fragaria californica
Iva hayesiana
Oenothera speciosa 'Rosea'
Oenothera stubbei
Ribes viburnifolium
Salvia mellifera 'Tera Seca'
Sisyrinchium spp.
Solanum xantii

SMALL SIDE YARDS

2010-10-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Every single family home has them. What are they? They are small side yards that are usually narrow and long. Most of them serve the purpose of getting from the gate to the back yard or a place to store the trash bins. In some cases side yards are not even really used since typically each home has two. There are also many design ideas for side yard, but the one I often recommend to my clients is what I like to call the high impact low cost option. This involves reusing/re-purposing existing materials and adding some new ones.

As you can see in the above picture this side yard (location Costa Mesa, CA) is really long (45') and narrow (6'). There is nothing there but dirt and it is not a space that the client anticipates using often. What we did was take existing small concrete pavers and existing brick and used it to create a pathway down the center of the side yard and added mulch as grout and planted on either side of the paving. The result was a very functional yet organic side yard.

Some tips for designing side yards.

Determine if that space will get a lot of use or not. The purpose of that space will often dictate the design.
Consider re-using materials. For example if you are using brick in your back yard then you may have left over pieces that you can use in your side yard.
Pick plants that will work in that space by determining if the side yard is mostly shade or sun.
Pick drought tolerant California native plants that will require a lot less water and maintenance.
Create vertical interest by having hanging planters that allow you to garden upwards.
Too many colors in a small space will look cluttered and messy. Limit your palette to just a few.
The layout of the hardscape does not need to be in a straight line. Get creative!

PUMPKINS AND MORE PUMPKINS

2010-09-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

I love October! Halloween is my favorite holiday and I will admit that the Exorcist is my favorite movie. Yes I love any movie that is horror. Call me a freak or just plain strange. I just love this month. What I also love is carving a pumpkin into something. This year however instead of carving a pumpkin I will attempt to cook with one. Can I cook? Yes! Can I bake? Hah no! Having said that I found a bunch of pumpkin recipes on All Recipes that I thought were interesting. The recipe I found that made me go hmmm, is called Pumpkin Stew that I will attempt to make. The recipe is as follows copied straight from the website.

Ingredients

1/4 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes (I am vegetarian so mine will be meatless)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided
2 tablespoons water
3/8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 carrots, sliced
1/8 large green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/8 onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
3/4 teaspoon beef bouillon granules (any suggestions for substitutes?)
1/8 sugar pumpkin

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Place beef in the saucepan and cook until evenly brown. Mix in the water, potatoes, carrots, green bell pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 2 hours.
Dissolve the bouillon into the beef mixture. Stir in the tomatoes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Cut top off the pumpkin and remove seeds and pulp. Place the pumpkin in a heavy baking pan. Fill the pumpkin with the beef mixture. Brush outside of the pumpkin with remaining oil.
Bake in the preheated oven 2 hours, or until tender. Serve the stew from the pumpkin, scraping out some of the pumpkin meat with each serving.

I may further revise this dish to add more vegetables especially my favorite spinach. We shall see. I am curious to know what pumpkin dishes you make and if there are any recommendations you have for cooking pumpkins.

OCTOBER LANDSCAPE EVENTS

2010-09-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

Typically fall is the best time to plant especially if you are using California native plants. Knowing what to plant and how is also key to having a great garden. Tree of Life Nursery and Rogers garden offer some classes to suit your gardening needs. Below is a list of classes they offer.

Tree of Life Nursery

First Fall Saturday and Nursery Tour - 10% discount on all plants
Saturday October 2 at 9am

Lecture and book signing with Alrie Middlebrook
Author of Designing California Native Garden
Saturday October 9, at 10am

Lecture and book signing with Bob Perry
Author of Landscape Plants for California Gardens
Saturday October 16th at 10am
I highly recommend this lecture it will be worth it!

Picking plants for a carefree garden with Barbara Eisenstein
Saturday October 23, at 10am

Butterfly Gardening with Bob Allen
Saturday October 30, at 10am

Rogers Garden

Brown Gold; Compost for your garden
Saturday October 2 at 9am

Fall cooking with Cristin Fusano
Saturday October 9, at 9am

Pumpkin carving seminar with Gene Granata
Saturday October 16th at 9am

THE STAND OUT LANDSCAPE GIFT

2010-09-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

When I give gifts to friends or family I like to put a little bit of thought and a lot less money into it. Believe it or not a $100 outfit is easy to buy and does not require any thought. But a nice plant arrangement is homemade, thoughtful, unique and a lot cheaper than the $100 outfit.

The wicker purse bag on the above picture was $3 at the used goods store + $10-15 worth of plants makes a great planted purse that looks unique and is bound to be loved by the receiver. In this case I added some hemp mesh and a blue denim fabric stripe for a punch of color and whoa-la.

Have you ever seen those old containers that were once used for teas or spices? I bet your grandmother may even have some in her garage somewhere. If you have some then may I suggest putting a succulent in it. In the bottom picture Dudleya lanceolata shines in it's true glory in what used to be a tea container.

There are many things that you can do to get creative and impress your friends or family. Just remember that some plants prefer shade while some prefer sun and knowing the plants habit will help you better select the right plant to use. You could also bring the container to the nursery and have the sales associate assist you in picking the right plant for your container.

Another neat gift idea is a holiday herb basket as demonstrated by Fern Richardson from Life on The Balcony.

I LOVE KILLING LAWNS

2010-09-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, lawns are a waste of space, water and money. If you absolutely have use for an area of lawn then that is one thing but typically people don't. Think about it! Just because your neighbor has lawn does not mean that you have to. You could however become the neighborhood trend setter. You know that person that actually cares about the environment and their wallet. Having said all of this I would like to show you pictures of my clients (Fountain Valley, CA) project that is currently (as I type) being planted.

As you can see in the picture above there is nothing but lawn, lawn and more lawn. It was doing nothing for the homeowner, so we killed the lawn and are planting with California native plants that don't need much water, don't need a lot of maintenance and will not only reduce the homeowners water bill but also significantly increase their property value.

The hardscape is a mixture of flagstone in brown tones and gravel in brown tones. The architecture is painted in a light beige color with chocolate accents. The plants on the other hand are colorful.

The plant palette is...
Lance Leafed Dudleya
Hasse's Dudleya
Chalk Dudleya
Monkey Flower
Foothill Penstemon
Red and White Autumn Sage
California Fuchsia
Howard Mcminn Manzanita
Dark Star Ceanothus
Ilex (cannot recall variety)
Emerald Carpet Manzanita
Dimondia

The Ilex and the Dimondia are California friendly while the rest are natives. When the plants fill in it will looks beautiful and create an awesome wildlife habitat. The local birds, butterflies and hummingbirds are going to write me a thank you letter. ;-)

This project was designed by me and installed by Living Landscapes. You are more than welcome to contact me and I will happily meet you complimentary for an hour to discuss how we (me and you) can reduce your water bill, while increasing your property value without denting your wallet.

PLANTING PERENNIAL BEDS AND BORDERS IN CALIFORNIA

2010-08-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

Planting perennial beds can be fun and is an exciting way to add some color and pizazz to your garden. Whether you are lining a path way or creating a formal themed garden, perennials will add fun pops of color. They are easy to grow and come back year after year.

The first step is to property amend your soil. The best soil amendment that you can add is compost. If you do not compost and don't know anyone that does then you should add an organic potting soil mixture to your garden. You should also consider adding fertilizers to your garden during the planting process.

The second step in having a perennial garden is to do your research on plant material. Whether you are using California friendly plants or California native plants, you have to understand the basics of each plant that you are considering for use. How high does the plant get and how much water does it need. Does the plant require full sun or full shade? How wide the plant gets will also affect the planting process. Each plant should have enough room to grow to avoid being crowded. A great trick is to make a drawing of your garden to better understand the area. This drawing will allow you to see how much you have.

The final step is to place the plants and start planting. We in the design world call this spotting your plants by placing them where you want them to be. Then once all the plants have been placed, you should step back and a take a look. You make have to make minor adjustments but at least you won't be haphazardly planting. You don't want to end up with not enough plants or too many.

If you are interested in planting natives in your perennial bed or border then below are some to consider.

Abutilon palmeri
Aquilegia formosa (right picture)
Artemisia pycnocephala
Coreopsis maritima
Epilobium californicum
Erigeron glaucus
Erigonum grande var. rubescens
Eriogonus umbellatum
Eriophyllum nevinii
Galvezia speciosa 'Firecracker'
Heuchera maxima & hybrids
Iris douglasiana
Mimulus sp. & hybrids
Monardella spp.
Penstemon heterophyllus
Penstemon spectabilis
Salvia leucophylla 'Pt. Sal'
Salvia 'Dara's Choice'

First photo courtesy of Gardens Blaze.

CALIFORNIA NATIVE GRASSES

2010-08-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

I am going to assume (with excitement) that you have decided to kill your lawn. You are finally going to get rid of that non native waste of money water sucking plant. OK maybe you are not killing your lawn but would like to add some more grass to your garden without breaking the bank. Whatever your needs are Gene Ratcliffe at Tree of Life Nursery offers you some native grass options to consider.

Various uses for grasses...

Can be used like shrubs
Can be used to define edges
Ornamental varieties can make eye popping hedges or screens
Planted in mass they can make a strong visual statement

Some California native grasses are...

Artistida purpurea - Purple Three Awn
Carex pansa - California Meadow Sedge
Deschapsia caespitosa - Tufted Hairgrass
Festuca californica - Californica Fescue
Leymus species - Wildrye
Melica imperfecta - Coast Range Melic
Muhlenbergia rigens - Deergrass
Nassella species - Needlegrass

HAVING A SITE PLAN

2010-08-10T16:01:00.001-07:00

Do you have a plan for your garden? Or are you just going to wing it, which will result in having to redo and redo and... Do you know what a landscape design in-tales? A plan is a drawing of what your landscape designer has designed in your landscape.

There are many types of plans...

Grading Plan
Drainage Plan
Hardscape Plan
Irrigation Plan
Planting Plan
Lighting Plan

Typically in residential design once you and your landscape designer have finalized a concept then the landscape designer will take that concept and create more accurate drawings that a licensed landscape contractor can bid from. Hardscape, irrigation, planting and lighting are the most commonly needed types of plans.

The h ardscap e plan will show remaining and new hardscape elements. All of the new hardscape elements will be dimensioned to show the landscape contractor where things are located or how wide things should be. This plan will also indicate what materials are being used. It is important that the dimensions are accurate! If the drawings state that the pathway leading to the house is 4' wide then the landscape contractor will build it as such.

The irrigation plan will show the location of the irrigation spray heads or where the drip irrigation lines are located, with an accurate legend and notes. This type of drawing will also have all the appropriate calculations required and clearly list the manufacturer and model number etc.

The planting plan will show where each plant is going to be placed by having a symbol for each plant that is placed numerous times in the drawings based on quantity of that specific species of plant. Each symbol should correspond to a legend that will clearly indicate what that symbol is. Some landscape designers will show symbols in their legend matching the symbols in the drawing, while other landscape designer will have call outs and numbers for each symbol. Either way it is imperative that each plant be listed by genus, species, common name, size (1, 5, or 15 gallon, 24" or 36" box) and quantity.

The lighting plan will show exactly where each lights are placed with an appropriate legend. The legend should be detailed enough to indicate the manufacturer of each light etc. Up light, down light or path light etc. are a few types of lighting styles and thankfully your landscape designer will have these all clearly labeled and listed.

Before you hire the professional (reasonably priced) landscape designer, you should perform a landscape design checklist that will make things easier for you and your designer.

Note: typically the clients, address and phone number is listed on all the drawings, however I have removed such info from my drawing in order to protect my clients privacy.