Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Considering the chronic shortage of water in Southern California, many homeowners decide to replace their water-hungry green landscaping with hardscaping – rocks and gravel. While the results may sound boring, it doesn't have to be.
Fallbrook residents Greg and Debbie Wilson came up with a creative solution that keeps watering to a minimum but provides plenty of color and interest with an eye-catching design.
In 2010, the Wilsons bought a house on a 1 acre lot in the southern part of Fallbrook. There was no landscaping except for elephant grass on the slopes to hold the hillside in place. So, they had a blank slate to work with.
They wanted to keep the cost of installing landscaping down so decided it was a do-it yourself project. Greg installed all the irrigation and worked with Debbie in creating the design.
Greg said, "Keeping the cost of watering in mind for a yard this size, we decided to incorporate a fair amount of decorative rock into our design. While the cost of rock is a considerable expense it gives the yard a finished look, does not require water and is fireproof."
To add interest they decided to use geometrical shapes when laying out the rocks. They did use some greenery too including myoporum, a low-growing evergreen plant, as a ground cover for an area in front of the house. They also used various types of ice plant to add color, and a large variety of succulents and tropical plants for shapes, colors and texture.
The variety of trees in the landscaping includes olive, jacaranda, cassia, podocarpus, ornamental plum and crepe myrtle trees for shade, interest and color. The Wilsons also planted a few fruit trees and a few avocado trees, this is Fallbrook after all.
Their most recent project included additional decorative rock with a black rock path leading down to the vegetable garden and macadamia nut trees. Debbie said, "To give it an artistic flair, we decided to try our hands at a mosaic project. We made a 9 foot long mosaic gecko with 3/8 inch and 7/8 glass tiles.
"We had not attempted any mosaic projects before this so we watched YouTube videos and found information on the internet to learn how to make a mosaic. It was quite a process." First, they found an image on the internet of a gecko and converted it to a CAD drawing which was enlarged to 9 feet in length.
She said, "We printed the drawing (about 20 pages) and then put the puzzle together to make one large pattern. We placed the pattern on the dirt and outlined it with landscape paint. We dug a hole about 8" deep and added rebar for strength."
She added that they "got a little overzealous with our digging as it took 16 80-pound bags of cement to fill the hole." That cement formed the foundation for the mosaic. Next, they applied the tiles in a base of thinset, then added charcoal gray grout, before finishing the mosaic with a sealer.
For year-round color, they have planted 30 bougainvillea and eight plumbagos around the perimeter of the property. To enjoy the yard in the evenings, Greg built a wooden structure that holds three solar lanterns that light up at dusk and stay lit until dawn. He also installed yard lighting when they first began their landscaping project and more recently added some solar accent lights.
To complete the look of the property, they have also installed a driveway gate.
Whether they are completely done with their landscaping is up in the air. Debbie said, "We have always enjoyed gardening and it has been really fun to see the yard evolve over the past eight years. Every time we finish a project we think we are 'done' but then our imaginations get the better of us and we come up with one more idea."
Editor's note: Any local residents who would like to share their garden or landscaping projects with Village News readers can email their information and photos to [email protected] or call (760) 723-7319, ext. 109 for
more information.
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