Green-inspired evolution that maintains balance
By Alia Babapulle
First of all, to all readers, I hope 2016 will be a prosperous and satisfying year for you. Happy New Year!
In recent years, terms like “going green” and “eco-friendly” have become buzz words on talk shows, commercials and product packaging. The term “eco-friendly” has been used for so many different products and practices that its true meaning is in danger of being lost. Understanding the true meaning of eco-friendly means you can implement practices leading to a healthier lifestyle for the planet and its inhabitants, big and small.
Eco-friendly literally means earth-friendly or not harmful to the environment. This term most commonly refers to products that contribute to green living, or practices which help conserve resources like water and energy. Eco-friendly products also prevent contributions to air, water and land pollution. It is very important, given the amount of humans on our planet, that we do our best to keep her as well as we can.
To this end, I am featuring a garden which was based on, and planted using, these principles.
The client has a very large modern house being built with an enormous garden. The brief to me was that on no account should the garden look structured. I gave him three options with
different looks but all of them were using the indigenous plants and flowers of Andalucía.
As the existing soil was heavy clay, tonnes of organic mulch with horse manure and red earth were mixed. This was spread to a thickness of 50 centimetres after clearing approximately 50 lorry loads of stones. The mixed earth was left to sit for a week and during that time cables for the lighting and the irrigation system were partly installed, to be finished when all the planting was done.
Royal Palms (64 of them) and 24 other palm trees were trucked in, and about 30 different flower types and flowering bushes were planted. The garden was divided into zones for the irrigation and planting. There were two main divisions: the east-facing side had only reds, yellows and oranges; and the west, blues, pinks, purples and dark greens. Nearly 1.800 square metres of Bermuda grass was laid, and seven different rockeries were built, again each with its specific colours.
The client wanted to have masses of roses and, although I was not sure how they would react
to the fierce summer sun, they flourished, mainly because of the preparation. The flowers were chosen to attract bees.
Featured here are before and after photos. The garden is an ongoing study. Each season will bring new flowers – and it is a garden with eco-friendly everything.
Alia B Designs: www.aliabdesignconsultants.com
