I really love our garden plan. Amy designed it about seven years ago. My yard is small, rectangular and on a gentle slope, so to make it interesting and useful, Amy designed a curving, pebble-lined stream to channel rainwater down to a wider, shady catchment. She dubbed it The Rio Grande, which is typical of Amy's whimsical and imaginative touch. The banks of the "stream" are lined with grasses that make the whole yard seem green at any time of year, while the rest of the yard is lined with patterned red and gray low-maintenance pebbles. There are shrubs and small trees along the sides and back walls. The plants include edibles such as apricots, grapes and pomegranates. Most of them have done well with a minimum of care and are now bearing prolifically. Not everything turned out exactly as planned, of course. A few plants died--some of them because the drip system delivered too much water to the wrong kind of plant, like a beautiful and promising plum tree. One planter box produces an annual crop of tomatoes, while another box on the side of the house will not grow anything except weeds--not even wildflowers--because of too much sun.
It has all been a lot of fun. Moreover, it didn't cost an arm and a leg--a few thousand for all. The pebbles and their distribution, plants and their plantings, a wooden trellis and two beds constructed on the spot, the sprinkler system installed, a decorative little wooden bridge--all were all included, and Amy took care of everything--hiring and overseeing the gardeners, purchasing the plants and pebbles, installing the sprinkler system, etc., etc. Thank you, Amy! read more
