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| All photos by John Bonny |
Contemporary Craftsman meets drought tolerance
The facade of this Ashwood residence was re-designed to resemble a Contemporary Craftsmen home and the garden objective was to be drought tolerant. What is the inspiration? The Midwest and Concord grape vines. When Grandfather Dominic immigrated from Italy to his 15 acre farm in Mineral Point Wisconsin, he brought along with him Concord grape vine seeds. The homeowners wanted to remember him along with all those great farm memories and especially capture the way those sweet grapes tasted in the fall.
When they moved from the MIdwest to California 8 years ago, they were absolutely struck by the beautiful blue color, structure and texture of
Agaves… and olives became favorite trees. They love shades of greys, dark
greens and grey blues.
Chondrapetalum line the parkway to screen out the view
of parked cars and to help minimize foot traffic from the school nearby, while fragrant
and edible Rosemary prostrata disguise the raised cinderblock wall. The color
of the cut Bluestone walkway compliments the Agave and directs you to the
contemporary board formed concrete porch. Large irregular flagstones lead you on
a path past black Aoneum and through grey textured patches of Santolina and
Lambs Ear towards the grape vines.
The hummingbirds go crazy for the Aloe and
their deep orange blooms! The perspective of this garden was designed to be
viewed from sitting on the front porch as well as from inside the house,
inviting the outdoors indoor.
Landscape designer John Bonny (www.cultivategardendesign.com) will be available for questions on the
day of the tour.
