South LA Native Garden Update

It’s been one year and four months since I designed and installed this native front yard garden in South LA. There was nary a plant in sight and now it’s filled with life and provides lots of privacy from the busy streets beyond to enjoy their “park” :)

Below is a mockup of the garden design. I never design on a computer…or even on a piece of paper. I will make these mockups after I have gone through my design process which is done through physical exploration of the site. I think about palettes, movement through the space, growing conditions…and I pace, lots and lots of pacing! I walk and walk through the space, I sit in different areas to take things in from different heights, take in the views and notice things I might not want to look at everyday.

I’ll be going into depth about my design process through a series of workshops I’ll be doing from my land this summer. Design through exploration is accessible to us all. You don’t need any formal training and you definitely don’t need to learn any software!!!

I’ll share dates when I have them and there will be lots of opportunities to dip into the process. I’ll be out there all summer and fall gardening.

And a few more pics of the rambunctious springtime growth my client sent over the other day.

I suppose I should throw on a “before” for those that haven’t seen this one!