Modern Drought Tolerant Design
Modern, drought tolerant landscape design can be approached in a number of ways. This home is a work of art; sleek and modern with accents of wood, copper, concrete and stone. Set in an Oak Woodland, our assignment was to up-date the landscape design to complement the house. The existing landscape was filled with hedges, clipped within an inch of their lives. These walls of plants were heavy and dense, blocked distant views and just weren’t all that attractive. Landscapes for Modern architecture normally mimic the lines of the house, but we decided to do something different.
Since the house was all angles and straight lines, we thought the landscape should instead be full of natural contours. The juxtaposition of natural soft lines against hard modern surfaces created the impression of the house being “nestled in” to the woodland scene.
Crushed stone and Cherokee flagstone were the perfect choice for hardscape surfaces, being natural stone they meld with the massive and plentiful boulders existing on the property. The addition of a French stone fountain from Eye of the Day GDC created a much-needed focal point for the garden.
Colorful, drought tolerant plantings of Salvia, Nepta, Santa Barbara Daisy, Euphorbia, grasses and a variety of succulents gave the garden bursts of year-round color, a myriad of textures against a background of different greens.
The result was one of my favorite gardens. The fact that it is drought tolerant is a bonus.
