Looking for some creative, out-of-the-box ideas for your garden? You might start with a "living wall" that puts your garden on a vertical plane and doubles as an art piece. To add a new dimension to an existing garden, consider plants that can suspend in the air or graft to a tree or rock.
If you’re tired of mowing the lawn, explore the option of installing synthetic grass, which looks like the real thing and reduces your water bill.
Let’s take a closer look at these ideas, which work well in Hawaii yards.
Living Wall
Ever thought of posting your landscape on a wall?
That’s exactly what the living wall concept is all about, say Greg and Terri Lee of 1st Look Exteriors, which recently installed one such wall — 10 feet high and 18 feet wide — outside the Whole Foods Market building in Kailua.
While that wall, commissioned by Kaneohe Ranch Co., is of commercial-scale size, it is the kind of design homeowners can try in their own yards.
At least 10 different plants in varying shades of green, a few reds and purples are arranged in geometric designs. They include bromeliads, ferns, crotons, green liriope and carex (a grass native to Hawaii).
"We like to create depth," said Terri Lee. "It mimics nature … with differing heights and textures."
Living walls have benefits that include cooling down an area and reducing carbon emissions. Lee considers it an art form.
"It serves as an art piece," she said.
Living walls are outfitted with an internal drip system and can be mounted inside or outside. A consideration is how much it will weigh and whether a wall can support it. To keep a living wall alive, it needs to be cut, pruned and fertilized.
If you enjoy cooking, a living wall of herbs might be a good fit — just steps away from an outdoor barbecue. Keep in mind that it will need full sun and plenty of water.
Air plants
While most folks are focused on putting plants into the ground, hundreds of air plants can give a garden new dimension.
Air plants have a modified root system that requires no soil, but they still need to take in water. Popular choices include tillandsia, epiphytic orchids and staghorn ferns.
Many plant lovers are familiar with Spanish moss, also known as Pele’s hair, but it is considered an invasive species in Hawaii, according to Jayme Grzebik, state coordinator for the University of Hawaii Master Gardener program.
Tillandsia is a genus of more than 500 species found within the bromeliad family that grow in forests, mountains and deserts.
Hawaii island resident Peter DeMello, who sells the plants at Foster Botanical Gardens, Lyon Arboretum and the Halawa Xeriscape Garden, has been growing them for more than 30 years as a hobby.
He said tillandsia come in a wide range of textures and colors — from greens to reds, yellows, violets and pinks — depending on the amount of sunlight the plants receive. Many of their flowers are fragrant.
They are low-maintenance, making them ideal for beginners or those with a busy lifestyle.
"You figure, in nature they grow out on cliffs and up in trees where no one’s taking care of them," DeMello said. "They’ve survived on their own for many centuries."
Tillandsia can be glued and mounted upon almost any hard surface, ranging from driftwood and hollowed-out bamboo to cork and rock. They can also be grafted to a tree trunk for a nice visual effect.
Any waterproof glue will work, but hot glue is not recommended, he said.
DeMello’s advice for first-timers: Keep the plant outside, water two to three times a week and use a nitrogen-based fertilizer once a month. A common mistake with tillandsia is to overwater the plants.
Typically, these plants take about six months to acclimate but once established are very hardy.
"Just put them outside and forget about them, and they usually do pretty good unless there’s a severe drought," he said.
When you water them you need to drench their leaves and let them dry out in between waterings, he said.
Synthetic grass
In the past, when people thought of fake grass, they envisioned tacky Astroturf, bright green and bristly. But with new technology, fake grass now looks like the real thing.
Installing fake lawn can also be considered "green" since there’s no need to water.
Architects who use synthetic grass actually get points toward Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, according to Jim LoBianco, president of Maui-based SynLawn. Some water municipalities even offer rebates for fake lawns.
"More homeowners are installing it, especially given the increase in water rates," he said, while some are just tired of mowing the lawn.
Synthetic lawns can be hosed off or cleaned with a leaf-blower.
The lawns are used as backyard putting greens and are installed at playgrounds.
SynLawn’s products (which range from $2.50 to $5.89 per square foot, not including installation costs) are made with a wide range of materials ranging from nylon to polypropylene.
The lawns come with a backing made of soy-based polyurethane rather than petroleum-based polymers, and newer materials do not require the rubber crumb infill used on football fields. A fade warranty lasts up to 12 years.
One of LoBianco’s recent clients is Disney, which installed SynLawn’s highest-end offering — the Synbermuda premium 200 — near its conference center at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa at Ko Olina.
On the net:
» www.1stlookexteriors.com
» www.synlawn.com
