Saving Water Beautifully

One of my clients whom I've done numerous art and design commissions for in the past came to me with a new request. In Southern California, everyone is (or should be) painfully aware of the drought situation. My client was surveying her rather large landscaped yard and seriously reconsidering the amount of water she was dispensing on maintaining a lawn as ground cover.

What I put together for the renovation were some visuals and a proposal for ditching the lawn and creating a xeriscape that used a mix drought resistant plants and succulents along with a combination of different river rock for ground cover.

In addition to creating a garden that used less water, visually, I wanted to carry through the color theme of a rich Mediterranean blue that had been used in pots that were already in the garden.

My idea to integrate the blue was twofold. The landscaping as it was had a beautiful view to the surrounding hills and mountains. What the garden was missing some mid height features in between the pool and far away vista. I would source some "props" like old row boats and wheelbarrows to create planters that could be painted and would pull the blue across as a color continuum.

For the rocks, I had sourced granite river cobble and larger river rocks that had a bluish bias in color that would contrast with the largely tan hardscaped patio area.