A colorful garden almost instantly - garden design and landscaping

Sunset, March, 1995 by Lauren Bonar Swezey

When you start from scratch, you normally expect a garden to need several seasons of growth before it looks established. But Linda and Dave Horre's garden in Sonoma. California, was a knockout just 11 months after planting. The secret? Well-prepared soil, gopher protection, and a selection of colorful plants that filled in quickly.

"The clay and gravel soil was awful before we started. It had never been gardened and contained few nutrients," says Petaluma landscape architect Ali Davidson. "So we rototilled in about 70 cubic yards of turkey manure Fan aged and processed soil amendment produced in Sonoma County]. The results were miraculous. Some ground covers, like the verbena, grew almost instantly--you could almost see them growing."

NONSTOP COLOR WITH LOW MAINTENANCE

When the Horres first contacted Davidson, they knew little about gardening. But Dave knew he wanted a low-maintenance garden that wouldn't use too much water. Linda desired something pretty and colorful in pinks, lavenders, and blues.

Practical matters Davidson had to contend with were a natural drainage ditch that carries water at certain times of the year and a huge concrete driveway that needed softening. Gophers were also a severe problem.

Her solution was to make the drainage ditch into a dry creek bed that could carry water when necessary. Then she created a large berm and covered it with colorful low-growing plants, such as Cistus ladanifer latifolius, Pacific Coast iris (I. douglasiana hybrids), pink and purple verbena, raspberry-colored gazanias, yellow Lady Banks' rose (Rosa banksiae `Lutea'), salvias, and wild-flowers. Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) fills in as a green ground cover. Larger shrubs, such as bush anemone (Carpenteria californica), Ceanothus `Dark Star', Garrya elliptica, and lavatera were used for screening and additional height.

Boulders collected from the property were used as accents throughout the area. Before planting, each ground cover and shrub (not the wildflowers) was set in an underground cage made out of aviary wire to keep gophers away from young plants.

To keep weeds out of the creek bed, Davidson laid down fine-mesh weed block fabric before adding the river rocks. This was the only area not amended with turkey manure.

Now ground covers and wildflowers blanket the berm and creek edges in color from spring through fall. And when visitors drive up, their gaze is drawn to the colorful plants rather than to the expansive driveway.

Periodic maintenance is the key to keeping the garden looking its best. One of the Lady Banks' roses grew too large for the area, so Davidson had it removed. Ground covers are cut back twice a year with a weed trimmer to remove flowers and keep plants looking fresh. And California poppies are pulled when they look forlorn.