And the fence...

Pocket gardening over the top of what you have to create some interesting little cubbies maybe? Use various sized planters clustered together to mix perennials and annuals. The path in my photo is golden granite and river pebbles poured between terracing blocks which are l-shaped. The path is set over existing concrete I kept in place for drainage as our cottage is in the hills. You could do more narrow pathways. The blocks I used are the small size aggregate, they come in large too. I have planter wells flanking the house that have little 3 x 7 gardens in them with rocks and cuttings that grew out. And I took out the concrete sidewalk in the front and put bark paths in edged in remnant concrete. The terraces in back have remnant concrete stacked walls that age to look like stone. You could do smaller scale raised beds along your spiffy new fence.

thanks elysianfields. i will look at pocket gardens. i've been curious about the felt planters and living wall look for awhile. i just wonder how quickly they would dry out in our climate?

another idea i had was rosemary bushes as a hedge? i secretly don't want to commit to hedgeness though i think because we haven't been here very long and i keep thinking there might be more veggie possibilities. i tried peas on a trellis up the fence over the winter but it was so hot they got decimated by spider mites....

i'm sticking with native plants for the front yard. and have only killed a couple of them so far. ;) turns out the light is completely different depending on the season. i.e. 6 hours scorching sun in summer, total shade in winter.

your path is lovely.

elysian- your pretty photo is quite intreguing. if possible, i would like to see some of your pocket gardens. are they drip watered?
thanks, min

actually i realize i'm not sure what you mean by pocket gardens? ;) i thought of those felt hanging pockets on fences...but maybe not what you meant?

Pocket gardens are just little plots planned out by zones, styles, or miroclimates. Our cottage is in the woods and I cleared what was formerly here and started completely over. Through trial and error I figured what plants do well where, then did pockets for sun, shade, and dappled light. It gets cold at night because of the canyon below so I put in things that can freeze in the winter. This is a fern glen pocket under a replacement porch entry to the garage. The steps to the old one collapsed and there used to be lattice masking the open space underneath. Originally this started with ferns and coleus, the ferns took over and the coleus disappeared, and archangel lamium is filling in under the new steps. I water with two sprinklers permanently placed, and by hand with the hose.

This is a shade pocket in a planter well flanking the house on the east side which gets AM sun. It originally started as a small space I put cuttings and tender plants in to get them started. There is another well on the west side that is deeper shade that I have a carpet of archangel lamium in with a camellia and a few jade plant cuttings that will grow out.

And this pocket is more of a corridor, up the side of the house on the east, leading to the gravel path I put in the back on level one of three garden terraces that go up the slope towards the woods. There were formal concrete stairs under the step stones I filled over because they tilted in towards the house from not being tamped solidly underneath. I suppose it could all be a bit more polished with less remnant concrete used but there are two aged stacked concrete chunk walls in back. I took a sledgehammer to the sidewalk in front and a patio in back and repurposed the results to match. I put gravel, bark, and stone paths in for a more informal appearance. And most of the soil around the house is rich clay which I was told I'd never be able to grow anything in. I'm an inpatient gardener and I hate grass and mowing and trimming. That might be why my friend calls the garden Jurassic Park.

i meant to suggest looking into mediterranean climate plants for your area, or dry garden material for less watering. This is a link to Anni Jensen's & Carol Manahan's garden in Richmond where I live. Their entire yard is planted to the curb. And they use little to no water.
http://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/anni-jensen-and-carol-manahans-garden

elysian i love your pocket gardens! thanks for the pictures. sounds like you adapted and adjusted over time - how long have you been working on them? i think that's the best approach really because there are just so many factors to work with.

i am using all ca natives in the front of the cottage - ceanothus, manzanita, buckwheat, mallow, and threw a packet of wildflower seedlings in the bed while they come in - it was a riot of color - clarkia get's to be very tall! lol.

i had a pocket garden of sorts in the back yard of riparian natives under the orange tree where i could keep a moist spot and it stayed shady. however, as spring came around, it turned out it's not shady enough for the poor little dudes and my ferns, sticky monkeyflower croaked. live and learn!

i'm keeping notes on how the light changes.

i like how you use your architecture to delineate little pockets. also, i planted baby's tears around hte patio last winter - am so jealous of all your greenery! they looked very lush and happy until a month ago when they promptly died. ah well. i had an english garden for a moment. ;)

Total rehab job on this garden starting when we bought the house in 2001. After lots of mistakes and taking down the trees to let sun in I was able to get what I wanted going. I'm an inpatient gardener not big on amending and chemicals. I'd rather buy plants. Fish emulsion is my fertilizer. Osmocote when lazy, and I usually forget both. Generic sluggo for mutant snails that can carry the dogs away. I settled on the rule of no grass, getting tough plants that can freeze, and the mantra of; live, or become mulch. The woods are old oak, bay laurel, broom, eucalyptus, and pine. The neighbor in the canyon where the creek runs below us planted a redwood grove 52 years ago. So I wanted my garden to be different from its surroundings. This is as good as it gets. I'm tired, older, and I just want to sit down. But I'm always out putzing with something.

well i think you have done a fabulous job! i can see all the results of your putzing. ;) and i love hearing about mistakes. they just mean progress as long as you don't give up right?

i saw your other favorite forum was cottage gardens which i just visited...oh my they have some lovely lush gardens over there. harder to do here in our climate....but dang i sure wish i could get that kind of a feeling going. perhaps i can if i keep trying different things.

question: do you think having something along the fence that is taller or even vining would make it feel more intimate or just smaller?

clematis? nasturtiums maybe though they're an annual so i guess i'd have to wait for them to reseed? or salvia? it doesn't freeze here which is an advantage in some ways but it also means things get very leggy....no natural "reset" button. ;)

jane- a lavendar starflower (grewia occ.) might look nice trained against your fence. it isn't invasive.

elysian- your Jurassic park is gorgeous!
i would do a cool fern-y/bamboo look if i could, but the heat and water shortage here keep me more to the Flintstone look.
min