Last weekend I toured some inspirational gardens in Davis, CA designed by my friend Bernadette. Upon viewing her first garden I got really excited, because this is what my newest projects look like! It’s a match!!! Gone are the rolls of traditional thirsty sodgrasses, fresh concrete walks and lollipop shrubs to frame suburbia. The new valley landscape is a thoughtful, cohesive package of drought resistant plants woven into pervious surfaces and rich in texture, color and recycling creativity.We’re now entering the Sustainable Zone. Time to get practical. Water is tight, people! There is no end in sight for our water woes in the West. More people, less snowpack, climate shifts and a new appreciation of our impact on the ecosystems we dwell in prime us for a new consciousness. Time for Reality. And a whole lot of creative fun as we rethink lawns, gardens and how we build the ‘Yard.’
It’s easier than you think. People like Bernadette have been designing sustainably for years, even while I struggled through a traditional horticulture program which to this day still teaches water guzzler plants, easy pour patios, and nitrogen sucking swaths of chemlawn. But the design pioneers are out there creating sustainable gardens, and they are changing the look of valley gardens. It’s catching on slowly. As our eco-sophistication grows there’s a desire for more conscious choices. Who doesn’t want freedom from the tyranny of watering, mowing, fertilizing and constant maintenance?
So where are my hoards of clients begging for a no mow lawn, a chemical free garden, pervious patios and recycled concrete pathways? Where are the pet owners who worry about Fluffy and Fi-Fi padding around on grass chems? The new mommies who are going organic for the sake of their brood? Well, here’s the thing. Just this week, with my fabulous photos from Davis I finally sold my husband on the idea of ‘no-mo’ front lawn. Yes, I’ve only been studying sustainable landscape for 10 years. It appears that FINALLY I won, and that our grass is going, going gone. I had a giant party in my head when I realized I was now free to design the front yard that matched my personal, social and professional beliefs. Hah! I can now walk my professional talk.
But Wait. Not so fast there Garden Geek! When it came time to start collecting cardboard and mulch to squelch the grass, he balked. Mr. Recycle, the guy who, in a holey tie die shirt picks through our trash looking for stray bits of glass, plastic, paper, and, gasp, metal.
‘It’s going to look ugly’ he says.
Uhhhhm, What?
‘Well, yeah’ he muses. ‘What will the neighbors think?’
I have to silently regroup here. Thinking of the oxidized red truck sitting in our driveway, visors and rear view mirror jerry-rigged with rubberbands. Of the weeds overflowing onto the sidewalk. The crumbling fence… And so on.
Ok, I think, so maybe we do care. After all, we’ll fit right in with the cranky pink truck cruising around behind the stores for giant cardboard treasure. And mulch has GOT to be an improvement over the dandelions, crabgrass and god-knows-what-else composes our so called ‘lawn’.
So it’s a stalemate. The fence waves gracefully in the wind, cheerful dandelions bloom and happily seed the neighborhood. My finger itches to call the arborist for that giant mulch dump of my dreams.
Stay tuned. I suspect Husband is much like many of my clients, only more difficult. Afraid of change, suspicious of the new. Unable to visualize the end result. Perhaps my biggest career challenge ever. Watch me!
