Serving Nanaimo & Area
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The idea here was simple: a naturalistic landscape planted directly in gravel. No problem!
This is a wildlife garden at its core. It is alive with insects throughout the year. Birds arrive to feed on the insects, and later on the seeds as the plants mature.
The photos below show how we built up a deep layer of garden soil, covered it in a deep layer of ¼”- ½” clear fracture gravel, and essentially planted directly in the gravel. The bottom few centimeters of each root ball are anchored in the soil beneath.
This method will force the plants to develop deep root systems, resulting in a more drought tolerant planting.
This garden was planted in March of 2021 in Nanoose, BC.
This gravel garden was inspired by the client and by English garden designer Beth Chatto.
The aesthetic inspiration was drawn from our deep love and appreciation for naturalistic plantings. We wanted a mixture of well-behaved grasses and perennials mixed with more vigorous spreaders and self seeders to add to the spontaneity and character of the garden.
This garden was designed with September evenings in mind. In the later hours of the day, the low-angled sun peeks through the tall surrounding trees, and the heart of the garden can be seen in these moments. The colours are richer, especially as the garden shifts into autumn.
Well-behaved grasses and perennials mix with vigorous spreaders and self seeders to create spontaneity and character.
Our gravel garden is a riot of textures, forms, and colours.
A variety of grasses holds the landscape together with soft mounding forms and upright seed heads.
Greens, blondes, and yellows dominate the spring and summer colour palette. Heavy doses of purples, pinks, and whites cool things down and add vibrancy as we move into summer
As the year winds down, the blondes turn golden and orange, the yellows fade and darken, and the purple seed heads of the Eragrostis spectabilis shine through and illuminate in the late afternoon sun.
Flowers continue to burst through with colour well into November, while providing our little local bees with much needed late season forage.
The maintenance level of this garden ranges from “puttering” to “almost nothing.”
This garden is not irrigated, and survived the heat dome of 2021 with very few casualties. During that time, Nanoose had extreme watering restrictions, which meant this garden only received water salvaged from showers and dish washing.
The Big Cut happens in late February. Otherwise the plants can be left all year, cut back as they fade, or dead-headed mid season to encourage another round of blooms.
This gravel garden is a complete success, and we look forward to the next.
We designed this garden with September evenings top of mind.