Can we make a “greener” garden than we have?  If we can change our gardens so they  consume less water, by changing our lawns to plants which are better suited to our Mediterranean climate, we have made a tremendous step to reducing waste. Be they perennials, or native plants,  or even using the space to take advantage of its sunlight to plant edibles, we would be exercising a more responsible use of the land    Even changing antiquated irrigation systems to modern ones helps reduce water waste.

Here is a property in Piedmont California, whose owner had this as the goal when I began.  The old lawn was replaced with Mediterranean shrubs, herbs, edible flowers, sedges and two small plots of edible plants and flowers.  These were symmetrically arranged along the front walk to give a soft informal aspect to the entrance while addressing the formality of the front walk.  Scroll down to follow the garden’s progress.

Two months after planting

Four Months after planting

  

A Greener Garden?

Designing Beautiful Landscapes and Gardens for

Discriminating  San Francisco and East Bay Homeowners

Lesley Turner - Landscape Architect - LTLAdesign