Apothecary Garden Design & Install
The Garden Design Brief
The garden was designed as it currently is in 2011, and was installed as designed but for the furthest section, which was still used as a vegetable garden. The intention was that it would one day become a formal apothecary and herb garden with a citrus orchard. The client intended to stagger the installation so that he could continue to grow his own vegetables for a few more years. At age eighty the client decided to hang up his vegetable clogs and convert the final section of his garden to the intended apothecary herb use. Phase two of the garden was completed in 2023 -thus bringing to an end the longest garden gestation I’ve ever experienced in my career!
Landscape Design elements
The client wanted a colorful, scented garden with a semi-formal aesthetic. We achieved this by breaking the herringbone brick with more modern decomposed granite for a more relaxed feel and planting scheme within the formal geometry of the walls, fences, and hedges, (a little Chaos- if you will).
Reclaim and reuse in landscape design
We were able to use every one of the salvaged bricks the client had been harboring which pleased him immensely! And reduced cost. An unsightly block wall was faced with plain stucco and treated with an aging stone culture as was the salvaged fountain so that old and new seamlessly blended.
Landscaping and tree choice.
To install this section of the garden we had to remove two very old and misshapen citrus trees, they were not only taking up too much space, but thier low branches sprawling were rat attractants. The clients very much wished to retain citrus as an integral part of the garden so we installed six new standard tall citrus to replace the old shrubby specimens allowing us to create a large central herb garden as well as flowering beds on the perimeter of the garden.
The right choice of border for your Garden
We were able to prune and restore the tree-line hedge at the back of the property and add new specimens to fill out the remaining gaps. Popular with the birds, it will also eventually serve as a complete privacy screen.
Don't forget the pollinators when designing your garden.
Our clients work from home and enjoy feeding the birds and observing wildlife. Therefore, the garden was designed to attract and provide for hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. We achieved this with the addition of salvias, Buddleias, and various herbs that honey bees love such as their all-time favorite -hyssop!
The new garden section with its circular path and salvaged fountain provides a focal point from the house as well as a relaxing destination point, softening the dramatic formality of the previous garden with its inviting curves and semi-wild plantings, or Business in the front and a party in the back, as they say.
Dramatic lighting
We always encourage lighting design- not only does it increase a gardens usable hours, but it looks so beautifal and can create make even the smallest garden look so grand.
After
