A beautiful example of how lush a
succulent garden can be!
This garden began 11
years ago, when the then new owners transplanted beloved cacti and succulents
from their previous home in Venice. Over a ten-year period, they broke the old
driveway to expand the front garden and created paths from the concrete fragments.
They also dug up the parkway turf, filling the space with grosso lavender that
bloomed gloriously for five years. And they continued to expand their succulent
collection through sharing cuttings with friends and neighbors.
A year ago they began
working with landscape designer Sheri Powell-Wolff, owner of Compost TEAna’s Organic
Landscapes, to enhance the
sustainability factor in the garden. Their main priorities were to redistribute
existing plants to the extent possible rather than buy a lot of new ones,
improve soil quality and replace an old and inefficient irrigation system. They
wanted the look of the redo to be as personal—and even idiosyncratic—as the
garden had always been.
Working with Sheri was a
satisfying partnership. The garden is now a pleasing integration of the garden
they had and the garden they wanted. It is primarily succulents, with the
addition of some native and low water herbaceous perennials to complement them
and ensure four-season interest. All turf is gone. There are DG pathways. Bermed
planting beds are designed to trap rainwater coming off the roof.
A drip irrigation system
waters most zones every other day. The new garden requires generous watering. They
anticipate a reduction in water consumption within the next year.
More birds, bees and
butterflies visit the garden now. There’s no reduction in squirrels!
