Californian landscape architect Scott Lewis has created an informal garden, open to the landscape, for two wildlife-loving artists. Photographs Marion Brenner and David Wakely. <\/p>

\u00a9 David Wakely<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nIt also allowed for a potting shed<\/a> and preserved an Arctostaphylos manzanita<\/em> grove. The clients are artists and keen gardeners who wanted an informal garden that would blend into the surrounding landscape, known as oak chaparral. They also wanted to welcome wildlife<\/a> \u2013 to the extent that they did not want boundaries.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Marion Brenner<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nThey requested native, drought-tolerant<\/a> plants and an attractive way to showcase their succulent<\/a> collection. A green roof<\/a> and water harvesting<\/a> and storage had already been incorporated to the house design, and the conservation of resources on the property was paramount.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Scott proposed a \u201cdesigned landscape\u201d that would blend with the oak preserve beyond, using native and drought-tolerant plants and minimal hard landscaping.<\/p>\n
The planting<\/h3>\n
The owner had collected a range of succulents that she wanted to consolidate, now housed within the tufa stone circle. \u201cThey now look like a giant table arrangement from inside the house.\u201d The owner supervised the planting, and Scott\u2019s team added fillers and trailing plants that drape down the side and give a little softness to the walls.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Marion Brenner<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
The property uses a grey water and rainwater harvesting system as a source of irrigation, devised in conjunction with a water management company. The key to water saving on this project, however, was the plant selection. \u201cNative plants don\u2019t need much irrigation,\u201d explains Scott. \u201cCalifornia normally gets its rain in the winter, between November and March, and that\u2019s what they\u2019re adapted to. We have no rain between April and October, but native plants don\u2019t need water in summer, as they go dormant or lose their leaves. That said, our recent dry winters means there\u2019s an increasing need for irrigation then.\u201d<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Marion Brenner<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nOn top of the studio\u2019s flat roof Scott created a meadow garden using eight different grasses<\/a>, plus native wildflowers and bulbs that were chosen in collaboration with the clients and US grass expert John Greenlee. Providing interest throughout the year, it also helps to merge buildings with garden, and with the landscape beyond. It is planted using a tray system, with a 22cm depth at its deepest point to accommodate grasses.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 David Wakely <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
The plants, mostly plugs and small plants in 9cm pots, were laid out on site, for an organic look. The shortest plants are near the deck in front of the bedroom, while the tallest grasses are at the end farthest from the house. Drip irrigation is used in summer, when the temperatures are typically above 30\u00b0C. \u201cThe plants are always green, for the visual effect but also for fire safety,\u201d explains Scott.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Californian landscape architect Scott Lewis has created an informal garden, open to the landscape, for two wildlife-loving artists. Photographs Marion Brenner and David Wakely. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":21783,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/05\/an-informal-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/05\/an-informal-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/05\/an-informal-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/05\/an-informal-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/05\/an-informal-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/05\/an-informal-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/05\/an-informal-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Californian landscape architect Scott Lewis has created an informal garden, open to the landscape, for two wildlife-loving artists. Photographs Marion Brenner and David Wakely.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/21782"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}