I've had more requests lately for landscapes with no irrigation...since water restrictions are likely here to stay, it makes sense. Both of these are landscape 'renovations'--editing existing landscapes, saving what works, moving things around, and adding a little bit here and there.

Below: Just need some cleanup and consistency on the ground plane. Grasses were added for softness, and furniture is awaiting the next budget cycle. Agave pups were separated from the big mama plant.

Reusing Austin chopped border stone in a different way....laid by the client over spring break!

A cool modern house in Little Forest Hills....tiny budget, no irrigation....this is starting to sound familiar! Here's the solution: native grasses and sedges, and some nifty yuccas and agaves that just happened to match my midnight sketches. We were looking for something with that Dr. Seuss truffula-tree quality and found it at Orand Nursery in Ft. Worth. 

An autumnal sadness sometimes creeps into the end of the year, when the days get shorter and the leaves start falling. But now is the time to appreciate one of the overlooked joys of the garden: the play of light across the landscape. Dave has been in this house 20 years and never gets tired of watching the nuances of light in different seasons.

The low-hanging winter sun sends elongated shadows sloping through the yard, lighting the golden leaves on fire. New experiences of space emerge among the shapes of trees never noticed in the full leafy bustle of summer.

God rewards the early riser....if you stay inside til 10 am you will never see the outline of this tree sketched on the ground!

Their moment in the sun: the humble buttonbush and a coralbark maple. Brilliant!

Photos taken by Dave Rolston at some ridiculous hour of the morning

 

When I moved to Texas years ago, my mother-in-law said, 'Oh, Texas.  People say it gets so hot in the summer the ground cracks open, and you look down and see Hell.'

I used to think that was an exaggeration, until this summer. Giant cracks that can swallow a whole baseball bat, the Llano and Guadalupe Rivers running dry--clearly we can’t keep on gardening the way we always have. But what’s the alternative? How do you cope with months of drought followed by five inches of rain in a week, or in a day?

Here’s a half-acre property in North Dallas that was planted last fall and winter, with hundreds of native and adapted plants and almost no lawn. The owner is a master gardener who is fascinated by plants and wants to try them all. These pictures were taken September 23— and we've had only an inch and a half of rain since May. There is no spray sprinkler system in this garden, just underground low-volume drip lines. And for a month this summer, there was no irrigation at all, after a lightning strike jumbled the irrigation controller's brain.

The paths are low-water use zoysia sod, mowed infrequently. Maintenance consists of walking around, picking a few weeds out of the mulch, maybe deadheading some flowers. But this yard is mostly to enjoy!

 

Here's a pool we designed recently to take advantage of great views of White Rock Lake. Instead of cramming the pool behind the house--next to the alley!--people can sit and enjoy the lake breezes and views from the new porch, outdoor kitchen and pool area.

It took longer to jump through city hoops to get approval for building a pool in the front/side yard. But all of the public spaces in the house are oriented to the lake (makes sense, doesn't it?), so there is little access from the house to the rear yard. Plus the back yard is full of lovely specimen cedar elms, which pool-building activity would have destroyed. So it was well worth the trouble to put the pool and all the entertaining spaces out front.

Many designs were explored in three dimensions, to figure out the best proportions for different elements.

We worked with an architect to make the pool cabana/outdoor kitchen comfortable and functional, as well as beautiful. And the spa, sunning area and fire features were tried out in different places, working around the existing slopes and  trees to make the whole ensemble fit naturally into the site. Although it makes our 3D modeling person a little crazy, it's way cheaper to work this all out on paper first!

It looks a little empty here in this post-construction shot, but on weekends the new front porch fills up with friends! It's perfectly situated to sit and sip a drink and enjoy the sunsets over White Rock Lake.

Where's the party?!

Every year, amazing private gardens open their gates to benefit The Garden Conservancy's efforts to preserve and restore historic gardens. Tickets are available at Calloway's Nurseries, or stop by any garden to start your tour! Maps and information at:
http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/open-days-schedule/openday/365-dallas-open-day

It's an up-and-coming movement: tearing out tired old pools and lawns to make fascinating, dense--and sometimes edible--landscapes. Here, an unused and decrepit backyard pool was filled in and replaced by a koi pond with multiple rills and streams.

An intimate fireplace patio and tumbling waterways along changes in elevation create separate rooms, with hidden walkways awaiting discovery.

Beautiful gates add substance and mystery to the lushly planted entries. A sweet gum scatters golden stars about the scrap of remaining lawn in the fall, and successive waves of perennials enliven the seasons and feed the bees who live in two hives near the rear fence.

Best news: although we worked with a previous owner years ago on this landscape, the current owner has agreed to let visitors in for this spring's Garden Conservancy tour. Mark your calendar for May 21--we'll see you there!

For more ideas about how to deal with a pool you no longer want, check out our new educational website at

http://greenpooldemolition.com/

 

Recent projects:

For eight years now, Dave and the owners of this Lakewood estate have been working on restoring the landscape around their historic O'Neil Ford house . The original long meadow had been obscured by privet, bamboo and small trees. It was cleared several years ago, and trails through the privet were cut for kids, dogs and adults. Recently as they bushwhacked, they came upon these grand old cedar tree buried in thickets of privet, and an idea took root.

He and Dave considered different options and began clearing the woods around it. It looked like this to start:

As the thickets gave way, rolling topography and trees of great character emerged. Tying into the original long meadow designed in the 1930s, the new greensward opens sweeping vistas and beguiling views of the house from afar.

A shade-tolerant variety of zoysia grass needs only an occasional mowing for weed control. Now, family and friends have new vistas to discover, new trees to climb and new spaces for contemplation.

Senior designer Patrick Boyd recently checked out the new Edible Garden and Canopy Walk at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. He took a zillion pictures, only a few of which we can share here! His slow-food dinner group will be receiving the full report....

Edible garden designers see food plants as ornamentals,  letting you harvest your home landscape. The Atlanta Botanical Garden has green walls covered with herbs, fruit orchards and vegetable beds where area chefs wander the 'aisles' picking the best-looking produce--then turn it into sumptous feasts in the demonstration kitchen. Further blurring the line between art and food, the art of Cohn-Stone glassblowers mingles with real fruit and flowers.

The Canopy Walk is a rare treat in an urban setting. Like New York's incredible popular High Line park, it gets you airborne and looking at nature--and the city--from a different angle. It just feels cooler walking up there, with the leaves rustling in the breeze and your feet swaying ever so slightly. For those of us who haven't climbed any big trees lately, it's a reminder of how much fun that was!