Removing or reducing lawn is certainly the hottest landscape trend in San Diego.  Once the lawn is gone, we scratch our heads and ask “What now?”  How do we replace the lawn with a good alternative?  Turf plays important aesthetic and functional purposes, making it critical to thoroughly analyze exactly what will replace it.  The best ‘lawn be gone’ designs take the monochromatic turf space and turn it into a visual treat of naturalistic planting schemes, rockscapes mixed with plants, or even patio spaces and outdoor rooms.   The worst designs turn the space into a singular type of gravel or an unkempt thicket of unappealing shrubs.
      It is crucial to take time to investigate those lawn substitute designs that work, and decide what the individual space will be used for before embarking on this important design change.  Among the possibilities:

• Perennial garden.  It is wise to keep at least some of the former lawn space low so that it can visually step up to the shrubs and trees surrounding it.  Because of the work of plant hybridizers, the selection of perennials has never been better.  Who isn’t captivated by a flower garden in its prime?
  
• Meadow garden.  Ornamental grasses don’t need to be mowed while still giving rich leaf color and texture.   Most are much more drought tolerant than turf grasses.  Create a mass with a single variety or use several species, including sprinklings of perennials, as a mixed meadow. 
  
• Rock and Gravel.  More and more outdoor spaces are being created with rock and gravel pathways and patios.  Mixing different rock and gravel types into the same design scene is somewhat of an art - flagstone mixed with flowing lines of cobble and smaller rock work well together in the right proportions.  Creek beds of mixed rock and boulder will enhance the setting.  Sizable swaths of gravel should either be broken up by areas of planting or center on a feature like a fountain or statue.  Make certain to create an artistic rockscape and not a moonscape.
•  Low to medium shrubs and sub-shrubs.  Mixing shrubs together can have great appeal if done correctly, providing color and texture with year-around appeal.  There is a danger here of creating a bland seasonal mix.  Avoid the thicket look by varying heights and adding species that have either year-around appeal or working in some species that are showiest in seasons when others have lost their luster.
• Other Alternatives:  Harvest garden, traditional rock garden, artificial turf, various dry styles of Oriental gardens.  Let creativity be the guide.
   Two or more of these lawn alternative solutions can and are often combined, especially in larger spaces, for even greater effect.  The designer, whether amateur or professional, has the challenge of making it all work.  Lawn was an easy addition to the landscape,  slap down roll after roll of sod until the space was filled with a horizontal sea of green.   Developing a plan that doesn’t include lawn will take more time and thought, but rewards this investment with an interesting look that pays for itself with lowered water bills.

     It was definitely a nice surprise to see my book The New California Landscapes featured in the June issue of San Diego Home and Garden magazine.  As a labor of love, my book took nine years to produce, tackling the daunting subject of designing drought tolerant gardens specifically within the borders of California.  During the time I was writing the book, our state went through the worst drought-induced water crisis in its history, making landscaping in San Diego and throughout California a fluid and expanding subject to tackle. 
     The SD Home and Garden article following the cover shot of the book is entitled “In the Know” and reads, “Alpine-based landscape designer Steven Harbour worked for a decade on what he calls a crash course in the design of drought-tolerant outdoor spaces.  The New California Landscapes (Steven Harbour, 2015) offers techniques for planning and maintaining dynamic landscapes.  The book profiles best uses of 300 water-wise plants…”
     To preview and purchase The New California Landscapes, go to http://www.steveharbourlandscapes.com/books-and-press.html  and click on the link at the bottom of the page.

      Summer in San Diego has barely begun and yet has already had its moments of scorching heat and humidity.  The intense heat can be as hard on landscape plants as it is on us; we escape indoors to air conditioned rooms or head to the pool for a cool dip. Plants are firmly rooted in the ground and must endure each of the dog days of summer. And to the chagrin of all but the desert tortoise, the hottest period still lies ahead.  Sustained periods of heat are a sure thing in August and September, often with little or no reprieve.    It’s not only time to check that watering systems are working properly but to also take additional measures to help prized plants endure summer’s inferno.
     Here are a few tips:

• Check irrigation timers to make certain they are working properly and add a few minutes to the stations as necessary – especially for lawns.
• Add mulch to the landscape. It will cool soil temps and help reduce evaporation.
• Turn on automatic systems and inspect that all heads are operating efficiently.Since automated irrigation systems should be programmed to turn on just before dawn, we don’t typically see the heads in action.Repair or replace faulty heads.
• Check drip irrigation tubes and emitters.Turn on the drip valves and look or at least listen to make sure all are working.Otherwise you will not know if an emitter is clogged until the plant it irrigates is declining or dead.
• Most container plants need water every day or at least every other day during this period.Don’t miss a day – it can be deadly.
• Hand water plants that need a little extra to get through periods of intense head.Vegetable plants, tropicals and some sub-tropicals, most perennials, and other plants will benefit from the extra effort.Mist the foliage of plants that like wetter climates – ferns, hydrangeas, bromeliads, and tropicals love drops of water on their leaves as long as the sun is not directly hitting them.
• Hand water browning spots in the lawn.You’ll be surprised how many of those dry blotches, thought to be caused by fungus or dog urine, are simply dry and the soil cannot absorb water.If the spots remain dry, stick a spike or knife into the spots at six inch intervals so that the water can sink penetrate below the surface.

     A little extra care at this time of year will go a long way in making landscapes greener and cooler environments, outdoor spaces that will help us and our plants survive the hot days ahead.