
Sensible and Sophisticated
This landscape was designed by local landscape designer, Roberta Walker, and installed by Jeff Abdallah of Sacramento Valley Landscape. The finished product is a landscape that is both sensible and sophisticated and sets this home apart from others in the neighborhood.A courtyard clad in decorative stone and iron work provides a private seating area for morning coffee or a glass of wine in the evening. Using front yard space in this way gives the homeowner additional outdoor living area, reduces the amount of planting area requiring irrigation and maintenance and is a wonderful backdrop to the plantings in the foreground. This is a sophisticated addition that complements the color and architecture of the home.
The landscaping and plant selections weave an interesting palette of contrasting grays and greens. Additional contrast is provided on the ground plane with the juxtaposition of charcoal gray lava rock and light gray cobble used in the dry river bed. Interest and color are provided with a compilation of plant material that blooms early spring through fall. Early bloomers include Golden Breath of Heaven and Chinese Fringe Flower followed by summer blooms of Crape Myrtle, Lavender, Rosemary, Groundcover Rose, Dwarf Bottlebrush and Yarrow. All selections have low water requirements and are sensible selections for the Sacramento Valley.
By definition this is an Elk Grove ‘Greener Garden’…it features a mix of native andwater conserving plant material which require less watering and maintenance than traditional lawns, the variety of plants make it more interesting and aesthetically pleasing, and some selections are attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies providing them with food and habitat.
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Plant List
- Muskogee Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica ‘Muskogee’
- Zuni Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica ‘Zuni’
- Snow-in-Summer, Cerastium tomentosum
- Golden Breath of Heaven, Coleonema ‘Sunset Gold’
- Yarrow, Achillea millefolium ‘Summer Pastels’
- Prostrate Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’
- Chinese Fringe Flower, Loropetalum chinense
- English Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’
- Munstead Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’
- Lemon Leigh Spanish Lavender, Lavandula stoechas ‘Lemon Leigh’
- Goodwin Creek Lavender, Lavandula ‘Goodwin Creek Grey’
- Australian Fuschia, Correa pulchella
- Dwarf Bottlebrush, Callistemon ‘Little John’
- Dwarf Japanese Garden Juniper, Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’
- Green Mound Juniper, Juniperus procumbens ‘Green Mound’
- Australian Willow, Geijera parviflora
- Autumn Joy Stonecrop, Sedum ‘ Autumn Joy’
- Peach Drift Groundcover Rose, Rosa ‘Peach Drift’
- Cape Plumbago, Plumbago auriculata
- Lavender Cotton, Santolina chamaecyparissus
- Lemon Fizz Lavender Cotton, Santolina virens ‘Lemon Fizz’
- Wheeler’s Dwarf Mock Orange, Pittosporum tobira‘Wheeleri’
- May Night Salvia, Salvia x sylvestris ‘May Night’
- California Fuchsia,Zauschneria californica
- Purple Rock Rose, Cistus x purpureus