This is a great stop for those of you interested in developing a master plan that gets implemented over time!
This front lawn used to be covered with English Ivy until it was removed by the current homeowner. Over two to three years it was converted to a full drought resistant garden. Now, whatever thrives gets to stay and anything that requires too much nurturing fades away. This garden is composed of drought-tolerant plants, some Mediterranean with a trend towards adding California natives. There are purple fountain grass, a variety of sages, lamb’s ear, buddlea, butterfly weed and two prolific mallows. California natives include golden poppies and matilija poppies. There are also a couple of exotics: a New Zealand tea tree and a lion’s tail from South Africa are favorites. The tea tree is in full bloom now and the lion’s tail may be pushing for new bloom soon. It is watered with a soaker irrigation hose system on a timer and supplemented with a water filtration system that purges once a week into the garden.
The homeowners removed the backyard browned grass lawn from August through October 2009, as time allowed, patch by patch. California natives and drought resistant plants were put into the ground in November to begin to settle in for winter. Landscape cloth was laid down and drip irrigation installed before the winter rains and the weeds got established. The homeowners sat back and watched the plants have doubled and tripled in size, grateful for the plentiful rain!
