Less Lawn, More Garden!

Patch is asking us to share tips for a beautiful lawn, but the best tip I can offer is to take out (or reduce) that lawn and make the swich to beautiful, water-wise landscaping that you can enjoy year round for a lot less work. We did this three years ago, and I've been thrilled with the results!

Fortunately, there are lots of free resources available from local water departments, and even some incentives. The City of Santa Cruz Water Department has an incredible array of on-line information: Guide to Water Smart Gardening, virtual tours of local gardens, suggested water-wise plants that thrive in our climate, and tons more. Go to http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/index.aspx?page=1514. You'll be inspired!

For us, it started with taking out the pathetic bermuda grass "lawn" in our small front yard. I got some help rototilling the soil, which was basically good, and dug in a healty dose of good compost. Then I drove around town, taking stock of gardens that appealed to me, and worked out a basic concept.

We have a Victorian house, and the front yard has a nice sunny exposure. I was shooting for a kind of cottage garden look, using a combination of natives and low-water flowering plants, with a palette of yellow/orange, blue/purple, and white. I also wanted to maximize the flowering season, and create enough variety in the shape and color of foliage that it would at least be attractive even in the dead of winter. Lots of plants were free -- divisions from friends and cuttings of neighbors' succulents -- embellished with basic six-packs and 4" pots from local nurseries and the Cabrillo Plant Sale.

That was just three years ago, and the results just get more and more gorgeous each year.  We had a flamboyant display of California poppies starting in mid-February. They've now run their course, so I let them go to seed, and then ripped out the remains. Now the next wave of flowers are going to town, and I expect to have constant color and variety well into fall.

So right now, while local gardens are in full glory, drive around, get inspired, and then get to work.