When landscape architect Roger Davis designed his home garden, he knew which ingredients to use to make the garden bloom year-round.
His showy Red Hot Poker has finished its bloom, but for his informal perennial garden in his front yard in Martinez, the blooming is far from over.
One variety of hot-pink Knock Out roses bloom from March until the first hard freeze. When winter arrives, his Coral Bark Japanese maple tree's leafless bright bark is striking, he said -- it was even worth transplanting from his old home. He and his wife, Betty, moved to their home 2 1/2 years ago.
Another unusual plant that blooms white flowers when little else is blooming is his Chinese rice-paper plant.
During this time of the year, lavender and pink and white Gaura bob with bees, and a pomegranate sports orange flowers.
He has planted yellow, red and bottlebrush buckeyes, which bloom Masters Week.
His front yard also includes tall black-eyed Susans, a walking-stick shrub with contorted branches and variegated and Endless Summer hydrangeas.
One aspect he likes about his informal garden is the maintenance.
"If one week I miss pruning, it doesn't look like it," he said.
He compares pruning with a good haircut -- it shouldn't look like you've just gotten it done.
Deer love to nibble at some of the plants, but he's had some success in warding them off by mixing in plants deer don't like with plants they do. He has mixed silver Artemisia, which deer dislike, to protect his Indian Hawthorn, a plant deer will munch on.
Drought-resistant Portulaca hangs from planters in the back yard. They are day bloomers that close up at night, which, Mr. Davis says, is when his backyard looks best, with the palm tree's reflection in the pool.
He built a fish pond with a waterfall between the deck and the walking perimeter of the pool. It was used as a container for monkey grass by the previous owner. He raised it to be level with bricks.
From the house to the back deck is a continuation of the home's beach theme: a large sand dollar hangs from a 7-foot-tall wooden pergola. A table and chairs are framed by Endless Summer hydrangeas.
He spends about two hours each week working in the yard, but if he's edging or remulching, it takes longer.
Mr. Davis, a University of Georgia graduate, first got into landscape architecture after a friend told him about the major.
He decided to go into the field because he's not stuck behind a desk and because of his artistic abilities.
When he comes home from work, his pool-dominated backyard is his escape:
"I don't have to go out of town; I just go in the backyard."
Reach Sarah Day Owen at (706) 823-3223 or sarah.owen@augustachronicle.com.
GREEN GARDENING
Roger Davis doesn't buy potting soil -- he makes his own, which he calls "black gold," from old garden cuttings.
"I compost everything -- nothing goes to the landfill," he said.
COMPOSTING STEPS
- Place clippings into a bin.- Shred clippings and place them into a composting drum.
- After two weeks, transfer contents into another bin. Use as needed.
GARDEN DESIGN
Mr. Davis says the house and gardens should have the same style, traditional and formal or contemporary and informal.
"The site and the landscape should be reflective of the architecture that's there," he said.
- Do a little every day.
"If I see a weed, I'll pull it," he said.
Call it an occupational hazard: he's been known to pull weeds in other people's yards as well.
- Make sure you put plants in their proper exposure.
If you put a plant that flourishes in the shade in sun, or one that is best in the sun in the shade, "it will not be the plant that you bought."
- Visualize what size the plant is going to be, rather than what size it is when you get it.
"Try to plant plants in the right place one time," he said.
- Prune with a purpose. Don't haphazardly prune -- know what it's going to look like.
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