xeriscape garden design and landscape information

Article by Nan Sterman, copyrighted material, used with permission of the author,
Photography by Will Gullette, © Copyright 2003.

gardens of the year 2003, best homeowner-designed landscaping

A native toyon (Heteromeles xx) and a wispy acacia border the dry streambed that winds through the front yard of Hydrick's garden in University City

For many years the front yard was just like all the other front yards in Dayna's University City neighborhood -- a well-kept expanse of flat lawn surrounded by lollipop trees, sculpted shrubs, hedges and an outsized bird of paradise.

The mix of plant materials did not appeal to her. The garden was too thirsty, too controlled and too much work.

"Living in (what is) practically a desert and trying to grow something so dependent on a commodity we don't have -- water -- never really made sense to me", Hydrick says.

Photo Above: A native toyon (Heteromeles xx) and a wispy acacia border the dry streambed that winds through the front yard of Hydrick's garden in University City.
Photo Below: A flagstone path passes by the lavender blooms of Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii), a San Diego County chaparral native.

A flagstone path passes by the lavender blooms of Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii), a San Diego County chaparral native

At first Hydrick, with help from her husband, tried to work with the existing landscape, removing hedges, trees and other unwanted plants to give the yard a more naturalistic look. Her work helped but Hydrick was not satisfied. Then she suffered a severe asthma attack after weeding the circle of front lawn. Subsequently she discovered she was allergic to grass.

"THIS GARDEN PROVES THAT YOU CAN SAVE WATER BY PROVIDING ALTERNATIVES TO GRASS-ONLY FRONT LAWNS AND CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS PLEASING TO LOOK AT" -- juror Mark Schroeder

"I found late in life that I was allergic to 12 items -- all varieties of grass."
Her husband, it turned out, also has an allergic reaction to grass.
"Both of us got sick whenever we went out there", she says. "He'd be out there mowing and we'd both feel awful."
So, the grass had to go. The chance to start over prompted Hydrick to think about her values and how much time she wanted to spend in her garden. Eventually, she decided to get rid of work-intensive plants along with the high-maintenance water-sucking lawn. She removed everything and established a goal to create a free-flowing, naturalistic look to her 35-by-35-foot front yard.

Today a dry streambed of rocks and boulders winds through Hydrick's front garden. A dry growing acacia tree and a native toyon serve as focal points. More California natives and a collage of other drought-tolerant plants line the beds and cover a series of mounds that provide relief and add to the illusion of the streambed. A curved flagstone walkway winds toward the front entry and into a private courtyard. A purple arbor, whimsical art pieces, birdbaths and rustic pots add character and variety.

"It took me a while to find the right balance," Hydrick says. Some plants grew larger than expected and had to be moved or replaced. Others were planted at a time of year when they struggled to make it through to the next season. With time and experience, Hydrick found the right mix. Her garden boasts an impressive list of plants, many of them California natives. Last year, her garden became a Backyard Wildlife Habitat certified by the National Wildlife Federation.

Red, Yellow and organe tones from Gaillardia x and California poppy hightlight Hydrick's garden

Above: Red, Yellow and organe tones from Gaillardia x and California poppy highlight Hydrick's garden.
Article by Nan Sterman, copyrighted material, used with permission of the author,
Photography by Will Gullette, ©Copyright 2003.

The other jurors comments were: Good use of drought-resistant placed material with rotating color throughout year. Nicely designed streambed. -- Pat Welsh. Good use of vegetative color and use of landscape material for a small front yard. Good curb appeal. -- David G. Strickland.

I tried to keep this looking as much like the original article in the magazine. It ran in September 2003's issue of San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine. If you'd like to see the original article from the magazine, I scanned it so you can. Just download the .pdf here. (be patient, it's a big file!)

Xeriscape Waterwise Makeover - Before Photos, My Drought Tolerant Plant List, and Dry Garden Landscaping Book List:

You can also take a look at the garden when we moved in, which is the only photo I have of the lawn, and photos of it when we were putting in the streambed and railroad ties. Just go here. If you want to see my current plant list, here it is. Also, a list of books I found useful for designing water wise gardens.

Backyard Habitat with Jack Hanna:

My yard as well as several others were featured in a segment for Backyard Habitats on Jack Hanna's TV show, Animal Adventures also in 2003. I found the video for it at his Jungle Store and purchased it. The store is off line presently but here's a .pdf of the episode Show #2244 . In the ad on his Website for the video, my yard (and myself) are in the top left hand picture. It was exciting to be included in the video. I got to meet him, so that was cool. His staff and crew were very nice. It was quite the talk of the neighborhood having them film in my yard. It reinforced with my neighbors the idea that maybe NOT having lawn IS the way to go! Here's a picture of one of the creatures that roam the yard, he's on the front courtyard fence. Trust me, he makes quite an ugly silhouette at night through the curtain.

Grand Prize Winner for 2006 California-Friendly Landscape Contest:

NEW! My yard was the Grand Prize Winner for 2006 in San Diego's 3rd Annual California-Friendly Landscape Contest! The contest is sponsored by the San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, in conjunction with the Water Conservation Garden. There were six winners in each water district with two honorable mentions, and then there were the regional winners, which were the Grand Prize winners. There were three; a Best Native Plantings, Best Professionally Designed, and then mine which was the Best Do-It-yourself. It was pretty exciting and I was quite surprised by the win. The City came out and put up a large sign and my neighbors have been stopping by telling me they were so glad to see their favorite yard in UC win. Here is the "California-Friendly Landscape Contest Winners Announced" media release for the contest.

With grand prize sign

The Water Authority sent out several photographers and the one gal Kate Breece sent me copies of the pictures she took.

With grand prize sign

Photos of My Water Wise Winning Garden:

Check them out. I also won a $500 dollar gift certificate at Hunters Nursery, Inc., 3110 Sweetwater Rd. in Lemon Grove (619) 463-9341. It was well worth the drive going there as they have a huge selection of plants and lots, and lots of California natives! I got a beautiful stone bench for the backyard, a large stone tortoise, a dwarf Meyer Lemon tree and lots of drought tolerant plants.

Articles:

Rob Davis from the Voice of San Diego Daily News called and got my input for an article called "How To Make Your Yard Drought-Resistant".

Rob has been doing some in depth investigations into our current water crisis. He's taken a look at how this will affect the city and water department, but most importantly how this impacts residents who have already been putting water conservation principles to use. He came out to my house to see a completely lawn-less yard, and to discuss my water usage for an article called The Face of Water Conservation. I gave him my figures of water usage, which you can check out here, and of course my opinions. ADDED 2011: Rob's latest article Most Efficient Water Consumers Pay the Price, Too highlighting the fact that despite the changes in water consumption, residents bills are still higher now than four years ago. This article was accompanied by an MSNBC report called, San Diego Explained: Water Woes
Certified Wildlife Habitat