Kirkwood Impressionist Garden

The client was a first time homeowner, looking for a colorful, cottage style bird habitat and no lawn. They had nesting birds in their crepe myrtle every year, as well as many bird visitors in the back yard. 

 

Their priorities were: 

• Year round, functional ecological interest, like seeds for birds and flowering plants for pollinators

• Increase curb appeal to make their home stand out

• Very low maintenance site, as they were learning to garden for the first time

• Drought tolerant, and not require irrigation or fertilization, for both financial and ecological reasons

 

The main obstacles for this site were the relentless weeds, poor soil drainage, and resident rabbits. Despite the soil being ultisol, the soils on this site at testing drained too fast for the average plant species to be happy. The rabbits came with the garden and the clients were really fond of them. 

​

To increase the site's usefulness as a habitat year-round, the site includes a large variety of native plant species, which support birds and pollinators alike, offering blooms throughout the year, as well as nesting spaces like ornamental grasses, and plants with seeds that songbirds love like Echinacea.

 

For a cohesive look and welcoming look to boost the curb appeal, we added a sweeping mulch path from the front to the rear, and planted each species in blocks to create a horizon effect from the street. For the color palette, we played off the navy blue door and whitish blue house, including several different plant species for blocks of blue, and then added blocks of complementary yellows, whites, and reds, for a painterly French impressionistic look. The block plantings make it easy for the client to maintain as they can easily recognize alien weeds, or the need to divide a species section if they become too aggressive.

 

​