If you’re over the potted-plant look and have some tax money to spend on your home or business, one thing to consider is a wall garden or green roof.

This special niche in the landscaping world remains relatively unknown but has in recent years attracted big-time clients like celeb chef Mario Batali, SDGE and Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley, a major regional mall in Southern California.

The firm that served those clients and many more is Good Earth Plants, which evolved from a downtown San Diego plant kiosk to a warehouse space in Kearny Mesa. It also birthed sister company Greenscaped Buildings.

Most of Good Earth Plants’ work is plant landscaping, but its green roof-living wall portion of business is nearing 50 percent, said president and founder Jim Mumford. Two years ago, it was non-existent.

“I’m not going to get rich on it,” said Mumford, referring to his specialty installations. “It gives us steady work. It’s a very niche part of the landscaping world.”

The U-T San Diego talked to Mumford about the growth of his business and why someone would want to install one of his alternative gardens.

Q: You gradually entered this niche market over the course of many years. How did that go?

A: It was 1994. I sold off all my flower shops. I had three retail locations. I wanted to focus on just plant service. An architectural convention came to town in 2003. I saw a sheet of a green-roof module tray. I didn’t understand it. But I was intrigued. Also, it was 2003, and the Cedar Fire came. It burned down my house. I lived by Barona. I had two little kids and I was rebuilding my house. I started looking for what was different. I talked to a colleague who heard about the green-roof thing.

Q: Then what happened?

A: I said ‘Gee, no one is doing green roofs here. What do I do?’ I had buildings. I said, ‘Let’s do one of them.’ … In March 2007, I did engineering and put a new roof down with three inches of soil in the current office building in Kearny Mesa. It was the first green roof on an occupied commercial building in San Diego.

Q: Why do people do green roofs and living walls?

A: Sometime for the environmental benefit. Many times, the view. The main one is how they cool your house down. Also, the codes have changed. When rain hits your house and it goes down, it’s bad because of runoff. So a green roof can mitigate that. They hold onto 60 percent to 80 percent of rainfall when it rains on buildings. Other benefits for both include biodiversity. It’s a habitat for birds, bees and critters.

Q: What’s the demand been like?

A: It didn’t even exist a few years ago. There’s been a tremendous amount of inquiries. But when you get into costs, reality starts to set in and the percentage of clients going forward diminishes greatly.

Q: What kind of costs are we looking at?

This is a good time of year to take a look at your garden to assess its structure (sometimes referred to as the bones of the garden).  The bones are what give the garden its shape year round, help to anchor the garden in the landscape and give a strong framework for everything else to build off of.  Garden bones are elements that provide shape, form and structure.  Without the bones a garden is just a collection of plants.

You can add structure to the garden in several ways.  Items such as arbors, trellises, pergolas, fencing or a water feature can add structure to your garden.  Once the structural bones are in place, planting should start with the “botanical” bones.  Plants with architectural qualities such as large ornamental grasses, trees, shrubs and vines help anchor plantings and provide additional structure.  Once these major features are in place, then you can begin adding other plants.

Essentially a garden is a blend of plants and structures.  This combination is what makes the garden functional and aesthetically pleasing.  When the proportions are right and when there is structure and form, your eye moves naturally over the landscape.  Sometimes it is easier to recognize when this does not work in a garden.  Individual components should be sized according to their surroundings.  If a plant or item is out of proportion, then it is too large or too small for its surroundings.  For example a large lawn can accommodate a large flower bed, but a small flower bed looks lost and out of place.

Structural plants can be used to frame or block out views and to lead your eye around the design.  Using matching containers or identical pieces of art on either side of a door or path is an effective way to frame a view.  To give the garden a sense of organization and cohesiveness establish a background.  Gardens without backgrounds will seem incomplete.  A wall or fence can be the background, but a green, living background may be more practical and fit with the surroundings.  Fences are also a good way to add vertical structure and add depth to the garden.

A hedge is ideal for marking the boundaries of a large or medium sized garden.  Hedges also provide shelter and privacy.  Try to strike a balance between evergreen and deciduous plants as both have different qualities.  Evergreens are the backbone of every garden.  Their appearance does not change through the seasons.  Evergreens are effective year-round screens, but they can cast dense shade in winter, while deciduous hedges allow some light through most of the year.  Deciduous trees and shrubs change their look through the year; new foliage in spring, flowers and berries in summer, leaf color in fall and many have a beautiful winter silhouette.

Hardscapes can greatly enhance your garden.  (Hardscape refers to the inanimate elements of landscaping, especially any masonry work or woodwork.)  Walks and paths are used to avoid walking on planted areas or to define individual spaces.  How walks and paths are designed will determine the type of movement in your garden.  Curves slow down movement; straight lines are fast and efficient while intersecting paths cause hesitation.

A path that works makes the garden more inviting.  Curved paths reveal the garden gradually, allowing for surprises along the way such as sculptures, an arbor, or a fountain.  A straight, narrow path can make a garden appear longer especially if the end is not visible.  A winding path draws the eye and the visitor through the garden.  In a yard with a large lawn, a stepping stone path can break up and add interest to all that green plus protect the grass from wear and tear.

Focal points draw your eye and give your eye a place to rest.  Too many focal points make the garden look disorganized.  Strong focal points result where visual lines intersect; for example, where a fence meets the horizon, or where a path meets the front door.  Focal points can draw attention to select areas and divert attention from others.  In the garden, a focal point can be a special plant or an object.  Plants used as a focal point should look good year round.  Using pieces of art in the garden usually slows a visitor’s movement through the garden.  Placed in the center of the bed, a piece of art anchors the garden.  Putting a bench or statue at the end of a long path encourages visitors to travel toward it.

Do not forget to design the ends of the garden.  The ends of a garden should be anchored with a plant, or group of plants, with good structural quality.  They should have great foliage and if they are deciduous they should provide winter interest.

A garden can be full of interesting treasures, plants or other accessories.  Gardens can be complex, but everything must work together as a whole.  One of the things that separate a good garden from a great one is the structure.  There should be something beautiful or interesting to look at every day of the year.

Resources for this article include:  Texas AM University and Kansas State Research and Extension.

For more information contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension Genesee County Master Gardeners.  They may be reached by calling 585-343-3040, ext. 127, Monday through Friday from 10 am until Noon; or stop in at our office at 420 East Main Street, Batavia.  They may also be contacted via e-mail at: geneseemg@hotmail.com.  Visit our CCE web site at http://genesee.shutterfly.com/.  “Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County provides equal program and employment opportunities.”

On Wednesday, April 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. the Genesee County Master Gardeners will host a free program on the New York State Purple Martin Project.  Learn how to become a Purple Martin landlord and other ways to help conserve this fascinating bird.  Free program but space is limited so please pre-register by April 5.  Call Brandie at 585-343-3040 x 101.  This program will be held at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, 420 East Main Street, Batavia.

Orleans County Master Gardeners will hold their “Spring into Gardening Education Day” on April 6.  This year’s theme is “Sustainable Gardening” with eight seminars to choose from plus a delicious lunch.  Fee $25, walk-ins $30.  To register contact Kim Hazel at 585-798-4265, ext. 26.

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The display garden by Red Bird Restorative Gardens and Living Color Landscape at the Yard, Garden Patio show included several clever ideas, including a swing made out of section of culvert.
ROSS WILLIAM HAMILTON/
THE OREGONIAN

Looking for ideas for your home landscaping? Most folks start with hardscapes, the bones of any garden plan.  Paths, patios, walkways, decks, seating areas, water features — there are a multitude of structures to consider. Some tips for using them most effectively include thinking of how you use your garden, the types of materials already on your home and good traffic patterns.

The recent home and garden shows offered lots of inspiration; here are some more to inspire plans for your yard:

Houzz (one of our favorite sites) has great ideas, including for patio landscaping and gorgeous back yards. They also have a great one on hedges (not a hardscape but hard not to get sidetracked).

Pinterest has many pages of hardscape ideas, including 70 titled Hardscapes. One on Hardscapes and Paths has some fabulous options. On Houses Hardcapes be sure and check out the gorgeous Backyard river. (It looks like it’s a resort, condo or apartment backyard.) This Hardscapes page has a clever planter made out of recycled bottles and a lovely natural swimming pool.
 
North Coast Gardening, in a post about trends predicted for 2013, says water features will be replacing lawns. Neither cheap nor low-maintenance but definitely upping the wow factor over grass.
 
— Homes Gardens of the Northwest staff

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