Back to Nature

By Terence Loose

I

t’s a place where oaks actually outnumber palms, where the fear of over-watering resonates more than drought and where things turn brown in the winter – on purpose. And yes, it is in Southern California. The place is Shady Canyon, and its head landscape architect Leo O’Brian would argue that this spot is more Southern Californian than most within a 20-mile radius. It’s because at Shady Canyon a lot of planning went into creating the largest native-species and xeriscaping project in Southern California. Ironically, that gives it a sort of non-SoCal feel. “It’s not as green and lush and tropical as most Southern Californians have become used to,” he says. “But we wanted the project to relate and respond to the native environment more than any other project.”

Thanks to the valley setting, the ocean is nowhere in sight, and boulders and stone walls have replaced grand lawns and flowerbeds. Every custom home built must follow strict landscaping guidelines, which demand knowledge of the climate and what will survive with minimal help. There are two lists of approved plants: approximately 150 plants for the common areas and 260 species for homesite owners. These range from dozens of sages, succulents and scrubs to large trees such as sycamores, various oaks (over 400 were brought in), pineapple guavas, California peppers, willows, elms, and many more.

And it’s paying off, says O’Brian. Not only are homebuyers embracing the “lush-less” idea, but the environment is benefiting as well. Animals are gaining more sustenance thanks to the native grasses being replanted – “In many ways, it’s more native now than before we started,” says O’Brian – and this winter, irrigation water was actually turned off in some places for almost two months. “That was a great feeling,” says O’Brian, “because the principles of xeriscape are minimizing water usage, creating a lower maintenance regime that wouldn’t require the pruning and thinning of ornamental landscaping, using mulches to retain water.” Over time, with more of the plantings’ root systems maturing, the hope is that less and less water will be used, he says.

But just because it’s native, doesn’t mean it was a walk in the park. O’Brian says xeriscaping and native planting proved much more complicated than most would believe. “A lot of debate went into whether the look was too green, or not green enough. Then, once we identified a palette, whether the plants were available was another issue,” he says. Also, “just letting it grow” was not an option, as Southern California is ground zero for many non-native, invasive species. They can easily overwhelm weaker, native plants.

Then there were the stones. Approximately one thousand of them, from football- to Volkswagen-Beetle size. These were unearthed, catalogued, then replanted in accordance with the natural order of the valley. “We actually took aerial photos of the stones and the natural rock formations,” says O’Brian. “We found that the boulder lines run north and south, so when we replaced the stones, we were careful to mimic that. So it feels like they’ve been there forever.”

Oh, and stones are known for very little water usage, so Shady Canyon residents might have to get used to the sound of nature replacing those of the lawnmower and whir of sprinklers. þ

HOME TABLE OF CONTENTS