This client in the Glendale, California area just northeast of Los Angeles had a very small backyard space in an arid climate and wanted drought-tolerant plants but with a lush look. There was also a need to renovate a fire pit. Basically, she wanted a smart garden!
Here’s the full before picture. You can see how there is no irrigation, lots of unattractive sandy dirt, and overgrown fire pit with no functional usage, and basically not a pleasant place to spend some relaxation time.
We cleaned out the fire pit to make it functional, installing a frame with step stones and Mexican pebble to lock the stones in. A rustic home upgrade.
The remaining portion of the landscape area (not the deck area, which was a separate project the client was working on) were divided up into planter areas. An automatic drip irrigation system was installed to make maintenance on this landscape nearly care free and, of course, highly cost effective and conservation oriented. This picture is of a portion of the garden not seen in the before-after picture. As you can see, a variety of drought tolerant plants are used, including succulents. But notice how lush it can look! A border was placed around the planter, with heavy mulch around the plants. Decomposed granite installed in the leveled-out walkways.
Here is the full view of the after photo. What a different the curved garden area, with clean walkways, and colorful plants look! An additional, fun succulent planter was also added to the far end of the fire pit. This garden will not only be pleasant to look at but also functional for guests, a relaxing evening after work, and supports the local ecology. It’s also very low maintenance.
