Design trends

Good Groundcovers for a Changing World

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ‘Radiant’ grows well in partial shade- even beneath trees.

Faced with what to use to keep down weeds when wood chips aren’t allowed? Well, you’re not alone. Although wood chip mulch is good for the health of your soil and your plants, it’s not recommended per new Cal Fire regulations within 30 feet of a structure. Recently I had a request from a client faced with just this dilemma. Here are some of the ground covers I recommended for her garden and for others in the past.

Living ground covers add beauty to the garden while holding the soil in place and preventing erosion. They contribute to soil health by encouraging microorganisms. A garden wouldn’t thrive as well without groundcovers.

Groundcovers are like a fancy carpet in the garden.They add richness and beauty under trees and become the stars of the show in sunny spots. Groundcovers reduce maintenance by preventing weeds and reduce watering by acting as a living mulch.

When choosing ground covers, assess the conditions of the area you want to plant.

  • Is it in the sun or shade?
  • Is it a naturally moist area or dry?
  • Do you intend to water it or go with our natural cycle of wet in the winter and dry in the summer?

Matching the plant to the site conditions will ensure success.

When designing a plant layout consider whether you want a sweep of the same plant or a tapestry effect with a variety of plants. Using more than one type of plant allows you to work with foliage contrast adding pattern to the composition.

Common Snowberry or Creeping Snowberry (Symphoricarpos) will hold the soil on steep banks. This native tolerates poor soil, lower light and general neglect. Evergreen Currant (ribes viburnifolium) and creeping mahonia also tolerate shady conditions. All the low growing ceanothus are great choices for sunnier spots as are the manzanita groundcovers. Smaller natives that put down deep roots are yarrow, coast aster, California fuchsia, wild grape, mimulus, buckwheat, wild rose and salvia including ‘Bees Bliss’.

Rubus pantalobus

Low water-use non-native groundcovers like cistus salviifolius, grevillea lanigera, rosemany prostratus, rubus pentalabous, correa and sarcococca are also good low-water choices.

Remember when setting plants on a steep slope to arrange them in staggered rows. Make an individual terrace for each plant and create a basin or low spot behind each one – not around the stem – to catch water. Set the crown of the plant high so it won’t become saturated and rot after watering or rain and make sure mulch does not build up around the stem.

To create stunning combinations of ground cover plants. choose 5 or 6 styles and repeat them in small drifts to carry the eye through the composition. Add grasses for linear texture. Good candidates are Blue Oat grass, a non-spreading clumping grass with silver leaves. Carex elate ‘Bowles Golden’ is a spectacular evergreen ornamental grass and Carex tumulicola (Foothill sedge) is another good choice for a grass-like plant.

There are many more choices for groundcovers that grow in the shade. Stay tuned.
Take the opportunity to survey your garden for bare spaces that can come alive with added texture and color.

Design trends

Gardening with Dogs

Winston can’t help but get into mischief.

I don’t have a dog of my own now. But I do get to pet sit for Winston, a French Bulldog who is always into mischief. Since I have a lot of plants, I have to be aware if any are toxic to dogs.

Gardens are for people and the pets they love. When you come home they are always happy to see you. Doesn’t matter what kind of day it’s been, they are there for you. So it stands to reason that we would want to make their little corner of the world as interesting and comfortable as we can.

I’m working with several homeowners right now that have dogs in the family. Their goal is to provide a dog-friendly landscape that is beautiful, safe and has enough mental stimulation to keep them occupied during the day. If you have a dog, here are some tips to remember.

Each dog is different. Koni, owned by a friend, loves to play the fetching game with his favorite toy. He needs lots of exercise and objects to chew on. His yard has room to play and a box of toys that he can carry around in his mouth.

Creating a garden to meet your dog’s needs is the best way to avoid future problems. Most dogs prowl the perimeter of their fence to investigate noises so instead of a plant border consider paving stones, gravel or mulched paths along the fence line.

If your dog is a digger create a special area in a shady spot where they can dig to their heart’s content. The spot can be a sand pit or earth. Entice them to this area by burying a favorite toy or bone. They will return again and again to this one spot and not dig up your flower beds.

Picking plants is important in backyard landscaping with dogs especially if your dog naturally nibbles on greenery or berries. Some plants are lethal while others can cause illness or vomiting. I was surprised to see so many common plants on the ASPCA website that could cause problems. From carnations to primroses to geraniums, I’ll be checking the list to make sure all my dog friends are safe.
http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants?plant_toxicity=toxic-to-dogs

Plants near paths should have soft foliage without thorns and spines which can cause eye injury. Brittle plants like salvias should be in the center where they’ll be protected. Densely planted areas are usually avoided by dogs but planting in raised beds or mounds help, too. Pieces of driftwood placed at the front of a border will also discourage them. Start with one gallon or larger plants that can stand up to a little roughhousing .

If your dogs have already created their own path through the garden, don’t try to redirect them. Instead turn their well-worn routes into pathways covered with a mulch of small wood chips which are easy on paws yet large enough so they won’t cling to fur coats.

Provide your dog with an area to relieve himself. Since you only have about 8 hours to water a spot after your dog goes on the lawn it’s better to set aside a corner covered with pea gravel, cedar chips or flagstone and train your dog to go there. It’s also a good idea to install marking posts like a piece of wood or log along a path.

Dogs can get bored in a space. Dog-friendly gardeners incorporate barriers, arbors, pathways and raised beds to channel dog’s energies to things they enjoy, like running, and away from delicate plants and veggies.They also need places that provide shade like trees, arbors and pergolas. Eliminate weeds, especially foxtails, which can get in your dog’s ears or be inhaled.

Keep these tips in mind and both you and your dog will be happier for it.

Design trends

Fourth of July Lessons

A local black-tailed deer celebrating Fourth of July

Earlier this year I designed the new planting area in front of the Ben Lomond Fire Station. It hasn’t been planted yet but I can picture the red, white and blue flowers that will bloom there in the future. Perfect for the Fourth of July and the rest of the year. The plants needed to be ultra low water and low maintenance. So what plants fit this criteria? Well, California natives, for one, as well as Australian and Mediterranean plants for summer color. They come from similar summer-dry climates so will do well in these conditions.

While we celebrate Independence Day on this Fourth of July, I just had to ask my friend who grows corn if his was ‘knee high’. His report is that some of his corn is above knee-high but not all. Maybe he’s spoiled coming from the Midwest originally. But this column isn’t about growing corn, it’s about climate smart plants that hold up to the heat. So let’s get started.

All this talk about “drought tolerant” plants or “water smart” plants is misleading in some ways. What really matters for the success of a plant in your garden is that they are climate smart. You can call the new California garden climate tolerant or climate adapted but it all comes down to the same thing. The plants you choose to grow in your garden should be able to naturally tolerate periods of lower than average water. This doesn’t mean no water during extremely long dry periods. No plant can live without water. One of the best tips is to garden where you live.

All of us live in a summer-dry climate. Summer-dry gardens are naturally dry for long periods. Knowing which type of plant community you live in can make the difference between success and failure in your garden. Choose the right plant for the right place whether it’s a California native from an area with similar soil and exposure or a plant from another Mediterranean-like climate with growing conditions like yours.

Plant communities have evolved over time with geologic changes in climate, topography and soils. We have several district areas here- mixed evergreen forest, redwood forest, chaparral and sandhills.

If you live in a mixed evergreen forest you garden with trees like coast live oak, tan oak, madrone, bay and buckeye. Understory plants include ceanothus, coffeeberry, hazel and poison oak. Your soil contains serpentine and granite. Many other unthirsty plants like salvias, lavender, santolina, society garlic, giant feather grass, rosemary and rockrose do well here. California natives such as western mock orange (philadelphus lewisii), wild ginger and western sword ferns grow here also.

Mixed evergreen forest may also be found along canyon bottoms near streams where big leaf maple, white alder, cottonwood, and western sycamore trees grow. Most plant here grow lush in this deep soil. If you are looking to add something new to your garden here consider giant chain fern, aquilegia, dicentra, Pacific Coast iris and fuchsia-flowering gooseberry.

Chaparral areas are the hottest, driest slopes of these mountains. Dense thickets of manzanita, coyote brush, chamise, coffeeberry, ceanothus, monkey flower and sage are native here. These plants are adapted to little water and often have tiny, thick, waxy, light green or grayish leaves. Soils tend to be rocky and shallow with overlaying rock or a subsoil that is mostly clay. Plants here need to have an extensive root system that reaches widely and deeply for water. If you live here a classic combination would be the spring blooming western redbud and Julia Phelps or Dark Star ceanothus. The combination of magenta and electric blue flowers is unforgettable.

The sandhills near Quail Hollow and Bonny Doon around Martin Rd. are part of an ancient sandy sea floor that was uplifted, eroded and exposed. These sandy soils lack organic matter and nutrients and their white color magnifies the temperature of the summer sun. Unique, native plants like silverleaf manzanita and Ben Lomond wallflower live here. Buckwheat and sticky monkey flower do well here.

Remember right plant-right place. Don’t try to force nature although most gardens do look better with some summer water.

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