Groundcovers

“Deep Breath”

ESPatch Nov 14, 2013 11 comments

Here is a new 360 plan I generated for a property in north Austin,

and here are the renderings that I used to communicate the design intent to the client. I superimposed the new design onto the black and white images.

The homeowners wanted to significantly reduce the amount of lawn without alienating the rest of the predominately turfed neighborhood, an interesting challenge.

The back patio was an assortment of plants and different mediums that made the space feel cramped and claustrophobic. I wanted to open this space up and create an extension to the patio that would lead naturally into pathways on both sides of the property.

The property lacked any real flow from the front to the back, my goal was to introduce pathways that would encompass and direct foot traffic on all sides of the house, but first a lot of tear-out had to happen. About 5 dumpsters worth to be precise.

Lots of overgrown shrubbery had to be removed up against the house and as for the 2ft Asiatic jasmine filled ‘flan’ brick-circle around the oak?

Well, you all know my bias thoughts on this demonic ground cover.

Oh yes, there was a lot more of this going on as the underworld critters living in the jasmine darted around our ankles. The flan actually ended up more like a pizza, it was cut and removed in six horrible slices. The bricks performed their usual trick of exponential expansion after being demolished with a sledge hammer.

Here is the front yard stripped back to its bare-bones. The trunk-flare on the oak is now visible and the tree, being free from the clutches of the dark Trachelospermum, can once again breathe freely.

This had to be one of the longest hell-strips I have taken out. The turf here was mounded and the grade had to be taken down significantly for fresh aggregate to be reintroduced.

Here is the back all cleared out, and here it is,

in its darkest hour,

with a new sprinkler and drip irrigation system being installed (not by me).

The front also received a good pummeling.

Contours were defined, materials brought in, the installation was underway.

Here are some before and after shots of the completed design:

What was once an overgrown planting bed became a wide entryway into the garden from the driveway and front door.

The wrap-round strip of grass in front of the boulders naturalizes the scheme street-side into the neighborhood aesthetic.

The removal of this wall opened up the view and allowed room for this side pathway to run behind the leaning oak.

A paved side courtyard continues

around to expand the back patio. Ornamental grasses and rosemary have been planted to soften the corners and hardscaping over time.

This back area was 12ft deep in nandina – which is never a good thing. (another potential botanical rant could most certainly be inserted here).

EXORIST, I.V.

I cast you out, invasive nandina!

An exorcism was performed along with some sage smudging and cleansing (you have to do this with nandina or it will come back) making the whole back garden feel significantly larger.

A new metal mailbox was installed which works perfectly with the color of the moss boulders and decomposed granite. Here is a link to Urban Mettle, the company that designs and makes these mailboxes…and a whole lot more:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/UrbanMettle

Now to wait a couple of years until the plants fill-in.

Back in the Patch:

This is my favorite time of the year, right before the first frosts start hitting hard.

Hoja Santa is the first plant to complain when the first real freeze arrives,

but for now they are still standing tall even though it got very cold the last few nights.

Cooler temperatures trigger the desert trumpets into action,

and the Mexican bush sage keeps on going at the back,

and front of the Patch.

In preparation for Christmas…

plumosa fern is always first to break out the decorations.

My Christmas present arrived at my door early, I had been looking forward to this moment for months…the wait was finally over.

Was I going to wait to open it?

Oh no…zip, zip…

zip.

It was a brand new set of…

David Naill highland bagpipes complete with blackwood mounts and nickel slides…snort.

My neighbors and Kumo (who, with the first squawk shot under the bed) are going to be so happy!

I will subject you to a wee tune next week if you would like.

Any requests?

Except that one.

Inspirational Images of the Week:

Cacoon Hanging Chair

http://www.hang-in-out.com/home/ca

Stay Tuned for:

“Up In Flames”

All material © 2013 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“Darkness Returns”

ESPatch Apr 8, 2013 9 comments

Yes…finally some dark skies and rain arrived in central Austin this past week.

When storms like this blow through the Patch all hell breaks loose. Post oaks groan, giant timber bamboo culms clatter together like 70ft wind chimes, banshees scream and baskervilles howl. A few minutes before a front hits I prepare a beverage and sit on my back deck with a Mexican blanket at arms-reach (it is all in the preparation) to watch the show.

As the rain starts, so does my smile…though it is not my public smile, the one reserved for normal people, oh no, this is my real smile, a smile not encumbered by the social norms, a smile so demented that I do not want to witness it.

The harder the rain comes down the more Jack Torrance it becomes,

and this time I had a lot to “smile” about.

My decomposed granite pathways turn into rivers as water runs down my side granite driveway into my back garden – which is just how I like it.

And if you catch it at just the right moment…

The water flow reaches about 2/3rds of the way back into the garden and it will sit there until the rain subsides before draining into the planting beds. This latest rain picked up a bunch of plastic eggs left over from our Easter egg hunt.

“Don’t let the giant catch you with that…and go clean your fingernails.”

This water flow does not move the granite, in fact after an hour or so of draining the only remains of a gully washer are some tide-lines of organic debris that are scooped up and thrown into the adjacent planting beds.

I unfortunately once caught my real “smile” in the above mirror one night when I was standing at the top of these steps.

It was perfectly timed, the white flash of the lightning highlighting my face as I marveled at the downpour.

With the water receding they quickly got to work,

for it was the time of snails.

Drool Lori.

Moving Along:

Cream De Mint™ Dwarf Mock Orange,

Pittosporum tobira ‘Shima’

getting slapped in the face by a holly fern, oxalis filling in the scene.

Jerusalem sage,

Phlomis fruticosa

look like “Mogwai” at this time of year with their inquisitive ears flapping around in the wind.

Loquats are ripening fast, the ones in arms reach get harvested almost immediately by little fingers.

These shiny insects are appearing all over the place right now, they seem particularly fond of citrus, clustering and clambering over themselves on the leaves.

Largus nymphs? Why do they huddle like this?

I moved fast when my daughter pointed out that this common house spider was right next to my hand as I moved a container.

ron-weasley-POA-ronald-weasley-11413914-400-266

Unfortunately I damaged it’s web.

I hope it will re-build as I want to keep an eye on it,

hey, you never know.

Stay Tuned for:

“Stop Larking Around!”

All material © 2013 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

Inspirational images of the week:

‘Floating ripple vases’ by oodesign

Shaped like ripples in water, the vases by oodesign allows users to place flowers into a
PET formed resin void. The plants change their position within the container with the slightest breeze.