There is an important message in this garden about community. Stop by and enjoy the pink bench! It’s a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the day and from which to visit with passers by. The garden has been a wonderful source of peace and joy. Passersby also enjoy it – which delights them! People stop and sit on the bench or take pictures of their kids, or just stop to enjoy the butterflies. It’s a way of getting back to the day when people sat out and visited on their front porches. Doesn’t it make sense for the space in front of our homes to be something more than lawn that we just pass by?
The garden is a mix of drought tolerant plants with various cooking herbs stuck here and there. Plants have been allowed to seed and spread with minimal efforts to ‘manicure’. Something is always blooming and surprising the owner. The garden is regularly visited by honey bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, dragonflies and the occasional lizard.
Watering is done by hand. During the dry season, they water once or twice a week. During the rainy season, they don’t need to water at all. Long ago, when there was a lawn, it seemed they were watering constantly – especially in the summer.
Their first effort was to plant the strip between the street & sidewalk. It used to be grass and always looked awful. They saw something in Sunset Magazine and decided to give it a try - initially planting guara, lavender, yarrow and catmint. At that time, nobody in the neighborhood was planting in these spaces. It looked so great, they then decided to tear out the front lawn. A couple of their son’s high school friends did most of the ‘demolition’ – below the sod, the soil was hard and dry. A neighbor helped them rent a roto-tiller.
They absolutely love the matillaja poppies when they bloom – although they’ve discovered the plants are extremely invasive and are now popping up everywhere. Lavender is great – it comes in so many different varieties. They also love succulents – they offer wonderful bloom surprises. Truly, they enjoy each and every plant! They only regret that they don’t have more space to try more plants! Wildlife is abundant - honey bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, dragonflies, lizards – always something to watch!
