http://www.conejopost.com/archives/1469 Conejo Valley News, Observations, History and Humor Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:14:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.conejopost.com/archives/1469/comment-page-1#comment-8121 eco-nerd Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:07:50 +0000 http://www.conejopost.com/?p=1469#comment-8121 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. 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.

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