Conquering a Concrete GardenSan Francisco Chronicle

Conquering a Concrete Garden
San Francisco Chronicle

Many Bay Area residents seem to encounter the same frustrating situation in their outdoor space: A concrete slab where a garden ought to be. Breaking up all the concrete, having it removed, and so on can be a big and expensive proposition, so what's an aspiring gardener to do? In yesterday's Chronicle, garden writer Carolyn Said shared how she and local landscaper Julie Gordon set about to tackle the problem...

Said's solution was to break up only part of the concrete, a three-foot border along the outside. But this presented some design challenges, so she brought in Gordon to help.

Here are a few useful tips we gleaned from Gordon's new plan for the garden:

• Don't buy plants just based on how they look the day you're shopping in the nursery. Take into account their preferred growing conditions and what they will look like when they're not at their best.

• Choose plants with different heights to create textural interest, an important element when you're dealing with a small, narrow area of plantable space.

• Clumping bamboos can be great as a street side plant for providing privacy. They aren't as dense as most hedges and will let a little bit of filtered light through.

Check out the entire article for lots more pics of the project, details about the plant choices and more helpful suggestions for gardeners dealing with the concrete issue.

Photos: Eric Luse for The Chronicle

Comments (6)

what sort of flower is that??

posted by ezzyjshark on April 2nd 2009 at 1:08pm
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"what sort of flower is that??"

If you hit the link and looked at the photos, you'd see that it's a Blue Hibiscus

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/04/01/DDUN16G9PP.DTL&o=3

posted by bepsf on April 2nd 2009 at 1:18pm
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Thanks so much, bepsf! I am at work and was quickly skimming the article -- thanks for pointing out the link to me.

posted by ezzyjshark on April 2nd 2009 at 1:23pm
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But not really-it's not a real hibiscus, but rather Alyogyne huegelii, or a member of the mallow family. Australian native, doesn't need much water, but does need sun and good drainage.

posted by FantasticMrFaux on April 2nd 2009 at 5:22pm
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Regarding the tip on planting bamboo - it's a great plant if you have a black thumb and want something that will live forever, spread rapidly, and live essentially pest-free while providing privacy and shade, HOWEVER, it is also a highly invasive plant, and will do it's best to take over. Although I don't have personal experience with this, from what I have heard/read, it is nearly impossible to eradicate once planted, so please consider some native options before you settle on bamboo!

posted by redweather on April 3rd 2009 at 1:53pm
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The recommendation was for clumping bamboo, which sends up new culms within only an inch or two of previous growth, unlike running bamboo, which sends up culms feet or even yards from the older culms. Clumping bamboo is not invasive; thus the recommendation for it over running.

posted by Pritchard on April 6th 2009 at 2:02am
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