This is the first part of my design for a family in Hawthorne, California, a part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I am currently working on the planting plans for each of the areas shown on this plan and am close to completing the more detailed design.
In this design, family-life is central. The primary goal for the garden is to create a fun and relaxing space where the family of adults and children can quality spend time together. A little food production and other practical needs are secondary goals.
Having had some challenges in recent times, the family needs a relatively low-maintenance space, that will not add to their worries but rather detract from them. My design aims to create a garden that will not take up too much of their time, but which will feel lush, green and healthy throughout the year – even in the face of droughts increasingly common for the area.
Creating a water-wise garden does not necessarily mean placing cacti and other prickly plants. Exploring a wider range of native plants can often allow us to create incredibly varied and far-more family-friendly drought tolerant schemes than many imagine.
Xeriscaping schemes should not leave you staring at a sea of gravel! Of course, choosing the right plants is key. And we can also use permaculture ideas such as swales, basins etc. to catch whatever water we can in the soil and the plants that we grow.
I have created a wide range of drought-tolerant family gardens in a range of different settings, and can help you do the same. If you are looking for a native plant, family-friendly, water-wise garden design then please get in touch to discuss your needs. I will send you a questionnaire and would then be glad to quote for a permaculture garden design.
EWSP Consultancy 