I have been thinking of taking out some of my lawn because of high water bills caused by the California drought and by reduced water allocations from the Sacramento Delta for SoCal. I have been mulling ideas over, like a drought-tolerant ground cover, or stamped, decomposed granite, with islands of plants, which would be on a drip system.
What I had not mulled over yet, was replacing grass with mosaics. Now I will, thanks to an 12-23 article in the New York Times. Jeffrey Bales and his pebble mosaics for gardens, was the focus of the article. It talked of how Bales was recently creating a work for Tony Shalhoub, who played TV detective, Monk, in the series by the same name. To read the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/garden/24mosaic.html?_r=1
Posted by Janna Orkney. Thanks to www.Bojack.com for the link.
A couple of places come to mind when shopping for pebble mosaics. Sperling Nursery in Calabasas has stepping stone pieces as does Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria. I’m sure that you will find the cost very prohibitive if you’re going for something more than 18″x18″. If you haven’t been to Seaside Gardens, or it’s been a while, it is well worth the drive. They have over 3 acres of planted gardens including CA Native, Mediterranean, Australian and grassland in addition to the nursery and gift shop. There you can shop for plants and know what they will look like and how big they will be at maturity.
You might also want to figure in something that will let the natural rainfall seep back into the earth and help restore the aquifers. Solid surfaces will just sheet the water off your property and down the street until they reach the beach with all the added toxins that they have picked up on the way. DG fits the bill but it can be tricky. Make sure that any installer has experience with the product or you may end up with never ending sand runoff. It’s also a tuff substance if you have hardwood floors as minute pieces ten to track in and scratch or dull floors. It is void in nutrients or microorganisms that are essential for plant growth so make sure that barriers of iron or wood composite are placed to keep it from your growing areas.
Remember, you don’t have to cover every square inch with something. A few well placed drought tolerant plants and copious amounts of mulch will help both your soil and your water bill.
Here’s a link to some great pictures for inspiration from bewaterwise.com http://www.bewaterwise.com/Gardensoft/garden_types.aspx?listType=types Quite a few of the landscapes are from right here in the Conejo.