Satori Garden Design

The Best Design Comes Naturally

a spring hike in Topanga reminded me that Mother Nature is the very best at design

I was on a spring hike in the amazing Santa Monica mountains when I snapped this photo.  I loved how the branch of the Manzanita was delicately arching over the pathway.  The smells of all the native plants at that moment were intoxicating as well. How many times have we all gazed upon a meadow, or mountain lagoon or anything that has naturally formed and thought “wow, that can’t be improved upon.”

This vision and other ones like it of nature remind me of a book I read by Piet Oudolf, a huge name in landscape design worldwide.  Anyway, the book was Designing with Plants and it really spoke to me because above all I’m very plant focused when I do designs.  One of the messages in the book was to focus on flower and plant form over color and to appreciate that form in all it’s phases.  Forms could be spires, buttons, umbels, etc… I like his idea of playing with the relationship of color and form (either related colors and forms or different shapes with related colors) to create a natural harmony in design.  Piet Oudolf goes into much deeper discussion but really it’s about creating something that looks natural — something you’d see in a big meadow at the height of it’s bloom or on a winters hike when things are dormant and waiting to burst forth in the spring.

Your Vote Counts

Satori Garden Design Entry for Garden #3

Your vote really does count in the Santa Monica Demonstration Garden Contest…and I’m thrilled to announce that SATORI GARDEN DESIGN, is a finalist! There are three gardens that the city will build to demonstrate to visitors what a sustainable garden can look like. There will be sample plans and plant palettes provided as well.  The challenge of the contest was to create a garden that is (1) something a homeowner can replicate, (2) sustainable in the use of water and materials, (3) utilizes edibles.  But first things first…winners need to be determined. That’s were the public at large comes in. Online voting will continue throughout May 2010 so check it out and cast your votes. You can vote for your favorite garden for each of the three garden plots.

You’ll see my entry is in the garden #3 grouping. Thanks for your support.

Go to: http://www.smgov.net/departments/ose/categories/form.aspx?ekfrm=13896 to cast your vote.

My Rose Pruning Experiment

Joseph's Coat Climbing Roses

For years I’ve been suspicious that I could get more out of my already great climbing roses.  They are the “Joseph’s Coat” climbers and they reward us every summer with two big waves of blooms.  The roses start out a truly stunning coral/red then change to more of an orange and then to a yellow, thus the name “Joseph’s Coat”.  I was quite comfortable pruning my other roses but the climbers intimidated me.  Finally, this February I was feeling particularly empowered and did a test of sorts.  I did the pruning of the roses on the left as instructed in Fine Gardening’s Guide to Pruning Climbing Roses and let my gardener do his thing on the right.  Soon as the warm weather hit I noticed a much thicker, tighter growth on the roses I pruned.  My pruning had encouraged more blooms exactly at the height I wanted (just above my other plants in that bed).  Yippee!  When I did the pruning I had paid special attention to securing the remaining canes on the wall either horizontal or sometimes even bending down.  As mentioned in the guide, this suppresses the hormones that would normally allow the uppermost bud to become dominant, instead they all bloom.  Plants are so cool.

Is Puttering the Answer?

the little Euphorbia tirucalli now sits protected, hopefully its bad luck days are over

The answer to what you might ask. Well, yesterday was Saturday and I felt out of sorts. Not so much sick but more worn out. Everywhere I looked seemed to call out for my focus and attention and I felt I had really given it my all by the end of Friday. My backyard was calling my name too – there were things that I had both put off and acknowledged for weeks if not months. There was the citrus in a broken pot – the result of an over zealous water balloon fight. There was an Euphorbia tirucalli that must be a magnet for errant lacrosse balls because it’s always knock out of it’s (now broken) pot. And then there were those poor sweet pea seedlings that were grown as part of a science fair project just languishing without a place to anchor themselves.

I plowed straight ahead methodically moving from one area to another not really thinking what needed to be done but rather what I was doing which was enjoying a gorgeous day in the garden with my own little chatterbox to accompany me (that would be my daughter). Halfway into my tasks a nice calm set in and I realized I can’t approach my garden “tasks” with the same attitude I do with some of the household ones. First of all they aren’t things to just tick off and “get ‘er done” they are moments to savor and they are opportunities to take note of where my garden is heading and what it’s telling me. Of course what my garden had to say is “you better hurry up and get those vegetables in” and “I thought you wanted Dahlia’s this year, get a move on sister.” Okay, so maybe I haven’t reached a zen-like state yet in my garden but I did feel a huge calm when I looked out my window this morning and saw those sweet peas in a new home at last.

A New Plant “Bible” for the Bookshelf

nearly white and velvety leaves of Salvia apiana

I was so very lucky to get a chance to go to a talk that Bob Perry was giving to landscape design and horticulture students at Pierce College.  I’ve met him before many, many years ago when I was doing the Master Gardener program in Santa Barbara.  For those of you who don’t know, Bob Perry is a teacher (plant identification, ecology and landscape design at Cal Poly Pomona, UCLA and USC), and accomplished writer on the subject of native and climate appropriate plants and landscapes in California.  His previous books have achieved cult status among the hort set.  Well now we can all add another amazing (and enormous) compendium called “Landscape Plants for California Gardens”.  I thought nothing would ever rival my Sunset Western Garden Book and California Native Plants for the Garden (by Carol Bornstein) but this one does.  I find sometimes books can have a ton of information but the way they are organized is just not in sync with the way I’m thinking.  Perry’s “Landscape Plants for California Gardens” is organized in the most thoughtful and logical manner with lists of plants for nearly all situations.  This weighty book has even inspired me to look for a rolling book cart that can make it and my other “bibles” more accessible in my office.

Now about that talk Bob Perry delivered.  I was halfway expecting a heavy plant discussion with lots of latin names flying around – he is a plant expert after all.  Anyway, I was so pleasantly surprised to get a thoughtful insight into his design process.  He discussed balance, harmony, variety, simplicity, proportion, rhythm, and emphasis as it relates to landscape design and plant choice.  The right plant in the right place is a wonderful place to start with design but taking it to the next level by incorporating overall design concepts will create a lasting beautiful garden.  I left his talk so inspired and ready to create.  If you want to get inspired you can still catch him at the upcoming L.A. Garden Show.

Shabby Chic Garden? You bet.

catching salamanders in the creek

I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting an old school buddy in February (we met in first grade).  Those are her kids and mine catching salamanders out in the creek that runs in front of her house.  She and her husband and their combined brood live in the foothills in an area called Tollhouse.

Being a country girl, I’ve always had a soft spot for the foothills.  My mom and dad used to take me up to the foothills to pick wild watercress.  I loved hoping from one rock to the other across the river. It was rainy that weekend and everything was green and moss covered.

We didn’t get to explore much because of the downpours but what I did see was a fun little garden filled with Tracy’s flea market finds and other treasures.  It reminded me that we can all use a little more light-heartedness when we adorn our outdoor spaces.

moss covered everything

I love it when people put found objects or little treasures of some type in their garden – why not?  We accessorize inside our home with photos and objects d’art.  Someone who is a master of this is Thomas Hobbs, the amazing landscape designer from Vancouver Washington.  His book The Jewel Box Garden (listed in The Books I Love) is all about creating drama in small spaces with not only plants but with objects of all kinds.

rusty iron, chickens and a pig statue used for great effect

In Search of the Perfect Hedge

Because I live in an urban area with homes sometimes only a few feet from the next, the issue of hedges comes up A LOT.  Yes, I know there’s always Ficus microcarpa but I’d really like to see less of that.  For one thing, it’s a water hog and another thing it’s roots can be invasive, thrips like it too. I’m searching for that perfect hedge that doesn’t resent being contained within a certain width and will still provide enough height and density to give me either screening or the feeling of a low living wall.  It shouldn’t take too much water or attention and it should be pretty of course.  I now have a very short list of good candidates that stay fresh looking and take some direction in terms of height and width.  I’d love to build on this list so please, please send me your ideas and ….. grow on.

Hedge Ideas

If there’s running water…they will come

Last August I finally acted on a long time urge to get some high quality bird feeders in my garden. I was just leaving Arrowhead with my family after a week at Bruinwoods UCLA family camp when I spied a cute little store that was all about birds. I rushed in and pick up two great feeders one for tiny birds and one for larger birds. I immediately filled and hung the feeders when I got home. I was told that in a week or two “you’ll have more birds than you know what to do with.” Well, I didn’t. We all waited and waited for those birds to come for months. I was worried the food would spoil before I had any visitors. Then I was listening to a speaker talk about supporting habitat in your garden and someone in the audience mentioned that she hand-waters her garden and has a ton of birds. Aha! I had just that week repaired a fountain that had been broken and it was now running – would this do the trick? It did! I soon had lots of birds. Now my challenge is keeping the feeders full and the cats in “observation only” distance.  We have our feeders hung so that they are viewable from our family room sofa.  I also have hummingbird feeders hung just outside my kitchen sink.  It’s nice to have visitors.

Bike storage that looks good

now that's a solution

Some storage solutions are just plain unattractive, and I’ve found this to be especially true for bike storage.  Unless you are willing to invest in a custom made bike shed you are either left with leaving your bikes outside to rust or putting them into some bulky plastic tomb.  (Okay maybe a few of you out there can actually fit all of your bikes in your garage – this post is not for you)

I feel in love with this bike locker at first sight.  It’s sleek and practical and fits 3 adult bikes.  Now you won’t throw your back out getting your bike out of some crowded corner.

Here’s a few sites that I found who sell this item:

http://www.bikecare.co.uk/cycle_shelters.html

http://www.taylorsgardenbuildings.co.uk/store/customer/product.php?productid=17106

Solitude and Unexpected Beauty

collection of heart-shaped rocks

Last week after the winds and before the torrential rains I took a hike up Westridge.  On a whim, I went by myself and I’m so glad because it was gorgeous, clear and quite.  It does something for your soul to be out in an expansive natural environment.  For a few hours I replaced the onslaught of ringing phones, questions and requests with the buzz of insects and twitter of birds.  I visited a collective shrine of sorts that my friend, Ania, had showed me.  I was pleased that the collection of heart-shaped rocks had grown.  I added a tiny white heart (it’s the one winking on the bottom of the image). Every time I go on a hike I think “Why don’t I do this more often?”  I hope this year I won’t have to ask myself that anymore.