The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Small Home Landscaping

Shade trees include red or scarlet maple. Chinese scholar tree, pin oak. In the warmer regions, Texas umbrella tree, California pepper tree, camphor tree or the modesto ash are recommended.

Climbing roses decorate the fence in several places and a ground cover is planted on each side of the drive where the ground slopes, although grass can be used if preferable.

Maintenance is largely mowing. By hand, this would take 2 to 4 hours weekly. Two to 3 hours weekly would maintain the flower and rose gardens. The trees and shrubs are self-maintaining.

HERE is another plan for the same property. The enclosing shrub mass gives complete privacy. A hedge surrounds the flower garden. A winter-in-terest feature in the form of a pine faced down with Pfitzer juniper spreads into the lawn from the west corner.
The shrubs can be mixtures so long as you don't get too many kinds of textures. Spireas mix well with forsythia, weigelia, mockorange, flowering quince, deutzia and winged euonymus. The corners can be strengthened with lilac, Rose of Sharon, viburnums or the smaller type of flowering tree. Very cold regions can use some of the above or Peking cotoneaster, Japanese barberry, Russian peashrub or the bush honeysuckles. The warmer regions need abelia, cassia, Mexican guava, Chinese hibiscus, mandina, oleander and osmanthus.

Hedges that are not too difficult to maintain include mock orange, winged euonymus, Rose of Sharon, eleagnus multiflora.

HERE the plan changes considerably. The flower garden has been brought closer to the terrace. A baby's sand box is attached to the terrace. This can be made into a lily pool when the sand box is no longer needed. A vegetable garden occupies the space of the original flower garden and a compost heap is placed in the corner behind the new flower garden. The trees have been rearranged. A conifer is placed near the driveway entrance and back from the street far enough to permit full vision when backing the automobile into the street.

The rearrangement of the path places it branching from the drive. A few steps will be needed here on the slight grade.