Tag Archives: garden design

Ahbkazi Garden, garden design, garden paths, paths

Designing a Garden Path

You can be led down the garden path or get off the beaten path or take the path less traveled. Everywhere are references to paths in literature and philosophy. Paths make a garden more interesting, too. Simply by changing the shape of your path or the materials underfoot or adding a focal point at a bend, yours can change the look of your whole garden. Consider some of these ideas to update your path.

Cottage garden flagstone path

Every garden path begs you to wonder where does it lead? It’s the journey as well as the destination that makes it so alluring. As you walk, the garden should slowly reveal surprises. An architectural accent plant might appear, a wonderful scent greet you, a distant view open up or a drift of colorful flowers at the edge may beckon you to stop and enjoy the scene.

In the front yard you want a solid path directing visitors from the parking area to the front door. It should be wide enough to accommodate two people walking side by side with interesting views along the way like low walls or plant materials to create a sense of enclosure. You want a person to feel they are walking through a defined space and although you may alter the direction of the entry walk to make it more interesting the purpose of the path is to find the front entry area.

But what about all those other paths that wind around the house and in the back garden? Here’s where you can get creative.

Paths can be designed to slow people down. Plan pauses along the

Abkhazi Garden, Victoria, BC, Canada

way, widening it at some spots while placing a sitting bench nestled beside a bird feeder at another spot. Place a unique piece of garden art next to a tree with interesting bark or a view of distant mountains. You can route paths in ways that direct your sight toward beautiful things and away from the compost pile and trash cans. Good paths have entries that are easy to see and pull you in.

When I design a path in a garden I think about how it will fit into the rest of the landscape and the look of the house. Flagstone, brick or pavers are great for paths you’re likely to travel on barefoot. You can soften the path’s look by planting low ground covers between pavers. Allow at least 2 inches of soil between flagstone or pavers and amend the soil so it won’t pack down with foot traffic before planting.

Bark or gravel looks great for natural looking paths and a gently curving path invites you to stroll among the plants. If it leads you to a small circular patio all the better.

Bluestone path-mortared with accent boulders

How wide should you make an informal path? If you want to soften the edge with low plants, allow 3 1/2 to 4 feet. Small grasses, aromatic herbs, fragrant flowers and colorful foliage plants look natural beside a path.

An interesting path I encountered once was created from materials found onsite. Old untreated redwood timbers were cut and installed at an angle every 6 feet or so along a packed decomposed granite path. In between were small pieces of flagstone connected with bands of 2 inch black Mexican pebbles. The look was interesting and inexpensive to achieve.

Look around your own yard for found items that would give your path that personal touch. Old bricks and broken concrete will find new life and you’ll save the expense of having to haul it away.

 

Enchanted Gardens in the Valley, garden tours, sustainable design, sustainable gardening

Enchanting Gardens in the Valley- A Garden Tour for Locals

I?ve seen my share of spectacular gardens and always come away with new ideas and inspiration. It?s part of the fun to imagine how one might incorporate a unique type of path or a water feature into your own garden. Maybe a particularly breathtaking plant combination would look just right next to your patio. It?s even better when the beautiful gardens are in your own neck of the woods. What could be better than to see what fellow gardeners have created nearby?

English cottage garden

Recently I was able to preview several local gardens that will be featured on the Enchanting Gardens in the Valley garden tour on Saturday, June 24th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. As a fundraiser benefit for nonprofit Valley Churches United there are seven beautiful, unique and inspiring gardens in Felton and Ben Lomond that shouldn?t be missed.

Weeping Atlas cedar near pond

Dappled by the morning sun the pond and waterfall in the first garden I visited was even more enchanting after the owner, told us an interesting story. Seems that one spring she looked out her office window and saw a live blue heron strutting and displaying, trying to get the attention of the metal heron sculpture. ?He was really doing his thing?, she laughed. The pond is surrounded by grass-like plants like lomandra and carex that provide movement in the wind while the upper bed where the waterfall originates features flowers of bright orange, red and magenta along with the blue foliage of a weeping Atlas cedar and blue oat grass.

Other highlights in this garden include raised veggie beds, a rose and cutting garden and a special fire hydrant garden for the dog. You?ll just have to see it for yourself.

Antique baby’s bed planter

Several gardens on the tour allow visitors to walk through the main living and kitchen areas. It?s a treat to see how the outside reflects the interior design from a gardener?s perspective. Under massive native oaks one such garden will keep you exploring for hours. With red as the primary color accent along with touches of yellow and blue every nook and cranny has been tastefully decorated with hand made glass collectables. An antique baby?s bed has been converted to a planter, a vintage stove overflows with ferns, ivy and begonias. The English cottage look is complete with mature boxwood hedges and a large white pergola with wicker furniture. There are sitting areas at every turn throughout the garden, however, the owner confesses she sits for about 15 minutes before the urge hits her to trim or re-arrange something. Sound familiar?

Rainwater catchment system

Another garden on the tour features a Newport Fairy rose as big as a van. A rainwater catchment system designed by the owner/engineer waters his orchid greenhouse with pure rain water. The rhododendrons in this garden are 20 years old and all the hydrangeas are from cuttings his wife has propagated. There are many great tips and ideas to take away from this garden.

Edible garden

A study in sustainability and permaculture, one of the gardens is a mega food source for the owner?s family. From grapes to vegetables to recycled wood arbor and decks with fancy railings, this garden is a certified wildlife habitat and pollination garden for bees and beneficial insects. Using organic practices and water conservation techniques it?s brimming with life.

galvanized water tank pond

If your space is small, you?ll want to visit a garden nearby, Designed by a landscape architect and her creative husband the garden rooms surrounding the compact home feature a koi pond, meditation garden, galvanized water tank with wall fountain, outdoor dining table re-purposed from old deck and vegetable garden. The outdoor experience connects to the interior with large open doors at both the front and the back.

So whatever type of garden appeals to you there?s sure to be one to please at the Enchanting Gardens in the Valley garden tour. Tickets are available at Mountain Feed and Farm Supply, several other local nurseries and from Valley Churches United office in Ben Lomond. Contact them at 831-336-8258 for more information.

California Native Plants, Deer Resistant Plants, drought tolerant gardens, flowering shrubs, landscape design

Favorite Plants of Landscape Designers

Big surprise. Many of my friends are also landscape designers. We get together to talk plants, garden design challenges and plant problems while enjoying good food along with a little wine thrown in for good measure. Recently we met in Corralitos to exchange favorite go-to plant ideas and tour the truly fabulous garden of our host. Filled with interesting foliage and texture as well as plants that flower over a long season we all came away excited to use them in our next design. Maybe some of these ideas will work in your own garden.

Fremontodendron californicum

Every interesting garden has good bones. A successful one has a focal point, garden rooms with ?walls? and a ?ceiling?, plants with different textures and foliage color, repetition and unity. My friend?s garden is no exception.

Rivaling for our attention from the breathtaking view of Monterey bay, a fremontodendron, in full bloom, was a real show stopper. This California native shrub requires little irrigation and provided the perfect backdrop to the entry garden.

Loropetalum / Agave ‘Blue Glow’

Other plants that brought this garden to life included a stunning Blue Glow agave paired with the burgundy foliage of loropetalum rubrum. Both have low water needs and aren?t attractive to deer.

Eggs and bacon plant

A small recirculating fountain tucked within a pocket garden provided an inviting lure for songbirds. Surrounded by the unique lotus corniculatus or eggs and bacon plant along with a tropical-looking melianthus major aka honey bush this garden room invited one to stick around for awhile.

We garden designers were impressed with the size and vigor of acacia ?Cousin Itt?. This lovely small plant with emerald green, feathery foliage stays small in the garden and has low water needs. Not to be confused with the bully acacia tree seen around here, it?s one of the good guys. Plant in full sun to partial shade.

Euphorbia wulfennii

In deer country you can?t go wrong with euphorbia characias wulfenii ?Bruce?s Dwarf?. It does an excellent job of seeding itself so beware. Grow it where it can self sow and not become a problem child. Very hardy in winter and water sparingly. In spring and summer the flower heads form at the branch tips covering the plant with a chartreuse color.

A French hybrid lilac called Pocahontas scented the air as we exchanged our favorite plants that pull a garden together. The winners included hardy geraniums like Biokovo and Karmina and California native heuchera maxima. Canyon Snow Pacific coast iris also got a lot of votes. Groundcover sedum ?Angelina? and lime thyme garnered support also.

Abelia ?Kaleidescope? and ?Confetti? got the nod from several of us. Also high on the list of favorite plants, the variegated gold and green cistus was used by many because of its low, mounding habit that hugs the ground and provides a bright evergreen accent to a sunny garden.

So if you?re in the mood to add a couple of interesting plants to your garden, take a tip from what landscape designers use or grow in their own gardens.