FULL DESIGN v.2

UPDATE: 9-6-25 SEMI-NATIVE LOW-WATER USE THEME

 

FRONT YARD BREAKOUT

UPDATES: PATH REMAINS CURRENT SIZE | ADD: COBBLE ALONG EDGES + PEA GRAVEL AROUND CENTER BERM | PLANTS SPACED WITH TALLEST AT CENTER

 

INITIAL DESIGN v.1

 

Front Window Garden (update to match front yard this weekend)

PART SUN | PART SHADE

Front Drive Garden

MOSTLY FULL SUN

Main Front Area

AFTERNOON SUN IN FRONT | SHADE UNDER TREES

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Inspiration Board

DECORATIVE BOULDERS CREATING TERRAIN INTEREST

SIMPLE YET VARIED GROUND COVER

LOW BERM WITH PATH + COBBLE EDGE

BALANCE OF LOW WATER NATIVE + ADAPTED PLANTS

A SPRAY OF SUMMER COLOR FOR POLLINATORS

DECORATIVE BOULDER WITH MOUNDED GRASS + BLOOMS

Plant Image Gallery (General)

IDENTIFY YOUR PLANTS VISUALLY

YOU WILL FIND YOUR SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE LIST JUST BELOW THIS GALLERY

Your Plant List

RECOMMENDATIONS WITH COMMON + BOTANICAL NAMES | CONTAINER SIZE | QUANTITY | DETAILS

Materials Gallery + List

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS: DECORATIVE BOULDERS | BUFF FLAGSTONE PATH | BREEZE | COBBLE | EDGING

DIY + EDUCATIONAL SECTION

GROW, REST, REPEAT

 
 

Top 6 DIY Tips For

1) SOIL

2) GROWING

3) GARDEN CARE + CONSULT SESSIONS

4) FRUIT TREE GUILD

5) GARDEN NOTES

6) LOCAL VENDORS

 

SOUNDS LIKE FUN ~ LET’S GET GOING…

How’s Your Soil?

THE HEALTH OF YOUR PLANTS IS FIRST AND FOREMOST ABOUT THE HEALTH OF YOUR SOIL

COLORADO SOIL STRUCTURE + AMENDMENTS

WELCOME TO COLORADO: A HIGH ALPINE DESERT

The “high alpine desert” (high and dry) zone of our Colorado front range means that the soil here is typically a rocky compacted clay, deficient in nitrogen or other nutrients. The soil here has a high “alkaline” pH of 7.0 - 8.3, due to the high amount of calcium carbonate (free lime), a reflection of limited rainfall and rock weathering.

To adjust for this, here are the elements we can easily add to this soil to make it more hospitable and to support your garden’s beauty and bounty.

While many native plants prefer less amendment, in most garden situations your soil will greatly benefit by the right help to support the ecosystem you’re planning.

START HERE + BRING YOUR SOIL TO LIFE

In perennial beds, after spring clean up, and before adding seeds or starts, it is highly recommend to:

1) OPTIONALLY Aerate or till the existing soil. By adequately loosening up and amending the soil, you are helping to create a more suitable environment for the plants that live there. Water and Air can move more easily through the substrate for better drainage, encouraging microorganisms to cultivate healthy root systems, which are able to transport available nutrients where needed.

In wild or more native gardens, nature’s symbiotic balance is best left as undisturbed as possible, or when growing vegetables or crops it can be difficult to apply a no-till practice such as this, so amending is a suitable alternative. 

BALANCE YOUR SOIL STRUCTURE WITH THESE ELEMENTS

2) Add a moisture-retaining element such as rice hulls, pearlite, or vermiculite (expanded shale). If you want to support a local reseller, these are available at McGuckins. The volume needed will depend on your square footage as well as any unique microclimate influences of note.

The gardener’s goal here is to create a loamy soil strucure (an equal balance of sand/silt/clay). We’re going for the “goldilock’s zone” of not too heavy, not too light, but just right, with good moisture retention. Here’s how to identify what general soil type you may be working with and how to balance it:

→ DENSE DIRT OR CLAY Most of the Front Range of CO has dense or clay dirt masquerading as soil. So, if you soil is overly dense, compacted, or has a high clay content, you’ll want to lighten it up. For this, you can use rice hulls, pearlite, and/or vermiculite. These elements act to retain moisture by wicking and dispersing, making it available to the roots in a more even distribution over a longer period. Coconut coir and spanghum moss also provide a lighter weight to the surrounding soil media thus aerating and lifting the density.

→ SANDY SOIL If your soil is too sandy or dry dusty silt, water may run through it too fast, or it may not cultivate the density necessary to support the kind of microbial activity that will truly nourish your plant roots. So you’ll want to create more moisture retention and build up the structure slightly. In this situation, coconut coir acts as a fine moisture retention element, or you could use vermiculite for even more retention. Consider removing a % of the existing media and/or adding a denser raised bed soil to bring the structure into balance.

For moisture balance, remember this general rule of thumb: Use rice hulls, coconut coir or perlite when you want better drainage and aeration. Use vermiculite when you want more moisture retention.

What’s Your Starting Soil Type?

Use Amendments To Balance Soil Structure

Here’s What A Healthy Balance Might Look Like

 
 
 

You Plant. But Do You Grow?

WHAT TO DO NEXT

 

Optional DIY: Watch Others Do It + Then Try It Yourself

We Suggest The Following YouTube Channels As You Learn The Art/s Of…

Better Your Garden Game (Monthly Series)

√ Get A Hand Getting Started + Intro to DIY (Novice or Beginner)

√ Monthly Meet Up For DIY Tips (Intermediate or Advanced)

 

Choose Plants That Support Your Trees: Fruit or Deciduous

Why Use Native Plants + Wild Species?

Where To Go To Get Your Plants

Local Nurseries + Vendors

Find your seeds or plant starts here, as well as tools, materials, and more! We’re pleased to share the health and the wealth of opportunity among these associations from our many professional and social circles. Rebecca’s Gardens Design makes it our goal to stay as consistent as possible with the larger picture holistic ecological values for plants, people, and our planet. Thank you for your commitment to sourcing biodynamic or organically grown plant species or varieties, soil, or other products.



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GOT GOOD INSTALLATION?

We Work Directly With: A Good Earth Maintenance LLC

 

Rebecca's Gardens partners with A Good Earth Maintenance for installations independently. Our philosophy is shared by TLC, True Land Collective, a client-to-contractor hub featuring a niche group of trustworthy reliable small businesses.

We proudly work with this longstanding local contractor and their dedicated artisans who are masters of their trade. We do our best to align our projects with our purpose for smoother communication and fit.

Our wisdom and work with native plants, cultivation, and maintenance is directly translated throughout the installation process, ensuring we do our best to instill the needs of your landscape with the vision of your community from the ground up.

We visualize and build to suit your dreams and budget in alignment with native ecological factors.

“Small or Grand, you're in good hands.”

 

Your Photo Album

PICS OVER THE ARC OF YOUR PROJECT INSTALL THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH OTHERS

BEFORE

 

Thanks for designing with Rebecca’s Gardens & Design!

A Fun Harvest Mid-season

Tasty healthy food