Latest News: Invite Lingering, Vote Autumn!
Upcoming Events: USGBC-LA Green Gala
Sustainable Tips: Opt Outside, Prepare for Thanksgiving
Blooming Now: Western Columbine; Fushias, Mallows and More
Team Update: Serve the Best, Extra-Mile Expertise, Opt Outside!
Updated November 2024. By Isara Ongwiseth: Los Angeles is known for its springtime aesthetic and for maintaining its spring-like beauty year round. Even Angelenos buy into the branding. When New York, Chicago, Denver begin to tout their fall color, Angelenos raise our guard and speak to fall dormancy and fire defensive landscapes. Yet, there is a strong case for allowing ourselves to fall for autumn.
Berries don’t just feed us and the birds – they can be as beautiful as blooms. And they last! While Toyon is known for its bright-red Christmas Berry phase, its berries begin green and transform from yellow to orange as temperatures cool, signaling the start of fall. Similarly, Lemonade and Sugar Berries will keep producing for months on end, and they make for beautiful cut holiday arrangements.
When Angelenos do discuss fall color, fall-blooming foliage like Indian Mallow and California Fuchsia capture attention – it is delightful that so many native plants do bloom around now. Yet, we also have foliage that changes color with the seasons. Gardens with (California native) Oregon or Roger’s Red Grape, Western Redbud, and Sycamore will have the mahogany, cranberry, bronze, gold and yellows that signal the approach of the holidays.
A garden with great bones will grow in character, evolving throughout the seasons. Autumn invites us to revel in that growth and in our senses. We may notice that the fragrance of Coyote Mint, Cowboy Perfume and the salvias remain when their blooms fade. We pause to listen to the birdsong brought to our doorsteps by shrubs full of berries. As structural pruning returns greenery to its most architectural aesthetic, we have the opportunity to see an old love with new eyes.
Whether or not autumn in LA competes with our spring, it certainly competes with autumn elsewhere. The key to falling for fall in LA is wrapping ourselves in California native foliage as the temperatures cool.
Updated November 2024. By Oscar Ortega: Having discovered the delights of al fresco Thanksgiving, many of our clients report hesitation to go back to the heavy-lifting of indoor entertaining. We get it! We’d rather be outdoors too! Now that it’s safer to be inside, here is the case for staying out.
While we use a detailed Thanksgiving Checklist to ensure our clients’ gardens are on point for holiday hosting, things can be quite simple. This is particularly true if you already have dedicated outdoor kitchen and dining space. Your California native garden will do the decorating for you as it fills with seasonal color and fragrance.
There are few things more delightful than a house filled with kids running and playing… one of them is a garden filled with play! No lawn? No worries! We find the gardens that really inspire play don’t need them. Boulders, lizards and changes in topography can actually compete with Minecraft!
Let’s face it, we have a lot of catching up to do! While many of us are craving the camaraderie of having our whole family at one table, it’s easy to forget that people have always craved small-group space for those more intimate conversations. Outside, as we tend to stay in visual range while out of ear-shot, it is a bit easier to step away from the main gathering while still feeling part of the party.
It’s not just kids who move more out-of-doors, adults do too, particularly when a sense of destination can be created. That is something our designers work to do. If you have a more traditional space with a large lawn, you can create a sense of destination simply by placing a small-group seating area at a bit of a distance from the main gathering space. Fire pits create a natural draw, as do cocktail bars, and areas that feel protected by tree canopy or even strategically placed container gardens.
Oh, did I already say that? It’s worth repeating! Perhaps the best part of hosting outside is that it saves effort when it comes to post-meal clean-up too. You’ll not need to vacuum that decomposed granite trail or meadow after a day full of play, and the squirrels won’t mind you leaving a few crumbs on their living room floor… in fact, when the lights go down, you could be excused for thinking there is nothing left but perfection.
Wherever you host Thanksgiving this year, know that we are grateful for your friendship and wishing you a wonderful holiday weekend!
Monday - Friday, 8am - 4pm