 The little grey house is charming in her simplicity. The two mature Italian cypress,
are well established. Their size is overwhelming to the scale of the house, but since they are
so well established and thankfully not causing damage to the foundation, we shall keep them.
The Italian cypress suggest a Mediterranean plant palette. After taking inventory of the garden,
our next step in
the garden design process was to sketch some ideas of circulation, and what style of garden
would welcome Linda and her guests "home". Our design intent is to redistribute the proportions
of the Italian cypress by using a mass planting of rosemary prostrata (ground cover rosemary). After we agreed
on the schematic plan, we then divided the project into logical phases. The first phase was to
break up the existing sidewalk to create some pattern leading to the front door. This was no easy task,
Michael and I rented a jack hammer and literally sculpted the walkway from the existing 6-8" layer of concrete sidewalk---worth it!
Next we determined the new perennial garden / foundation planting bed line. We extended and reshaped it, to better
ground, proportionally, the enormous cypress. The material we choose to define the planting bed is native rocks found
in foothill communities ("Claremont potatoes). Michael meticulously hand placed each rock with artful success. Next, we refined
the path system, and determined how a guest would
walk to the front door. We selected decomposed granite as our walkway, because it is
easily compacted, affordable and easy on the feet. Color selection of the granite was crucial. Given
the name of the property "the little grey house" beige or warm colors would be inappropriate. We special
ordered graphite colored granite (cool grey colored), it was more expensive, but highly worth it. Sometimes there are no substitutes.
Our last major phase of the front garden will be to plant the rosemary in the Fall of 2003.
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Welcome to the "Little Grey House" owned by our friend and client, Linda Lee Worlow. The garden
began in October, 2002. Linda is a professional event planner, organizer and former
volunteer coordinator for the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (in Claremont). Our charge was to inspire and plan a garden on a modest, but reasonable budget, using plants that are either California native or water wise. In addition,
the garden must blend well within Claremont's Historic tree-lined Village district.
The village is a late 19th century college area, which was developed by settlers from the upper east coast of the US; thus it is
typically planted with plants indigenous to that area (i.e. turf, camelias, azaleas). Our climate in Los
Angeles is suitable for growing plants from all over the world with imported water. Linda is sensitive to
the growing demand of this precious commodity. In fact, we are not installing an irrigation system for this garden---how's that for
a commitment! To achieve this, proper planning is essential.
While planning this and each of our gardens, we advocate planting during the fall or winter.
Taking advantage of the cooler temperature and natural rain, allows the plants to develop their root systems without
the stress of hot, dry extreme conditions. When the summer does arrive, the plants are established and may require
supplemental water the first year or so, but no where near the amount used to water grass. This elementary advice assures
the most gentle way of beginning a garden. Another
vital planning issue is selecting the proper plants. By taking inventory of the existing trees, solar orientation,
winter winds, summer breezes... proper plant selection is limited to plants that naturally
thrive in these areas of the garden. Selecting the proper plant is fundamental.
Many times I have seen gardens planted, and three years later it's a huge over grown mess. In three years, Linda
will be sitting on her porch welcoming her guests, instead of correcting past mistakes.
