These garden owners have deep, abiding passions for art, our earth and
the great Pacific Ocean just downhill from their Mar Vista home. Their new landscaping reflects these passions.
In late 2011, they took their first steps to introduce a new aesthetic and intention for the landscape in creative meetings with garden designer, Lauri Burrier (Lauri Burrier Garden Design).
They chose a softened
sculptural profile overall with a focus on graphic succulent displays, native
grasses and boulders – all in a reduced but dramatic color scheme. One key difference that the new design
introduced was an organic arrangement for the new water-wise plantings and boulders
providing a new sense of the space – a quiet grace and flow. The owner’s redesign of pillars along the
front entryway provide a perfect pedestal for two Echinocactus grusonii or Golden Barrel cacti while complementing
the color and texture of the decomposed granite and bark brown crushed gravel that
replaced the lawn.
Key plants used in the
landscape include the Carex divulsa
(Berkeley Sedge) softly bordering the sidewalk as well as Dasylirion longissimma and Furcraea
Marginata Variegated for dramatic scale. The Muhlenbergia
capillaris, Helictotrichon
sempervirens grasses create a backdrop of fine texture and color. The Chondro reed grasses, Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Sticks on Fire,” Aloe
vanbalenii and Agaves conspire for strength of line and color.
Drip irrigation replaced
the high-pressure lawn irrigation in all but the sedge borders, reducing
overall water use by 25%. Irrigation schedules change throughout the year to follow the many
weather cycles we experience in Southern California, not less than twice weekly
for time periods depending on weather.
The homeowners’ favorite
part of the new landscape is the changing palette through the seasons and
the awareness of space.
Lauri Burrier will be
onsite to answer your questions.
