Name: BethLocation: Echo Park, CA
Type of space: Front stoop
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: Because I blog from home in between working with clients on location, I enjoy retreating outside for a coffee or lunch break. At the end of the week or a Saturday afternoon, you can usually find me sipping on a glass of wine (or a beer if it's sweltering outside). I love my stoop because I often hang out with my next door neighbors while pruning my succulents...
How did you create it? I'm lucky--I had a client who had tons of succulents in their backyard and they offered me entire plants as well as clippings from their collection. Once my succulents started to get bigger I started snipping off smaller pieces to create new plants. The spot above my kitchen sink has proven to be a great place for the little ones to root and develop. Once they're big enough to be repotted--they get taken outside (or given to friends as housewarming gifts). For a party recently, I added the LED lights (from IKEA) around the railing to give the spot a soft glow at night. In addition, I had been collecting small jars from jams and decided to plop tea lights into them for some extra glimmer. For last summer's DIY project, I created candle holders from empty coffee tins.
Recommended store, site, product or resource? I love the California Cactus Center and I'm always walking around the neighborhood for ideas and inspiration.
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(Images: Bethz)
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So quaint! I love all the plants and the worn away steps. The candles in the jars are a cute touch as well!
Laura
http://www.grafxnerd.net
That front yard looks ripe for xeriscaping.
I was just thinking of doing this for my own stoop! Thanks for the cool photos.
Very cute! And yeah, I can invision the succulent collection taking over that whole little front area (if you're allowed to, of course, although I've started guerilla-planting a similar area at my apartment.)
@fantasticMRFaux--I did a post a while back on pocket gophers. Yard is full of them. Unfortunately anything we would attempt to do to front yard to make prettier would just be uprooted by those guys...
Beth! The one on the lower right is the one that jacqueline affectionately calls "killer!" I love your garden. I always admire it when I visit the B's. - Marjorie
that is lovely! :-)
Thanks Marjorie! I know--I actually moved "killer" from the top of the steps to the bottom to prevent further puncture wounds!
@Beth
As far as the gopher problem you could read around on:
www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/how-get-rid-gophers
(link won't post in... try copy and paste in browser)
The stoop is so lovely. If you get rid of the gophers, you'll have a whole garden around you.
If you do nothing, they'll destroy your wiring and spread all over the block. Trap and relocate.
Nice collection of succulents! And I, too, love the worn paint on the steps... It reminds me fondly of my grandmother's house from years and years ago. Just charming!
My only suggestion would be that some of those plants deserve more glamorous pots... Not all of them maybe, but one or two colorful glazed pots could really give the stoop even more personality.
PS -- Yeah, figure out something to do about those gophers. That yard could be amazing with more succulents and what not. :)
This is lovely, and I really appreciate a "garden" post that doesn't require a plot of land. (Me, I don't have any outdoor space at all, not even a fire escape.) Thank you, AT, for showing us that even a staircase can be a lush outdoor area.
That fading and chipping paint would drive me crazy.
A couple hours w/ a wire brush and some deck paint on the steps and window sill would do wonders
before i saw the location, i said out loud, "this is either in silverlake or echo park!".
bepsf--as another poster reminded me in a different thread--think wabi sabi and it's all okay.
Trying to guess your location based on my neighborhood walks... I think I've got it! I'll see if I'm right on my next evening constitutional.
Nice little spot! Succulents are the absolute best plants. They save water and are absolutely gorgeous. There are so many types and varieties that even an all succulent garden will not appear homogenous. I agree with rlmesq that in L.A. succulents are prevalent in Silver Lake and Echo Park - another great thing about those areas!!
I love succulents too!
http://simplifiedbee.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-succulent.html
I think it's great! It shows that you don't need a big garden or balcony to show your love of plants! I like the little lights, I bet it looks great at night! And it makes the entry look so much more inviting! Nice to come home to!