some like it hot

Away with lawns! The powered mowing, the weed and feed, the predictability.

In with water conserving mulches and low-maintenance design.

Here's our little patch of front garden. Reused local sandstone separates the garden into two.

The front section is for plants that love it hot and dry. The mulch of builders' pea gravel is inexpensive. In this part, low growing little alpine plants thrive.

The section behind is mulched with bark chippings and is home to pines, conifers and other evergreens. There is a gnarled old lady buddleia davidii who is queen of the street in August. Then the garden is alive with butterflies and bumblebees attracted by the buddleia flowers and the flowers of the marjoram and sage that like to bake in the summer sun.

A honeysuckle has been added this year to grow up the trellis. Cover for birds throughout the year, berries in autumn and winter for overwintering blackcaps. And delicious sweet scent in summer.