This garden was designed by landscape designer Linda Endler and planted 6 years ago, replacing an old Bermuda lawn and some shrubbery The new design reduced the original lawn size by approximately 35% and is comprised of a hybrid of drought tolerant plants and native grasses mixed with a collection of hybrid tea roses for cutting. The natural cut stone walkway, as well as the stacked stone walk at the entry are as much a part of the garden as the plantings. While there is some lawn, the planters are wider than traditional gardens and there is a slightly mounded planted berm off the sidewalk to reduce run off.
Linda created a California garden based on a Mediterranean climate. Because they love roses, together they selected some hearty, disease-resistant varieties to mix in with the plantings. Additional color was created from plants with variegated foliage of gray, gray-green & bronze red.
There are a blend of grasses - Blue Oat, Carex, New Zealand Flax and Mexican Feather- combine with the burgundy foliage of Loropetalum, and the grayish green Pittosporum crassifolium. The ground cover is a mixture of Dymondia, Sedum, true Geranium, Blue Festuca and Lambs Ear. A multi-trunk Olive tree anchors the corner of the garden as well as a newly planted Guava tree. There is an assortment of cutting roses of yellow and orange tones, including a favorite climbing rose, ‘Josephs Coat’ that frames the entry.
A copper birdbath is visible from the front window and complements a newly added copper rain chain hanging at the entry. The birdbath attracts numerous species of birds, which the children enjoy watching as they splash about. The plants attract butterflies, bees and bumblebees. The children love to dig in the garden unearthing worms along with the occasional encounter with a grasshopper or two.
The garden was installed before drip irrigation had been perfected, so irrigation uses the traditional spray heads on an automatic timer. It is watered twice a week on separate zones to meet the different watering requirements needed.
Linda Endler will be there periodically through the afternoon and will supply a hand-out with a thorough plant list.
