Landscape Designer: Billy Goodnick Where: Carpenteria, California, a small beachside community near Santa Barbara, California. Who: Jill and Jennifer Allen and their two dogs. First on the agenda was repairing and remodeling the plain, cottage-style house: basically working from the inside out. After years of tackling indoor renovations, the time finally arrived to address what was going on outdoors. “We had a messy pittosporum tree in the front and a 70-foot-tall Italian stone pine in the back that split and fell over during a storm some 10 years ago,” says JIll. “The rest was grass lawn. The landscaping has gone through many transformations, some good and some not so good. After renovating the house, we eventually realized we needed a professional to help us create a landscape to properly enhance our ’new’ home and not require lots of watering.” “It was a lawn that had gone bad,” says Goodnick, “And they were tired of that. Jill pitched around ideas—she’s very artistic—and she had a good sense of what she wanted. We both wanted to reduce water and have it look nice from several different angles.” The designer felt the garden needed to be approached from two completely different views. “I believe this is the landscape’s essence: the first impact or view is when you walk up the driveway and the other is when you’re inside the house looking out—there needs to be some eye candy,” he says. This is based on the landscape designer’s knowledge of the climate, soil, water use for the area, etc. “A plant doesn’t make it on the list unless I think I can use it responsibly.” He then sends his client a plant list with instructions to itemize: “I call it ‘stocking the pantry’”, Goodnick explains. “From their top choices, I refine the list and come up with something I think is going to work.” A screening hedge of Podocarpus now shields the view from the street and a diverse planting of Mediterranean climate plants from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and other areas have reduced water use and maintenance while providing year-round beauty. Neatly pruned privacy hedges elongate the driveway and enclose the property for a sense of privacy and a lovely view. “When you walk in from the street, you enter past the hedge and Plant: Variegated Flax Lily Botanical Name: Dianella tasmanica ‘Variegata’ Plant: Japanese blood grass Botanical Name: Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’ Zones: 5-9 Plant: Blue sedge Botanical Name: Carex glauca Zones: 5-9 Plant: Mexican heather Botanical Name: Cuphea hyssopifolia Zones: 9-11 Plant: Pink Muhly grass Botanical Name: Muhlenbergia capillaris Plant: Fountain grass Botanical Name: Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’ Plant: New Zealand flax Botanical Name: Phormium tenax
Grevillea ‘Moonlight’
This outstanding large shrub can be pruned into a small tree that flowers nearly all year in frost-free areas. Hundreds of seven-inch-long clusters of creamy white flowers cover the plant and can be used as cut flowers if cut at the right time. It tolerates partial shade as well as full sun in hot dry areas or on the coast and does not seem to be particular about soil type, as long as it is well drained. Birds, bees, and butterflies love it. Other similar cultivars are ‘Sylvia’ (crimson flowers) and ‘Honey Gem’ (rich orange flowers). Plant: Camellia Botanical Name: C. japonica Plant: Candy corn plant Botanical Name: Cuphea micropetala
