It’s freakin’ fecund! | Satori Garden Design
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January 19, 2012 In Design, Lowering Water Usage

It’s freakin’ fecund!

broken concret path leads to fire bown and fountainAloes and Artemesia in the foreground, outdoor kitchen in the distanceMy client and friend actually blurted “it’s freakin’ fecund!” when I was at her house taking photos of her garden.  I think her description is very spot on given the fact that when these photos were taken the garden was in for just 5 months!  I used mainly 1 gallon plants or flats with a sprinkling of 5 gallon plants.  It’s astonishing how happy her plants are and how quickly they’ve taken hold.  In fact, I offered her a few vegetable plants to stick in the ground right after I planted mine.  Wouldn’t you know it….hers are twice the size of mine and insect free.  I think this is due to the fact that there’s a good amount of diversity in this garden and we added a really nice organic soil conditioner called Tri-C Humate Plus.  The garden is largely native and all the new plantings are low water (except the vegetables which actually don’t get any supplemental water).  This is another Santa Monica Sustainable Landscape Grant garden of mine so this client received $5,000 towards the installation.  Not bad considering this was just a lawn and basketball court.  I’m really proud of this garden for many reasons.  First of all, it’s a total transformation of a backyard that was definitely not picturesque, inviting or sustainable.  This backyard will support some native insects and birds, offer gorgeous views from inside the house and lure the homeowners out to enjoy the beauty.  It’s also a low maintenance garden since the natives only need occasional attention usually in the form of pruning back.  In addition to the plantings we removed an old patio and replaced it with a beautiful permeable patio of Belgard pavers.  We also added an outdoor kitchen and a metal fire bowl by John T. Unger.