Lean and green

‘Right-sizing’ the flower garden cuts down maintenance, cost and irrigation

Kerry Ann Mendez speaks from experience as a recovering plant-aholic.

An accomplished author and garden designer, Mendez rationalized that she had to have all these plants for her work, but her garden in upstate New York went way beyond testing new varieties.

Whenever she discovered another irresistible perennial, she would add it to her burgeoning collection. It didn't matter if there wasn't room; she'd find a way to squeeze it in.

"We can't help ourselves," Mendez said of others like herself. "We see beautiful plants, and we can't resist. It's insane."

Eventually, she's the one who got squeezed. Her garden overwhelmed her. It swallowed up all her time in big green chunks. She couldn't keep pace with its ever-growing demands. Finally, a family crisis forced her to change. Some plants had to go.

"I just didn't have the time or energy to keep it all going," Mendez said. "It wasn't fun anymore."

Just like decluttering the house, the garden may need decluttering, too. The right plants in the right place in the right-size garden can cut down on maintenance, costs and water use.

It's the right idea at the right time for boomers and others who still love to garden -- or spend time outdoors -- but don't have the time (or healthy backs) to keep up their former hectic pace.

Mendez recorded her experience, with plenty of suggestions for other gardeners, in her new book, The Right-Size Flower Garden (St. Lynn's Press, 178 pages, $18.95).

"I approach it like decluttering indoors," Mendez said. "You don't have to keep every plant. We have the freedom to get rid of poor performers or ones that give us more angst than joy. As gardeners, we're inherently nourishers. And that's why we don't want to give up on any plant. It's hard to let go.

"But these aren't your children, they're not your pets -- they're plants," she added. "It's OK to dig some up and say goodbye. We have the freedom to change."

Mendez hopes other gardeners don't have to face traumatic situations like hers before they decide to make that change. Her husband, Sergio, broke his neck. Fortunately, he wasn't paralyzed, but he was forced to retire. Suddenly, she needed to be caregiver and family breadwinner, commuting 40 miles each way from her home. There was no time to garden.

"I lost my passion," she recalled. "The garden had become another chore."

And their sprawling century-old country house was a headache, too. Eventually, the couple decided they needed to downsize.

"Or as I prefer to call it, we 'right-sized' our lives," she recalled.

Her garden also overwhelmed potential house buyers; nobody wanted to commit to a garden jam-packed with unusual plants. They looked like too much work.

Systematically, Kerry Mendez pulled out perennials and plugged in alternatives that offered a lot of showy effect with little or no maintenance.

"My goal was to reduce overall maintenance by 50 percent without compromising beauty," she said. "I did that and then some."

The big house sold and the couple moved into a condominium with their teenage son. She now maintains a much smaller, but still color-packed, garden.

And Mendez had the makings of another book.

"I have my time back," she said. "To me, 'right-sizing' is freedom regained. And I love gardening again because it's manageable."

SAVINGS BACKS AND WATER

Drought has sped up the "right-size" revolution in California gardens in particular. Homeowners already have dealt with mandatory 20 percent reductions in water use. In other parts of the country, gardeners may not have mandates to save water, but the issue is still on gardeners' minds.

"Absolutely, everybody is concerned about this," said Orangevale, Calif., landscape designer Susan Silva. "But it's not just drought, but maintenance. A large majority of my customers are baby boomers. They want to retire in their current homes with ease of outside maintenance and low-water plants in their yards.

"Sometimes, people view their garden as exercise and they like the workout," she added, "but most people -- especially as they age -- want something that needs less work.

"It makes complete sense to properly plan your landscape now for the long term with the right kinds of plants and well-selected hardscape for the space," Silva said.

The first target often is the lawn -- "the highest maintenance thing in most people's yard," Mendez said.

"Lawns require so much work and so much water," Silva said. "Just about everything else takes less water than lawn. When you take out the lawn, you have a nice amount of space to do something much more creative while still saving water."

Key to making these makeovers work is plant choice. Mendez swears by flowering shrubs or evergreens with brightly colored foliage.

Among her new favorites: "Incrediball" smooth-leaved hydrangeas ("very drought-tolerant with a strong perfume"), dwarf bottlebrush ("I love the frosty blue-leaf varieties") and woody sages ("low water and a great flower for pollinators").

"Shrubs take up a lot of space without much work or water," she said. "One midsize shrub can take the space of 10 perennials with one-tenth the work, while still making a big impact visually. In the 'right-size' garden, less really can be more."

DESIGN FOR GARDEN SAFETY

Besides maintenance, safety is an issue for older gardeners. Raised beds -- tall enough so stooping is kept at a minimum -- help aging backs. Level paths help eliminate falling risks.

When Joyce Mills bought her Sacramento house in 2005, it still had its original yard, circa 1928. Dominated by a gigantic sycamore, the patio had been turned into an uneven sea of massive tree roots and broken pavers.

Mills connected with Silva to transform her backyard obstacle course. A wraparound deck takes the place of the patio, affording the roots room to breathe and protection from being crushed by concrete or heavy traffic.

In two phases, they transformed the old yard into an easy-care place for entertaining with nooks for relaxing and places Mills can enjoy her outdoor space without feeling risk. Her garden -- "big enough to still piddle around in," she said -- is now just the right size.

"It's so easy to care for," she said. "I don't have to do anything. All I have to do is go out and enjoy it."

HomeStyle on 03/28/2015

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