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Designing a Water-Wise

Garden

• Patti Handfinger

• Master Gardener

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Design Goals

• it works in our environment

• it’s beautiful

• it fits your site

• it keeps you healthy

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Before

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Feel Your Space

• the breezes

• the setting

• the views

• the shadows

• the sounds

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After

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The Sustainable Difference

• process not product

• sequence

• change through time

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Site Analysis

• the sun path

• the neighborhood

• your special space

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Wind Patterns

• Santa Ana

• salty breezes

• wind breaks

• seasonal directions

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The Neighborhood

• traffic

• preservation

• HOA courtesy

• privacy

• front porch

• good fences

• rabbits and deer

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Getting Started

• what you do in each area

• moving through the space

• treasures to keep

• over-watering

• problem areas

• scrap book of what you like

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Here to There

• creative crossings

• bridges low places

• use nature

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Paths

• Hierarchy of width

• Safe surfaces

• Extending visual width on a budget

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First Resource

• existing trees

• existing plants

• existing paving

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Design 3 Rs

• Re-purpose

• Reduce waste

• Restore

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Curb Appeal

• what guides you to your front door

• gates

• privacy

• matching your architecture

• mending fences

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The View from Inside

• what you see from each room

• what your neighbors see

• screening

• focal points

• bright rooms

• living awnings and screens

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Parking

• safety

• permeability

• convenience

• stepping out of the car needs 18”

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Utilities

• location

• access

• screening

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The Street to Your Door

• driveways - permeability

• pathways - defined with curves

• buffer space between the street and the

house

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The pathway -

curved

permeable

inviting

safe

soft edges

color

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another style

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Follow the Sun Rise

• use shadows for afternoon shade

• find that sunny patio

• through the seasons

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Soil Considerations

• fertility

• stability

• drainage

• erosion

• testing

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Drainage Test

• dig 1 gallon hole

• fill with water

• wait 30 minutes

• repeat

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Soil Types

• sandy

• loamy sand

• sandy clay

• silty clay

• clay

• choose the right plants!

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Slopes

• hills and high spots

• low places

• building topography

• cool shady north and east

• warm (hot) dry south and west

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Water

• sources

• plumbing

• water flow over the land

• drainage

• standing water

• a good neighbor

• cutting back

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Color

• few abrupt changes

• follows the seasons

• focal points

• flower spikes

• flow

• fewer annuals

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Simple Foliage Colors

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Color

• monochrome - variation of foliage

• contrast - draws attention

• harmony - soothing

• white - evening interest

• gray - buffers between colors

• its not just the flowers

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Use gray foliage to

blend and buffer.

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Monochromatic

• purples

• harmony not monotony

• could add

– white

– gray

– yellow

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Texture

• variety used to add interest

• year-round

• multi-season

• creates visual depth

• drama with coarse textures

• soothing fine textures

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Texture

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Texture needs variety

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Texture

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Movement

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Size

• variety adds interest

• same plant at multiple growth stages

• sculpts flat topography

• use odd numbers in groups

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Size Variety

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Repetition

• natural groupings

• mounding

• clusters

• spacing

• avoid monoculture

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Time

• evolving

• periods of growth and dormancy

• shifting focal points through the season

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Shape 2D

• interim filling

• mature proportions

• scale

• how it fits together

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Form 3D

• horizontal - spreading

• ground-cover replaces lawn

• vertical - focus and movement

• rounded - mounded contours

• changing - tall flower spikes

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Ground Cover

• simple

• mulch

• gravel

• pavers

• plants

• permeability

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Tall Flower Spikes

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Accessories

• pottery

• protected seating

• trellises

• arbors

• bird baths

• chimes

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Rain Drops

• sheltered dry areas need water

• gutters

• bio-swale

• permeability

• keep it on your property

• run-off = resources down the drain

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Topography

• dry creeks catch water

• existing trees give definition

• berms provide drainage

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Topography illusions

dig a dry creek

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Lighting

• safety

• beauty

• security

• view from inside

• view from street

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After Dark

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A Special Purpose

• native specimens

• wildlife habitat

• child’s play

• meditation

• newspaper and coffee

• culinary

• collectors gardens

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Wildlife Habitat

• year round

• shelter

• water

• pollinators

• nectars

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Edibiles

• hydro-zone

• full sun

• close to kitchen

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Edibles

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Raised Beds and Pots

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Picture it in your mind

• Framing your home

• Getting from the street to your door

• A place to pause

• An invitation to explore

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Safe and Accessible

• avoid hazards

• eliminate steps

• sloping paths

• smooth surfaces

• supportive sidewalks

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Unity

• match your architecture

• consider your setting

• use borrowed landscapes from

surroundings

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Style

• formal, geometric and rectilinear--allee of

trees

• natural and curvy--winding paths

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Foot Traffic

• lawns

• gravel and decomposed granite

• pavers

• poured concrete

• ground covers

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Harmony

• repeat your plants

• repeat your hardscape elements

• make the floor consistent

• make scale consistent

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Color Scheme

• limit the palette

• buffer with grays

• pop with whites

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Problem Areas

• Dry shade

• Deer and rabbits

• Slopes

• Oaks

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Balance

• proportion

• symmetry more formal

• or asymmetry more natural

• axis

• sight lines

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Repetition

• makes it look natural

• cluster

• focal and support

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Succulent Bouquet

• water wise

• clusters

• subtle color

• dry shade

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Contrast and Variety

• variegated foliage

• placement of shade and shadows

• color contrast

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A Traditional Look

• yes, this too can be water wise

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Shape and Form on Your Plan

• shape is 2D map

• form is 3D as viewed from the ground

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Shape shows the dry

stream and ferns

Form shows the

tall trees

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Working with Form

• punctuate with verticals

– trees

– tall shrubs

• flow with horizontals

– ground covers

– meadows

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Line of Sight

• inside out

• room to breathe

• vantage points

• focal points

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Texture

• fine textures push back

• coarse textures comes forward

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Color

• foliage

• variegation

• seasonal

• inside out

• colors of hardscape

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How People Fit

• protected seating areas

• arousing curiosity

• close up

• frame distant vistas and views

• exploring treasures

• intriguing gateways

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Field Design

• mock up

• mark out boundaries

• stake the corners and twine together

• mark your trees

• newspaper boulders and shrubs

• fake walls

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Meadow

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Measuring

• base sheet

• start at the house

• draw the lot lines

• locate all structures and trees

• add details

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The Bubble Diagram

• on trace on top of base sheet

• planting ovals

• structures rectangles

• loosely to scale

• patios, play areas, orchards

• screening

• access

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The Concept Plan

• puts the bubble to work

• patios

• walks

• trees

• water features

• gardens

• orchards

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Plant and Materials Palettes

• Keep it simple

• compatibility

• availability

• sustainability

• costs

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A Professional Palette

• two ground covers

• two paver styles

• two mulches

• two tree varieties

• two fillers

• six perennials

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Speciality Plans

• grading and drainage

• lighting

• planting

• irrigation

• legal issues

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Light and Sound

• night views

• curb appeal

• masking unwelcome noise

• muffle traffic with trickle

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Getting Help

• family and friends

• Master Gardeners helpline

• landscape designers

• landscape contractors

• gardeners

• arborist (ISA certified)

• plumbers

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Maintenance

• do you like to prune?

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Maintenance

• sustainable doesn’t mean maintenance

free

• pruning

• raking

• right plant, right place

• fine gardening vs. mow & blow

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Enjoy

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Getting to Work

• plan

• photo

• pencils

• eraser

• ruler

• scrapbook

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