When we started out to do something about the driveway landscaping it looked so bad I knew it could only be improved.
Here's what the driveway view looked like when we finished planting last July, that's July of 2012 just one year ago. I thought at the time it looked good, but I was comparing it to where I began the project.
A few months later by fall of 2012 things were already looking pretty amazing with both the Salvia greggii in the foreground and sage in bloom.
Now here's a similar view taken this week. The color guard yuccas have also grown amazingly fast while the Salvia greggii which had matured the fastest is currently enjoying a bit of a downtime due to summer heat while working up to a big rebloom in a few weeks. The Mexican Feather Grass is already sporting its blonde seed heads and soon the Pink Muhly will steal the show.
Now that's an improvement! I had no idea it would end up looking as good as it does. Neighbors out for a walk this morning even commented on the pretty color. The choice of planting the sage in a row here is a bit unusual since you typically see them as single plants in a residential yard or a row around parking lots where they are often neglected or sheared into a very sad hedge producing a few sporadic blooms as mentioned in the comments on my previous post. But choosing Silverado sage means they will remain smaller, less leggy, and have deeper colored blooms.
It's often said that straight line plantings don't look natural, but to me that depends on the space you have to work with and, as I wrote in my post last July, trying to make this look like anything but a driveway would not have worked. It's been fun to take a look back over the last year and a half to see how beautifully the landscaping along the driveway has matured after starting with a total eyesore.
I find there's something restful and very satisfying about certain plants like your Silverado sage planted in a row and flowering en masse. Your driveway plantings are looking so big and healthy, especially those Yuccas.
ReplyDeleteWe are enjoying them and it is relaxing now that the driveway area is going well on its own.
DeleteThis is very encouraging news to me right now. I recently had my front lawn removed and replaced it with river rock very similar to what you used, and a mulched bed around two mature Oak trees. I have planted Gray Santolina, Yarrow, and Bi-Color Iris in the rocks so far, but they are from 4" pots and not very noticeable yet. Neighbors see only a "rock pile", as they've dubbed it, and frequently ask what else I'm going to do to it. I "see" the mature size of the plants and don't want to over-plant. You have supported my conviction because your project turned out beautifully. I think stage 3 watering restrictions will make more of my neighbors see the light as well, as their lawns turn brown yet again.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, I very much enjoyed reading that you are encouraged by my post and the progress of the project. Many of my neighbors had the same concerns over the years. There seems to be common view that brown lawn and high water bills are somehow more attractive than a yard of plants and mulch. You can always review and add more in a year or so.
DeleteTo see what we started with you can check out this post.
http://rockoakdeer.blogspot.com/2011/12/zeroscape.html
That has taken off so fast! It looks great.
ReplyDeleteI think the sages we have here are NOT the Silverado. They were here when we moved in. There is no telling how old they are. And, they're really out of control.
I don't have much experience with Cenizo. But, I saw a post from an Arizona landscaper's blog about pruning them. So, I pruned some back hard in the spring, and that worked well. So, the others will be trimmed back, too.
I do agree that this is a shrub that needs to be allowed to do it's own thing. Much nicer than the 'cupcake' shape out there.
Yours are an inspiration.
The new sage introductions like Silverado look much better. We tried pruning our old ones but after the new ones began to grow they never looked right by contrast so we took them out.
DeleteWhat a difference! And straight lines in the proper context are wonderful, as you so nicely illustrate. Have you noticed any signs of neighbors taking your design and doing their own version? (is your style spreading through the neighborhood?)
ReplyDeleteThis type of landscaping is getting more attention and several neighbors removed large sections of lawn after the drought. They have all different approaches to replacing the lawn but I haven't noticed any copies. I do get compliments from neighbors and sometimes they stop and ask about the plants so we'll see.
DeleteShirley, that project really turned out great. It's hard to imagine what a space will look like but this really turned great. I remember Your ideas from last year and they turned out great!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris, the wait to see if things turn out is always interesting. I'm glad you like it.
DeleteIt looks great to me--especially with the rock garden at the end. I love to see "before" and "after" photos and posts--especially when you show it at various stages. Congratulations on a successful landscaping project!
ReplyDeleteWith all the rocks we turn up around here a rock garden is a necessity. I'm glad you liked it.
DeleteI love before and after pictures. Amazing what a plan and little sweat can accomplish. Thanks for sharing. The greggii looks awesome .
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the same type of posts on other blogs. I have plenty more before pictures but not as many afters as I would like.
DeleteWhat a difference! You have done such a great job - it looks so well designed...perfect for that space. I like your combos very much!
ReplyDeleteThank you Heather!
DeleteShirley, you did a lot of work, well done! I love your driveway and I think the purple color os pretty.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI love the planting too and especially the grasses and salvia. That color is amazing and especially all works so well with the rocks.
ReplyDeletePlanting the grasses and other low growing plants to soften the look is part of the key. We often seen these sages growing leggy and sparse in mulch.
DeleteYou did a fantastic job here. I like naturalistic plantings but I think your straight line planting of alternating sage and grasses looks great.
ReplyDeleteIt is a bit unusual to see native plants placed this way but trying to make them look natural by curving or staggering the line would have produced a result that was both unnatural and silly.
DeleteTalk about starting with a blank slate. Your choice of plants was obviously right on, as evidenced by the finished look in only a year. I love it.
ReplyDeleteAt least we didn't have to remove much in the way of old landscaping so we were ahead of the game with this blank slate.
DeleteThe cenizo is so beautiful. (We have had some spectacular showings up here lately, also.) I love that you took the before and after photos to show us. I am constantly amazed at how the scenery can change is as little as a year. Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous in bloom and now we have so many of the compact selections to choose from we should see even more displays like this.
DeleteYour driveway beds look great! I REALLY like the Silverado sage. I looked for it locally last year and couldn't find it. I purchased a relative, Leucophyllum laevigatum (Chihuahuan sage), but haven't been thrilled with its performance thus far.
ReplyDeleteI looked that one up and it doesn't seem to have the same dense foliage and bright blooms. It's sometimes tough to find plants outside their popular range. I know I've looked around here for plants that are common to California and come up empty too.
DeleteThere are several other relatively recent introductions like Rio Bravo and Green Cloud you might look for.
So pretty! And I'm glad I saw this post. I've been contemplating about putting some silverado sages in a line, and wasn't quite sure how it would look. It looks fantastic! Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThey are easy, plant and forget so you will enjoy them.
DeleteIt is hard to believe you planted that area just last year. It looks really great.
ReplyDeleteLove before and after photos. What struck me is that you planted only ONE flower, Silverado sage! Looks awesome!! I would have planted a lot kind of flowers. Silverado has great deep color, love it! Thank you for sharing:)
ReplyDeleteHi, Shirley. Your straight line looks fantastic! Arrived here by looking at silverado sage images...trying to decide how to best position some along a fence line. Not sure whether to stagger, interplant, or a single row.
ReplyDeleteI'm also in San Antonio. I'm sure you've seen the beautiful highway sage planted on 1604 at Bandera...I took a closer look at them earlier this week, they're two rows staggered and planted about 5 feet apart (and about 7 feet tall). Your sage looks perfectly spaced, they seem to have breathing room despite interplanting with the hesperaloe parviflora, how far apart are they planted? Thanks!
Sages staggered along a fence line would look very good if you have the space. I have seen the plantings at Bandera and 1604 and they do look good. Ours are 8.5 to 9 feet apart, the slight variance is due to large rocks just under the surface. I wanted leave room for the hesperaloes and grasses to have a variety of plants.
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