I will miss my Mediterranean style garden when I vacation in Maui, Hawaii this week with my family, especially my pepper tree.

 

I’m hoping my tropical destination will help me forget how I am missing my beautiful “stone-ruin garden” that I wake up to every morning.

I created this vignette as an homage to the many ruin gardens my husband and I saw on our honeymoon in Italy many years ago.

Every morning we throw open the double doors in our bedroom and this is our view.

The sun rises behind the columns and illuminates the flight path of the hummingbirds as they hover and cross from plant to plant, enjoying their morning nectar.

What a way to start the day!

What fragrant tropical plant will enchant me as much as the familiar aroma of my Vitex, “chaste” tree and the welcoming musk of my ruby salvia greggii?

 

Will the fragrance of the white ginger lei around my neck remind me of the romantic apricot scented climbing roses that wrap around my stone columns back home?

I’m blessed to have created my version of Eden at home with its dry but  surprisingly colorful gardens that are appropriate for the the Mediterranean climate of Los Angeles.

I feel like I’m already on vacation everyday when I step outside my door.

This will be my first visit to Hawaii and I wonder if it will alter my image of Paradise.

 

Anyone come back a new gardener after visiting Hawaii?

 

 

I discovered an expansive view of the valley from my clients yard that must have been hidden for over 20 years!

 

 

I had a design epiphany in my client Ronda’s backyard that led to my discovering a gorgeous view from her yard that no one knew was there!

It came to me  while I was conducting a routine site analysis of her backyard looking for problems that had to be resolved in the new landscape design.

 

Ronda had a stately, green Privet hedge running along the back of her yard that was a  monument to privacy  with its thick, dense foliage.

The hedge reached over 12 feet tall and screened a view of her neighbors house.

 

 

Ronda mentioned to me  how much she liked her hedge and wanted to incorporate it in the future landscape.

I  liked it too but there was something about it the hedge that bothered me!

 

Walking through the yard, there was a feeling of total enclosure, almost to a fault.

Towering green walls from the Privet restricted the view to within the confines of the property line.

Taking note of this, something else occurred to me which got me thinking…

 

Why Doesn’t This Yard Have a View?

 

Ronda’s house sits along a very steep street and yet there was no “hilltop view” from her yard!

Her neighbors enjoyed beautiful views of the Valley.

Where was Ronda’s view?

 

Based on the orientation of the hedge on the property, I guessed that there was a “big sky” view directly behind it.

Armed with my lopers, I approached the hedge with the intention of unearthing hidden treasure, but I hesitated.

 

I didn’t want to cut into the foliage because if I disfigured the Privet and found nothing but the site of her neighbors side yard, Ronda would be upset.

Rightly so.

 

I detangled some branches and reached in with the goal of spreading the branches apart with my hands so that I could see what was behind them.

A wayward branch smacked me on the forehead and gave me a nasty scratch.

 

Undeterred, I wedged my body deeper into the hedge to pry open the branches and met an army of  ants and bugs that resented my intrusion.

At this point, I was hell bent on finding a view!

 

 

The privet hedge was  6 feet deep and densely branched!

 

I  finally saw a small beam of light.

My hands were cramping as I tried to keep a small view tunnel open, so I let go.

 

At this point, I was confident that there was a big sky view beyond the hedge.

My only option in confirming my hunch was to cut through the branches and open a port hole.

 

Ronda wasn’t home so I couldn’t ask for permission.

“What the heck,” I thought, “Let her get angry, she’s gonna love her new view!”

I tore into the hedge with abandon.

 

A new lounge area was created to enjoy the view from.

 

Eureka, before me was a the big sky view layered with smog.

Welcome to the Valley!

What a beautiful sight!

 

I couldn’t wait for Ronda to get home so that I could show off the the big hole  in her hedge that revealed a “million dollar view!”

The look on Ronda’s face when she saw the ravaged Privet was not an encouraging one.

She looked puzzled.

 

 

“You  have a view behind your hedge Ronda, an extended view!” I emphasized.

I smiled enthusiastically, hoping my  joy would spread to her face too.

 

Ronda poked her head through the porthole and emerged exclaiming, (although it sounded more like questioning.)

“I have a view? I have a view? Since when did I have a view?

 

“Since now,” I proudly replied.

I reached for my lopers and began to cut more branches without asking permission.

As each  branch fell, the sky grew larger and so did the smile on Ronda’s face.

 

What’s not to smile about?

Her enjoyment of her yard has been expanded beyond the confines of the old Privet hedge!

 

 

Is there an overgrown hedge or tree  in the way of your borrowed scenery?

Don’t be afraid to open up your yard.

You may trade off a little privacy but you will gain the world!

 

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