Hope Ranch Garden Paradise
There is one thing that can be counted upon in life and that is change. If you peruse our website, you will see what this landscape looked like before. It was a landscape design done by us about 5 years earlier. The previous owners wanted a very dramatic, contemporary landscape with straight lines and spiky succulents.
The new owners hated it! The new assignment was to create a park-like setting and since the new owners had a large family and lots of grandkids, we needed to expand the parking and change the entire configuration of the entry and parking areas. The driveway needed to be resurfaced with something that would be permeable, attractive and be in keeping with the existing stone.
The result was an entire redesign. We expanded the driveway and created parking that was not there before. The entry to the garden was now a stone path with lighted columns bordered by Rhaphiolepis umbellata ‘minor’. This plant is a very hardy, drought tolerant alternative to boxwood for small hedges because it stay dense and compact. So, it was the perfect choice.
Now, how to create the park-like setting without “breaking the bank” with water use? Sod lawn was out of the question, so instead we planted Falkia. This miraculous ground cover is the perfect drought tolerant alternative to conventional lawns. It spreads quite readily, by the roots, can be mowed to keep it low and dense, can be walked on and in the spring it explodes with profusions of bright, white flowers. It tolerates shade like no other drought tolerant ground cover I know of and when it’s not in bloom the foliage is a dense green.
The rest of the plants kept with the theme of green and white. Iceberg roses and pittosporum, very simple.
The existing rose garden was enhanced with more roses and we added a variety of citrus and other fruit trees. We added white camellias in the shady sections in front and on the north side back of the house.
In the words of our client “We just got back to Santa Barbara and the garden is everything we wanted it to be You accomplished it so well. Thank you very much.”
We too couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Park-like setting? Mission accomplished!
Lisa Cullen
Photo credit: Holly Lepere of Lepere Studio
