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Green Thumb Turns Brown to Beautiful |
By Betsy Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News
Six years ago, a "For Sale" sign appeared in front of a modest Denver home on a corner lot. But its yard was covered with dying elms and brown, sunburned grass on parched slopes.
None of this was a problem for Bobbi Siersma and her husband, Fred Siersma. They snapped up the property, and Bobbi prepared for a landscape makeover.
A longtime gardener, she had the sod, plants and the old sprinkler system ripped out. She had several retaining walls built, improved the soil and put in a drip irrigation system.
Five years later, the corner looks like a botanical garden. Tiny metal labels tell
passersby what many of the plants are.
"To know you can have beautiful flowers from March through November on very little water is a piece of heaven," Bobbi says.
Why a water-efficient landscape?: "I believe we can't keep using water as though there were an endless supply."
The yard before: brown turf, dying trees and shrubs placed randomly
After: flagstone walls, arbor and walkways landscaped with hundreds of plants, roses, shrubs and trees
Time it took to create garden: 5 ½ years
Biggest challenge: "learning about state-of-the-art laser drip systems and finding people who knew how to work with them"
Drought-tolerant plants: Ice plant "John Proffitt"; Tansy (Tanacetum niveum); honeysuckle (Lonicera) "serotina" and "pink lemonade."
How has use of the yard changed?: Bobbi spends plenty of time out there often. She and her husband also enjoy a shady back porch that offers a view of the mountains.
How much has water use dropped? Bobbi says it has decreased greatly compared with last year. She watches each area of her garden for signs of plant stress and turns on her drip irrigation system manually when needed - every one to two weeks for one to 1 ½ hours.
Would you do it all over again?: "Definitely. Weeding is almost nonexistent, as are garden pests."
Photos: Bobbi Siersma
