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EILEEN KELLY remembers the exact moment in childhood when her passion for gardening was ignited and her second career launched. It’s a career that has just seen her company, Dig Your Garden Landscape Design (digyourgarden.com), rewarded with a 2013 Houzz Best of Remodeling award, based on Kelly’s satisfied customers. Houzz is a leading online platform for remodeling and design.
“It started in Jersey City when my mother broke off a piece of succulent, a sedum, and told me to plant it in the soil,” she recalls. “Miraculously, a new plant was born and I never forgot it. To this day, succulents are one of my favorites.”
Later, as she pursued a career in advertising on New York’s famed Madison Avenue, her gardening roots were stunted in an apartment, but still emerged in the form of houseplants.
“Even in the concrete jungle, I always made sure I had something green and full of life,” she says.
Fast-forward 20 years or so and Kelly married Tom Gehrig, a fine arts painter, and purchased a San Anselmo home.
“When I came out here to glorious Marin and saw everything in bloom throughout the year, I thought it was heaven,” she says. Year-round landscapes are her company’s mainstay.
“I started working in my garden and was getting frustrated but still loving it. That’s when I started taking gardening classes,” she says.
She wishes, in retrospect, that she
had hired someone to do her landscape as she spent a lot of money making mistakes such as choosing the wrong plant or putting in the wrong place and that’s the first thing she tells potential clients.
“Hiring a professional is worth the investment,” she insists. “You save money in the long range.”
She also advises new clients to create an idea book on Houzz, one of her top resources to help them define their favorite garden aesthetic.
Here are some of her favorite garden combinations for you to try.
For sunny spots
These spring and summer blooms thrive in a sunny space:
Penstemon heterophyllus, a California native with stunning purple/blue flowers
Stachys byzantinia “Helen Von Stein” or “Big Ears” with large leaves that contrast beautifully with other smaller-leafed plants
Cerastium tomentosum or “Snow in Summer” lovely white flowers and low-growth pattern
Lavandula angustifolia “Munstead” or “English lavender”
Phormium “Mat’s Merlot,” otherwise known as New Zealand Flax, or some other upright plant for architectural appeal and contrast
For shady spots
These late winter and early spring combinations are well-suited for shade:
Winter Daphne (Daphne “odora” marginata), a medium-sized compact shrub with variegated foliage with small pink flowers and the most delightful fragrance
Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) is available in a variety of flower color, is low-growing and has nice foliage when not in bloom and is also deer resistant
Deer-resistant Tasmanian tree ferns
For high-traffic areas
These low-water, ground-cover combinations can take foot traffic:
Replace a lawn with Dymondia margaratea, a spreading ground cover that is compact with green/gray foliage and small yellow flowers.
Complement ground cover with other drought-tolerant plants, such as Pheasant’s Tail grass (Stipa arundinacea), Snake Plant (Bulbine frutescens “Hallmark”) with lovely orange/yellow flowers, and Wall Germander (teucrium chameadrys)
Native combos
Mix and match with these California native and non-native plant combinations:
Combine with other non-native plants such as California Mountain Lilac (Ceanothus Concha), a large shrub with purple flowers
Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus), which is available in orange, yellow or red flowers
Butterfly Weed (Ascelpias speciosa), a great plant for attracting butterflies
Flowering Gooseberry (Ribes sanguineum)
Succulents
What’s Kelly’s favorite plants for every season?
“Succulents, succulents and more succulents,” she says. “They combine well with so many other low-water plants and there are so many shapes, sizes and colors to choose from. Plus, they thrive on little water, almost now care needed, and are all the rage.”
Kelly also has a few tips for maintaining the garden from late winter to spring.
Add good quality compost to your planting beds.
Mulch your garden beds to reduce weed growth and reduce the need for water.
Prune roses.
Prune back dead plant growth, but wait until the threat of frost has passed.
Plant now, while we still have some rain, to get roots established.
Plan vegetable beds and add compost or chicken manure for spring planting.
Fertilize citrus and other fruiting plants.
Check your irrigation systems to make sure they are working properly or hire someone to troubleshoot any issues.
Experiment and have fun.
PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday and also on her blog at DesignSwirl.net. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield, CA 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.
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