Rooftop succulent garden is drought resistant
If you've ever considered replacing your thirsty front lawn with a useful vegetable garden or succulents, then you’re moving forward in the right direction – towards sustainability.
The traditional suburban lawn is such a staple in certain San Francisco neighborhoods, such as Balboa Terrace, that having uninterrupted expanses of the green grass down certain avenues is a requirement written into home owner association bylaws. Mess with those laws and you can face a fine, or at least dirty looks from neighbors.
Still, it’s time to make a change, and it’s easy to see some homeowners are taking those steps by designing new yards planted with ornamental grasses and hearty succulents. Even rock gardens are in vogue.
If you are searching for a great landscaper to design the low-water use garden, give Suzman & Cole Design a call. I met South African Stephen Suzman recently at the San Francisco 2009 Decorator Showcase where he is wowing visitors with his drought tolerant rooftop garden.
What’s so impressive is how he skillfully organized the sedum, aeonium and echeverria in his modern composition which is punctuated by gorgeous sculpture. The clean positioning of the $10,000 worth of cactus and other plants lets the garden hold its own amid the breathtaking bay and city views at the mansion located at 2830 pacific Avenue. You owe it to yourself to see this masterpiece.
“I wanted to educate the public in the use of succulents and ornamental grasses and restio,” Suzman told me. “I want to show that a low-maintenance succulent garden can look quite lush, not just drought tolerant.”
Suzman says many of the plants are on loan from the Robin Stockwell nursery in Watsonville and other area venders. They are easy to maintain but you have to be careful not to overwater them or else they will turn yellow or the bigger plants will droop. Suzman arranged a collection of different sizes and ages, putting some in planters lined along the wood and stone pathway that allows easy circulation of the expansive garden.
“This is the tip of the iceberg of what succulents can do,” he tells me. “We’re not close to replacing the front lawn but sedum would be a wonderful substitute some day,” he says.
Comments
Thanks for the information and for showing this gorgeous garden design. I will follow up for sure and try to plant succulents in my garden. Is the landscape firm pricey?
you are welcome. It depends on how many succulents you purchase. They can cost quite a bit, but a good landscaper like Suzman can help you be creative and to fill in with less costly grasses, such as Nomow Fescue.
Hello, to my namesake, Luanne, I have to give a testimonial to succulents. This is coming from someone with a huge yard, not a rooftop garden, and where most would love to have this space to get their hands dirty, I was born with a rotten thumb, not green. So, for all my comrades out their that could kill an air plant (I have) the succulent garden I planted is the bees knees!!!!! Love my, "we will look good despite your shortcomings," garden. I have about 40 Century plants (they have babies you can share, which my neighbor kindly gave me three of hers a few years ago, now we have forty, and I continue the sharing)as well as Aloe, and Mother in Law Tongue. For a little color, I have knockout roses (I have actually had them a few years, believe it or not!)
No matter the weather or their caregiver, they have been hardy and beautiful for three years and counting.
I couldn't afford the pricier large versions of these so I went to Walmart and bought the little tiny ones that are $2-$5 each and, though I had a puny little garden for a year, the next year they shot up and filled out nicely, and of course my nice neighbor who gave me her Century Plant babies, which shot up to 3x their original size in a year, so give them space!
I enjoyed your article!
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