
Fun Family-Friendly Landscape
The homeowner’s, a young family with two small children, needed a more functional front yard with lower maintenance. They no longer wanted to waste their Saturday mornings mowing the lawn and hand-watering garden beds. They wanted to spend more time out front playing with their kids and being social with neighbors, but wanted a safe place to do it. By removing the grass, more outdoor living space was added and an updated, low maintenance and water conserving landscape was revealed.
The courtyard of ‘Sonoma Gold’ crushed rock was created to allow a safe haven for play and a private place for mom and dad to supervise while reading or enjoying a cold beverage. The courtyard is enclosed by a handsome 3-foot high wood fence with two latching gates, one for future access to the back yard. A wicker settee and flanking trellises along the house add charm and offer seating in the small courtyard. The addition of two new outdoor electrical outlets will allow the family to safely decorate for the holidays without running cords into the house. The staggered exposed aggregate stepping pads provide a secondary path to the courtyard and a platform for the kid’s creative games.
New low or very low water use foundation plantings and fruit trees make a lush edible front yard that is more interesting to the eye and friendly to visitors. Hummingbirds frequently visit the blooms of the Hot Lips Autumn Sage, Hummingbird Sage and the Pomegranate. At the entry a free standing fountain and assorted container plantings complete the effect of a lush landscape and a place for family fun.




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Plant List
- Pomegranate, Punica granatum 'Wonderful’
- Idaho Fescue, Festuca idahoensis
- Elk Blue California Gray Rush, Juncus patens ‘Elk Blue’
- Pineapple Guava, Feijoa sellowiana
- Kumquat, Citrus ‘Kumquat’
- Hummingbird Sage, Salvia spathacea
- Spice Bush, Calycanthus occidentalis
- Compact Mahonia, Mahonia aquifolium compacta
- Dymondia, Dymondia margaretae
- Mexican Bush Sage, Salvia leucantha
- Everillo Japanese Sedge, Carex oshimensis 'Everillo'
- Compact Teucrium, Teucrium fruticans compactum
- Evergreen Clematis, Clematis armandii
- Autumn Sage, Salvia greggii‘Hot Lips’
- Lavender Trumpet Vine, Clytostoma callistegioides
- Winter Jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum
- Mexican Mint Sage,Salvia microphylla
- Holly Fern, Cyrtomium falcatum
- Red Flowering Maple, Abutilon x hybridum ‘Vesuvius Red’
Designer: Soleil Tranquilli, Tranquill Gardens
Project Cost: $10,000 - $12,000
Installed: Spring 2014
This 'greener' garden is within the Laguna Creek Watershed. A river friendly garden like this one reduces runoff and the pollutants that would otherwise drain into Lower Laguna Creek.