The site:
This Bonny Doon mountain property had a simple, sloping lawn that was destroyed in early spring by a herd of feral pigs. The owners wanted to restore some lawn area, protect it from future destruction, but not build an expensive fence that blocked the views. The landscape also needed to be deer proof, gopher proof, low-maintenance, and tolerant of both withering heat in the summer and hard frosts in the winter. The owners also noted that the hillside next to the house was eroding during winter rains.
The design:
The sloping lawn did not offer the residents any useable space, so my first priority as a designer was to reshape the land, creating a level area for play and entertaining. To save money, we used a short retaining wall of locking concrete blocks. The wall served a dual purpose of leveling the lawn while creating a physical barrier to deter feral pigs and other wild animals. To enhance the barrier effect and soften the look of the wall, a hedge of prostrate rosemary was planted across the top, and thorny (but flowering) shrubs were planted around the base. A long dry riverbed was built on one side of the house to channel water instead of letting it erode the hillside — thus changing a problem area into one of the most beautiful features of the landscape. Finally, noting that the deck opened only inconveniently on the sides of the yard, I designed a simple but elegant staircase to make the lawn directly accessible from the deck. I chose a mix of hardy Mediterranean and native plants for the shrubs, and replanted the areas between the border and the forest with native grasses and wildflowers.
|
