"A simple wall-mounted shower is a great spot to rinse off before or after hopping in the pool... Tall grasses and black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) ... create the feeling of bathing in a wildflower meadow." And ... taken from commentary regarding an article on greywater ... "Re: outdoor showers....We have an outdoor shower built at the top of a sloped landscape bed. The base of the shower is pavers spaced apart over a shallow gravel dry well on top of the sandy soil, just using gravity for drainage. This is our primary shower during the warm half of the year. The plants in this bed always require much less watering than around other areas of the house, and do just as well if not better!" Perfect: Outdoor shower provides the greywater that waters the Joe Pye weed which is then used to build a bee motel which houses the bees that will polinate the flowers that decorate the outdoor shower:)
Joe Pye Weed, a hollow-stemmed perennial. Good raw material for building bee motels. Botanical name: Eutrochium purpureum (formerly Eupatorium purpureum) Common name: Joe Pye weed (other, less common, common names include Queen of the Meadow and Snakeroot) USDA zones: 5-10 Water requirement: Moist. Grows well along ponds, wetlands and streams. Soil should be damp. Light requirement: Full sun to light shade Mature size: The standard native plant can grow up to 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide, but there are dwarf varieties available that only grow to about 4 feet high, such as E. purpureum ‘Little Joe.’ Tolerances: Requires damp soil; can tolerate hot full sun Seasonal interest: This native plant is a late bloomer, with large, showy purple-mauve-ish flowers. Its blooms will continue into early fall. Best time to plant: Fall. Joe Pye weed can be grown quite easily from seed, or from container plants, which are readily available in nurseries.
"The importance of native pollinators. (This) is a native bee hotel where you can observe the more docile native bees making homes for their young. It’s easy for you to make a native bee house, too, by drilling various-size holes into untreated blocks of wood, or even using hollow-stemmed perennials like Joe Pye Weed."
"A shady space can also be a place to plant outdoor pots and planters. These containers have a rough concrete finish and are filled with shade-loving plants. Ferns have wonderful textures and are particularly lovely when their fronds start to unfurl in spring . You can really appreciate them up close here, combined with hellebore, another wonderful spring-flowering woodland plant. Soft mosses around the edges complete the picture — a shady garden in miniature."
"Here’s a Southern California front yard that gets some shade and is filled with clustered field sedge (Carex praegracilis). Tolerant of almost any condition .... It’s native to the West and the plains .... This sedge is about 2 feet tall and wide and, like most sedges, grows in spring and fall while being green early and late, when most other plants are sleeping."
"What kind of meadow do you imagine? The most pleasing and long-lived meadow plantings generally reflect the terroir, or flavor of place. They feature native species and are designed to echo the regional look of nearby grasslands, prairies or shrublands. The meadow in this photo is a prairie at Denver Botanic Gardens, showcasing species native to Colorado’s western Great Plains. In this fall photo, the grasses and subshrubs, including the lovely rust-colored switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and silvery-green white sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana), are most prominent. In spring and summer, the wildflowers appear dominant. The purple flower spikes are Rocky Mountain blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis), the last wildflower of the season." ... Ok, so maybe the specific plant choices would be no good for SoCal. But I do like the soft palette and the promise of swishing grasses when the wind blows.
"In this Seattle garden, the designer placed bright chartreuse chairs against a cobalt-blue adobe wall to create a focal point at the back of the property. The wall also serves a practical purpose of hiding a large storage shed." It would never have occurred to me to paint an adobe wall cobalt blue. Bold move! Lovely effect when paired with the chartreuse chairs.
Potting shed meets chicken coop (compost lives next door). "Homeowners Aislin and Tim Gibson designed their garden shed as a “shed duplex” with two distinct areas separated by an interior wall. The area to the left provides a place for storing tools, while the second space houses their brood of backyard chickens."
"If you want a ground cover, woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus) is a fast-growing option that’s hardy to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 28.9 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 8). It’s happy everywhere from underfoot to spilling over a wall, and it is known for attracting butterflies, bees and beneficial insects. Small pink flowers appear in summer. Woolly thyme takes full sun, though you may need to provide some light shade in the hottest summer regions, and needs little water once established. It forms a soft mound about 2 to 3 inches high and up to 3 feet wide. Plant in light, well-drained soil and shear it back if it becomes rangy."
A water feature for pollinators.
A firepit with a view surrounded by pollinator-friendly flowers. "A mix of diverse flowers is also shown in this geometric fire pit area. The designers combined Woodland Edge, Purple Haze and Blue Wave wildflower seed mixes from Pictorial Meadows."
A nice simple "starter" chicken coop. Also see [https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/the-coop/] for a more elaborate chicken coop.
Pretty chicken!
Chicken coop architecture.
Chicken coop with raised beds.
"Meadow lawns are a beautiful way to create a mass of food for bees. In California we’ve had many lawns die during the drought, and with them the need for perfectly manicured grass. An alternative is a meadow lawn, which offers the benefits of a lawn and a wildflower meadow at the same time."
"Planting cover crops for the empty areas of your yard is another great way to offer food for bees and suppress weeds. As Benjamin Vogt mentions in his article about weeds, “Nature desires rich layers and no fertile space left unfilled.” Plant clover, such as this purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea, USDA zones 3 to 9; find your zone), which feeds bees and boosts the nitrogen of your soil. Renee’s Garden also sells a pollinator mix that can be easily sprinkled and watered to create an instant meadow."
"This San Jose, CA backyard has a wall of acacia trees (Acacia iteaphylla) that are drought-tolerant and also create yellow puffs of flowers to feed our bees and native pollinators in late winter when most forage is gone. Acacia nectar also makes some of the best-tasting honey available. When it isn’t blooming, the acacia creates a silver-blue privacy wall and living backdrop for our summer barbecues."
Lure bees to a "bee hotel!"
A California central coast garden.
Check out this website [http://www.helpabee.org/best-bee-plants-for-california.html] for a list of the best flower choices for native bees.
Pollinator garden in California.
Check out this "Native Pollinator Habitat" designed by Urban Hedgerow.
More tips in this bookmarked article on planning and starting an edible garden.
An edible garden in Santa Ynez, CA. Check out the bookmarked article for inspiration and specific ideas.
Fall color and swishing grasses in Portland, OR.
Fall color in ABQ.
Flagstone patio & fire pit.
Build your own fire pit.
Outdoor fireplace in a courtyard? (rather than firepit?)
Combine firepit and water feature in a naturalistic setting.
Firepit. Grasses (sedges actually). "Sedges are versatile, fascinating, superadaptable and much-underused plants in landscapes. Some are wavy clumpers that soften hard edges."
A bench under a rose arbor. "Try Rosa 'Mortimer Sackler' or Rosa 'Paul's Himalayan Musk'."
Crushed granite gravel.
Reclaimed bricks & stone pavers.
"Personalize your outdoor space. With some creative thinking, you’ll find ways to express yourself beyond your choice of flowers, plants and shrubs. Here, vintage glass marbles have been epoxied to the top of a wrought iron railing."
"String up lights for an inexpensive transformation. String lights can make the saddest of spaces look upbeat. Cost varies from about $10 to $175 per string, depending on the quantity of lights, material, bulb type and whether they’re heavy-duty-rated for commercial outdoor use. Most are in the $20 to $40 range. Design options abound, from small to large globes and with or without decorative shades."
"Sheers are semi-private and soften the hard lines of pergolas and overhangs. While they don’t protect from sun and rain, they can help keep bugs out and add a sense of drama and romance to a backyard space."
"Add drapery for privacy, sun protection, softness and drama. Drapery panels are effective at softening the harsh rays of the sun as well as making your patio a bit more private and cozy. They’re also more flexible than shades, allowing you to shift them left to right as needed. Use an indoor-outdoor fabric, such as Sunbrella, particularly for areas that are exposed to the elements. Also look for panels with weighted bottoms so they don’t blow into your barbecue if it’s a breezy day. You’ll need to anchor them to an overhead structure, like the underside of this patio overhang."
"The sound of water is not only relaxing but can help mask traffic and other unwanted noise. "
Closer view of the vine-covered pergola area.
Closer view of the outdoor curtains.
Outdoor curtains for privacy? For shade? For defining separate areas?
Like the look. Not sure what ideas we can borrow from this though. Maybe the ability to open up the glassed in porch to a screened in porch according to the season? Maybe the vine-covered pergola?
Green "mortar" between pavers ... I'd guess creeping thyme.
What an inviting outdoor dining scene.
The informal Mediterranean layout and airy feeling. Planting appropriate for California. Note the stones lining the gravel pathway, a softer edge than using "edging."
A fire pit under the open sky. A reason to hold on to the 2nd propane tank?
Do I see some night sky up there above the open trellis covering and the low-voltage light strings? Nice. I don't care for the straight line dominance here (patio, chairs, beams, lights, etc). Some curves would add appeal. But otherwise this is a very inviting scene.
I like the pink-orange plant on the right. Protea?
There's a little too much going on here for my esthetic tastes. This is what I would call a cacophony.
Like the soft look of the pink muhly grass (looks lavender here). May be able to achieve the same effect with a variety of lavender.
Note the white trim, & white shutters, on this Santa Fe, New Mexico home (in the background).
Q