What Are We Doing Here?

The artful landscape holds surprises big and small.

I'm really not one to make new years' resolutions, but as I head into my tenth year of designing landscapes, I know there is an opportunity here to do a lot more than simply decorate people's yards.

Water management is something we all need to be thinking about, whether it's controlling winter flooding or surviving summer drought. The last ten years have seen a remarkable increase in awareness of permeable landscaping as well. From interlocking paver systems to poured-in-place pervious concrete, products are available now that will lower the impact of our development in almost any application. There also has been a vast increase in the number and diversity of native and adapted plant species available, as nurseries realize "low water" and "low maintenance" are more than just a trend.

These are all strategies to make the earth happier, and that's important. But it's also important to keep the spirit happy. The landscape isn't just a place we happen to walk through; it's where we live. It's what we come home to, where we relax, where we entertain our family and friends and the people who aren't yet friends but will be soon. The landscape not only inspires us, but also invites to to take part in its beauty, and by extension, the beauty of the surrounding environment: our world.

When we are sensitive to our landscape, we notice the little things: the morning frost, the autumn foliage, the summer sunset. We notice the long winter shadows, and appreciate the long summer days that much more. And, even as we become attuned to the regularity of the days and the seasons, we are also more open to the surprises that await us everywhere we take the time to look (or smell or listen or touch or taste). And this, this brings us joy.

I coined the name "Verdance" to convey what I hoped to offer every client: the artful combination of "green" (verde) with "joy" (danz, or dance). That's still what I'm doing here, and I've been lucky enough over the past ten years to work with a few clients who want to do it together.

Who's next?

Why Blueberries Are My Favorite Landscape Shrub

Harvested 2 pounds today. From two plants.

Nuff said?

Backyard Solutions

I'm pretty excited to have my work featured on the current cover of Backyard Solutions!

Several more of my gardens are featured inside this issue as well. It's nice recognition, and nice confirmation that some other folks think my "babies" are beautiful, too.

The Garden in May

Spring in the Palo Alto garden

It's been an interesting Spring, filled with April showers and mini-heat waves. We should be past the coldest nights here in Palo Alto, though, so I finally felt safe pruning my grapes and hydrangeas. (Although I was a bit late cutting down the grasses, so I won't be expecting great things from them this year.)

Those late rains gave us a nice extension on getting woody perennials, shrubs and trees into the ground; the soil moisture is still good but not so mucky that it's difficult to dig. But don't get complacent! Check now to be sure your irrigation system is functioning optimally — the soil dries out quickly and you don't want it to go hydrophobic while your new plants are establishing.

I failed to keep pace with the weeds this Spring. I'll be hoeing out as much as I can over the next couple of weeks, but I think my negligence has earned me seven years of weedlings. It's incredible how long those seeds can stay dormant in the ground, then pop! as soon as they get a bit of sunlight.

This is a great time to get all sorts of color planted: annuals such as impatiens and marigolds, long-blooming perennials such as Achillea, Coreopsis, Echinacea, Gaillardia, Limonium, Rudbeckia and Scabiosa, and even fall bulbs like Crocus speciosus and Colchicum autumnale. For the former, you simply can't go wrong with seeds from Renee's Garden, or young plants from Annie's Annuals; and for the latter, I have never had anything less than extraordinary results from Brent and Becky's Bulbs (who seem to be offering an early order discount at the moment!). 

It's also the season when the landscape designer's phone begins to ring again, with optimistic voices on the other end hoping for a deck by spring, a pool by summer. And somehow, with the sun shining on our faces again and last year's perennials resurging at our feet, somehow it all seems possible.

Water is Money. So is Time.

If you're considering updating your landscaping in Palo Alto, Los Altos, or for that matter any other town down through San José, you should know about the water conservation rebates available (up to $3,000!) from the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

I won't go into all the details here, except to note two extremely important qualifiers:

• Applicants must attain pre-approval by participating in a qualifying pre-inspection and submit a Request for Application Form to the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

• Projects that have been started, landscape that has died, or projects that have already been completed prior to the Notice to Proceed are not eligible.

In other words, don't do anything — don't even shut off your irrigation! — until you've requested an inspection from the County. Otherwise, even if you do the sensible thing and stop watering your lawn because you're just going to replace it with a lovely field of lavender and sage anyhow, you may be ineligible for the rebate. To schedule that all-important pre-inspection, call (800) 548-1882 or sign up online. 

Oh, yes, one other important asterisk: "Rebates are available until funds are depleted." In other words, don't wait to get started.

The list of criteria and approved water-wise plants and equipment is a bit mind-bending, so if you'd like any help navigating it all, call your friendly local landscape designer.