Fall Landscaping with Shirley Bovshow
On a recent #takeadaynow tour through the Los Angeles, California region, I met up with beautiful and inspiring landscape designer, Shirley Bovshow for a tour around her garden. Shirley is a garden television personality and has been seen on Discovery Home Channel, HGTV, and in the garden expert on her current show; Home & Family on The Hallmark Channel. Her creative how-to gardening tips have inspired thousands of people to jump into gardening and give it a try. Shirley and I are good friends and I have wanted to see her home garden ever since we met – this trip was my opportunity to explore more of her world.
When Shirley inherited her garden it was flat and unremarkable. She worked to landscape with a thoughtful eye to elevations – lowering a small side yard kitchen garden below grade to make it appear larger (see top photo) and elevating other areas of the garden to enhance the depth of field and add interest for visitors (above). Visiting Shirley’s garden is a reflection of her caring and thoughtfulness. Installing a pond, for instance, added an extrasensory experience for whoever comes to the garden – the sound of water falling. Every inch of landscaping in her garden – from her husband’s private hammock spot to her family fire pit with seating area – is all designed with her friends and family’s needs in mind (below).
According to Shirley, while it is important to stay connected with nature through all seasons of the year, fall is a fantastic time to landscape your property. Below are three reasons she suggests landscaping in the fall.
3 Reasons to Landscape in Fall
- In most parts of the country there are less watering demands and cooler climactic conditions in the fall. This makes planting trees, shrubs, and perennials easier in the fall as there is a stronger chance for their root establishment in cooler, more water friendly weather conditions.
- A perfect time to clear an older landscape and replant is in the fall. Any plants that are suffering from drought or hot conditions can easily be spotted and replaced. Additionally, clearing areas can also enable installations of a green manure cover or easier bulb planting in autumn.
- If you are a food gardener or ornamental edible gardener, fall is the excellent time to plant cool weather crops and ornamental edibles in the landscape.
Shirley’s evening garden is even more beautiful than her daytime garden due to the creative placement of lighting. She has down-lighting along with the major seating and entertaining areas and up-lighting throughout the garden itself. Below is a photo of Shirley with our friend Robin Horton, the editor behind the Urban Gardens website, on her dining patio just as the sunset. I adore the warmth of the area and can imagine Shirley and her family having dinner and cocktails out in this gorgeous patio, which is perfect for entertaining.
If you want to learn some creative ideas about gardening, landscaping, and green living, definitely tune in to Shirley’s adventures on her tv show, Home & Family on the Hallmark Channel. Learn more about Shirley on her website – www.edenmakersblog.com
*Special thanks to the Visit California team that helped me with a rental car for my #takeadaynow trip so that I was able to come to tour Shirley Bovshow and her amazing California garden. #landscaping #gardening #discoverla #visitcalifornia
