Simple, sophisticated Austin garden in Garden Design magazine
One of West Austin’s dramatic, contemporary, cliff-side homes is featured in the current issue of Garden Design magazine (March 2012, pgs. 44-51). Cut and natural limestone and Cor-Ten steel feature prominently in the landscape design by Rick Scheen of LandWest Design Group (for more images, click on Portfolio-Projects, then Westlake Pass Residence). In fact, I recognized the story’s opening image as being “Austin” simply by a close-up of a drape of silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea) across a rusty Cor-Ten wall.
You might think a high-dollar design like this has little to offer your own DIY efforts, but not so. I was particularly struck by this image of Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima) and bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa) massed in tiered layers—terracing created by Cor-ten steel and limestone boulders. Massing one species creates a lot of bang for the buck, but it’s often very hard for plant lovers to restrict themselves like this, and I include myself as one of these. But as we inch forward through a surprisingly damp winter to the likelihood of another drought-plagued summer, it’s worth thinking about using masses of these drought-resistant, quick-to-establish, deer-resistant plants. And as for maintenance? Very, very little—just an annual grooming of the feathergrass and occasional weeding.
Thanks for reminding me of the value of simplicity, Garden Design.
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Beautiful gardens in their portfolio. The plant selections are fairly typical landscape plants for our region, but the result is anything but common. They make such an impact when massed together that the low maintenance aspect seems almost a secondary consideration.
Yes, but just imagine how low the water bill could be with masses of plants like these. —Pam
I just re-upped my subscription to this after a long hiatus. For a while there, they were veering very strongly away from the ‘plants’ part of ‘design’.
I’m dropping Fine Gardening (with much sadness) to pick up Garden Design because I have noted a trend by GD to show desert and xeric landscapes that I can actually envision in my Phoenix backyard.
I’m a bit frustrated too by the emphasis on lush, watered gardens in Fine Gardening, Jenn, but I do still enjoy their gardener’s focus on plants and how-to design articles. I’d love to see them give the Southwest and xeric gardens their due though. —Pam
I need to take a few pages out of these design schemes. What gorgeous design and I even have the Nassella to get started. Thousands of them. I think I could grow it instead of grass if I had any.
I’m sure if you just stepped back and went on a long vacation, it would, Jenny! Nassella loves granite mulch, and you have the perfect garden for it. —Pam
“…it’s often very hard for plant lovers to restrict themselves like this,…”, call me guilty. I want one of everything. When’s the next meet of plant lover’s anonymous?
I think most gardeners are plant lovers and collectors at heart. But it’s instructional to see how much impact can be achieved with masses of fewer species. This sort of garden is perfect for the non-gardener who wants a lovely yard, or the retiree or young parent who doesn’t have time for intensive gardening but wants an attractive yard—like many of my clients. —Pam
When would I do the annual grooming of the feather grass?
I do it in late winter, which is right now here in Central Texas. After a year or two, the feathergrass tends to get matted, and so I just run my fingers through the brown strands and pull out loose, dead clumps of grass, leaving the fresh green behind. You can also just cut it back, giving it a crewcut. —Pam
Nice statement. Would like to see that garden mature, see what issues there might be (reseeding, maintenance), and how it evolves with time as part of the whole space. In 2000-ish, I used cor-ten steel for a fence to divide a wide back yard, and it provided a nice backdrop. Thanks for the link to his website; that’s part of quite the landscape area and grade change.
Yes, it’s quite a cliffside installation. And did you see that they created that creek at the bottom? —Pam
Pam,
Lovely garden. I am becoming attracted to grasses. I do love that they are easy to maintain. However, I too, am very guilty of finding it difficult to resist every pretty plant I see.
Yael
I hear you, Yael. We plant lovers have our work cut out for us in that regard. 🙂 —Pam