West of St. Helena in Napa Valley sits a lovely garden surrounding a small house with a large porch and big picture window. I had an opportunity to speak with the owner, Glenn, about how this idyllic spot came to fruition.
Several years ago, Glenn and Anne purchased this home hoping to retire in the next few years. They saw the potential in an outdated but solidly built home in the perfect spot, along a country lane yet close to town.
They needed to renovate the house first, and then plan the garden. They launched their project by hiring a landscape and garden designer to help clarify their vision for the plot. Seven elements of good design guided their decisions. They needed to consider the function, site, hardscaping, microclimate, water management, plant selection and maintenance of their ideal home.
Function: The landscape designer asked questions to help determine which design would best support their interests and needs. Glenn and Anne were asked how they planned to use their garden. Did they plan to entertain? If so, where? Did they have any specific plants in mind?
The couple expressed a desire for an aesthetically pleasing garden that would also be water- efficient, sustainable, friendly to wildlife and care-free. In the front yard, which the public could see, they wanted an attractive landscape featuring plants with color, scent and texture. They also wanted to attract butterflies, bees and birds, and they wanted color in every season. The backyard was to be a place to contemplate, sit quietly, read a book and entertain.
Site: Since guests would park on the street, the home needed a walkway from the street to the front door. The couple parks their own vehicles in the driveway to the left of a house, so another walkway was needed from the front door to the driveway.
Hardscaping: When the project began, California was in the middle of a serious drought. To conserve rain water, a swale (a depression between slopes) and series of berms (an earthen embankment defining the swale) were added to the front garden to percolate moisture into the soil. A fountain was added for birds and butterflies and placed so that it can be seen from the front porch and window.
The backside of the house had several steps and levels. The homeowners decided to make the landscape two levels and use locally mined paving stones on the lower level to the creek edge. To protect the house from water, the paved area slants away from the house and toward the creek. Well-placed potted plants protect people from accidently moving to the edge of the creek.
Several trees were dug up. An olive tree was removed and given away. Two crepe myrtles were moved from the backyard to the front.
Microclimate: The front of the house faces south; the back faces north. With a southern exposure, the front tends to be hot in summer, making it a good site for plants that flourish with little water. The trees and boxwood hedges on both the east and west sides of the front garden create several microclimates requiring differing kinds of plants.
With its northern exposure, the backyard is cool and moist, with little variation in climate. It is ideal for water-loving plants.
Water management: Once the two levels were defined in the backyard, the grass was removed using the sheet-mulching method. In the fall, a plan for watering was devised. The design relies in two drip systems. The main pipes for the back were placed under the paving stones. Glenn chose a meter that he manually adjusts himself according to variations in rainfall and temperature.
Plant selection: As you enter the front walkway, the scent of night-blooming jasmine (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis), English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and mock orange (Philadelphus) greet you. At the base of the porch steps, pots of gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides), one on each side, add to the scent. Sun-loving California fuchsia (Epilodium) andmanzanita (Arctostaphylos spp) are among the plants that grow atop the berms that define the natural stone swale meandering through the garden. Both attract butterflies, hummingbirds and bees.
Below the boxwood (Buxus) are newly planted red-twig dogwoods (Cornus sericiae). In the corner below the porch is Anne's “conversation corner” shaded by the bloodgood Japanese maple (Acer palmatum). Other plants for the back garden include a fragrant flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum ‘White Icicle'), dwarf hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bobo') and prostrate rosemary covering the creek bank.
Maintenance: Anne and Glenn can keep up the garden themselves due to the low-maintenance design. When they need help for tasks like transplanting trees, they hire local people.
For an opportunity to be inspired and learn more, you can visit Glenn and Anne's' garden on Sunday, May 21. It is one of six Master Gardener-owned gardens featured on the U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County's “Discover Garden Magic” tour. Purchase tickets online at
http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=20204
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Is the drought over? Not by a long shot. My well is at the same level as it was this time last year, so I will continue to conserve water. How do I do that? By growing drought-tolerant, native, Mediterranean-type plants.
I have been gardening with such plants for many years. Last summer was a test of how well they would do with no summer watering. I did not water at all over the summer and lost only one plant.
I have nine swales in my garden. A swale is a shallow trench used to harvest rainwater and slowly release it into the soil. Plants tap into this reserve when water is scarce. Swales conform to the contour of the soil and have berms alongside that can be used for planting.
Several natives that have done well in my garden are sticky monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus), lavenders of many types, bottlebrush (Callistemon), native iris, red-hot poker (Kniphofia ), butterfly bush (Buddleja), milkweed (Asclepias) and salvias. I have intentionally created a habitat garden with lots of room and bloom for birds, butterflies and bugs. Right now, my breadseed poppies are showing their beautiful red heads. I started these with just a few seeds, and they have re-seeded widely.
Some monkey flowers have sticky leaves; others do not. These plants are native to Oregon, California and Baja California. The flowers look like little monkey faces and come in a variety of colors. Many hybrids have been developed and the flower colors are outstanding. They bloom over a long period, survived all summer in my garden without water and are up and blooming now. The plants can reach three to four feet in height and can be trimmed back.
Lavender thrives in my garden. Last year some went to seed, and wind and birds spread the seed. Now lavender in many colors is sprouting in other areas. There is even a white one, and I guess I can thank the bees for that. I have never had white lavender before.
Bottlebrush is native to Austrialia. It can take the form of a large bush or tree depending on how it is pruned. I have a couple that I keep as low bushes.
The flower of the Pacific Coast iris (Iris douglasiana) is typically blue, but hybrids have many different flower colors. I have a beautiful white one. My Iris confusa ‘Chengdu' came from a Bay Area grower; it grows well in shade without any summer water. It is one of my favorites.
Salvias are native to many parts of the world. Every time I think I have all my favorites, new ones appear. One identifying feature of sage is its square stem. Some salvias tower over me (I am petite), while others stay low. There are more than 900 species worldwide, so I don't plan on collecting all of them. I only have one acre. Sage blossoms are spectacular, and the leaves are aromatic. I love to rub my hands over the leaves and then smell the fragrance.
I have many milkweeds in my garden. They are mostly drought tolerant, and bees and bugs love them. Milkweed is the only food source for the larvae of the Monarch butterfly, and I want to encourage as many of them as I can. The Monarchs in the western U.S. evolved with native milkweed; they lay their eggs on milkweed. Most milkweeds die back in winter and come up in spring with big, bright flowers. Their milky sap make the larvae taste bad to birds, so they leave the larvae alone.
When I visited Turkey, I saw breadseed poppies (Papaver orientale) everywhere, their red heads waving in the breeze. I also saw them in some of the countries on the Dalmatian coast. The seeds from these poppies are sprinkled on baked goods.
My two large habitat garden areas are filled with native plants and take less time and water then the lawn they replaced. Gardening with natives is a great strategy for creating a water-wise yet beautiful landscape.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will hold a workshop on “Oaks and Native Plants” on Saturday, May 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at Skyline Park, 2201 Imola Avenue, Napa. Stroll Skyline Park and the Martha Walker Garden to view oaks in their native habitat. Discover what grows alongside and underneath oaks. Learn about planting under oak trees in your own garden, about caring for oaks and about Sudden Oak Death and other stresses. On-line registration (credit card only) Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
