Clearwater Circle, Huntington Beach, CA

Description

The landscape had been a combination of turf (350 square feet) and perennial flowering plants. All the turf was removed and a decomposed granite and flagstone walkway was installed through the landscape leading to the front yard. A decomposed granite patio area was attached to the walkway and takes up about 1/3 of the garden. California gold boulders and gravel were used to create interest and help secure berms in the planting areas. All plant material is low water and was spaced out appropriately to allow them to keep their natural size and shape as they mature, reducing pruning and its associated green waste. All green waste from pruning goes into my compost bin. Plants provide nectar and habitat for birds, bees and butterflies all year long. Irrigation was converted from spray heads to drip irrigation, using .9 gallon per hour emitters. Irrigation is not on an automatic controller and is only turned on as needed (usually 4-5 times a year depending on the weather). Rain barrel is installed to capture water from the roof. Other wet weather runoff is filtered through the planting areas and captured at the base of the property in a dry riverbed of small boulders and gravel. The owners of this Ocean Friendly Garden also addressed the driveway: cut out a 12-inch-wide piece of the concrete straight across, filling it with gravel, thus helping reduce wet weather runoff.