Location: Windsor, CA

Design Goals:

  • Break up a large, overwhelming yard into more manageable nooks and (kid-friendly) play spaces

  • Replace existing water-sucking sod with drought-tolerant, low-maintenance plants

  • Reuse existing onsite materials

  • Create edible + cut flower gardens with lots of colors

Whimsical Meadow + Edible Farm Garden

ecological garden design installation sonoma california landscape plan drawing meadow edible landscaping

Over 8,000 square feet of front, side, + back yards grow into whimsical, multi-functional havens with lots of colors, diversity, and year-round blooms. This garden includes drought-tolerant, native habitats and spaces for all who call the land home: meadows to enjoy and explore; multiple culinary gardens to fuel kitchen adventures; playful fairy gardens to inspire creativity; and native habitats for the garden’s creatures to thrive. The front yard was created to be budget-conscious and easy to maintain with a minimal design. The client’s own art, a dry creek + local boulders are surrounded by strategically placed plant bouquets created with native chaparral plants, including deer grasses, salvias, yarrow, desert mallow, and agaves with mulch + drip irrigation. 

In the backyard, a carex and fescue meadow replaces the existing traditional sod lawn to conserve water and eliminate the need to mow. Around the meadow, native shrubs, grasses, and flowers create sanctuaries for songbirds, bees, butterflies, and other woodland creatures. Multiple pollinator mounds, created with buried concrete, add dimensionality around the meadows and surrounding flower beds. Repurposed brick-laid patios and pathways offer a way to discover and explore all the hidden details, including whimsical fairy fountains, a perennial cut flower + herb garden, and a kid-friendly stump playground. Along the way, pops of yellow, pink, and purple wildflowers stand out against the deep green and chartreuse of the grasses. In the back corner, a fully fenced garden provides ample space for raised beds to grow food and medicine year-round. 

Project Ecological Benefits:

  • Native + pollinator plants

  • Culinary garden for homegrown food + medicine

  • Drought-friendly lawn alternatives

  • Repurposed materials

  • Butterfly + songbird habitats