{"id":3610,"date":"2021-10-06T06:00:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T10:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/?post_type=features&p=3610"},"modified":"2021-12-30T17:18:54","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T22:18:54","slug":"wild-water","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild water"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes clients have a crystal-clear idea of what they want out of an outdoor living space design, whether it\u2019s an area built around visiting with friends on the patio or space for the kids to run wild. Other times, however, clients come in bursting with different ideas, and it\u2019s up to the designer to synthesize them into a cohesive vision. That\u2019s what Kelley Hanna, owner of Plant Goddess Landscaping in Pasadena, California, took on for clients who had big dreams for the backyard.<\/p>\n

\"Hanna
Kelley Hanna took client requests for multiple types of outdoor living spaces such as a space for native plants or food-bearing trees and devel-oped a design to bring them together. She included a water feature that would support pollinators like butterflies. (Photos: Kelley Hanna)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hanna was initially brought onto the project as a referral from a neighbor that she had done some work for. The area already had a lot of the benefits of being surrounded by nature. There was plenty of local wildlife and lots of space to work with in design. The homeowners, who had lived there for about 40 years without doing much with the green space, were looking to develop an outdoor living space that embraced those natural aspects, which was a perfect fit for Hanna.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m about trying to create awareness and educate the homeowner about how we need to plant California native plants and support our local ecosystem,\u201d she says. They wanted to support the wild quail found in the area as well as pollinators, including the bees from several local keepers and monarch butterflies.<\/p>\n

The client was also looking to develop areas to grow food, including several olive trees, without installing a greenhouse. Those were all great goals for Hanna, but another angle she was adamant about discussing early in the design phase was irrigation. The property still used metal sprinklers that hadn\u2019t been updated in years and weren\u2019t watering as effectively as they could. \u201cI told them, even though we\u2019re going to put in all this landscaping, your water bills are going to go down,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

With other disparate types of landscaping involved, such as oak trees, a native plant meadow and water features, the project was a huge challenge. But the client was willing to put the money behind Hanna\u2019s work and stay out of her way as the design came together, she said. Hanna credits part of that trust to her accumulated experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that I\u2019m more seasoned, I tell people, \u2018If you want a good yard, tell me what you want. Of course, I want your input. But then let me do it,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cBecause between what\u2019s on paper and what ends up happening, I do a ton of field changes as I start to see it come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the work was ongoing, the homeowners would bring their grandchildren out to watch the boulders being placed or to see the trucks coming in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really did make it into an entire family experience for them,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was so fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building a plan<\/h2>\n

Developing the appropriate irrigation design for such a complicated layout wasn\u2019t easy, Hanna says. On top of the additions to the landscape, the property was already home to several citrus trees that the client wasn\u2019t enthusiastic about moving. Hanna placed a pergola in the center of the design and split the different landscaping sections into quadrants around it.<\/p>\n

That allowed her to fine-tune the irrigation zones for each area effectively.<\/p>\n

\"Hanna
One of the major goals of the design was to incorporate elements that would support native wild-life. Hanna used plants that would attract pollinators, and chose shrubs that would provide shel-ter for a local type of quail. While some wildlife like deer could cause damage to the landscaping, she chose species that deer tend to avoid to keep them away from more sensitive plants.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSo I had the fruit trees and roses and the Mediterraneans in these two areas, and then the coast live oaks and the natives here,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

To make matters more complex, the previous irrigation system wasn\u2019t well-mapped, on top of its age. Building around the system wasn\u2019t going to be an effective option. \u201cI started over,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s too big of a project. I didn\u2019t know what kind of pipe was down there and how old it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanna used the quadrants as guidance for the irrigation installed, whether it was drip line for some of the landscaping or rotating spray heads for the meadow area. To protect the drip irrigation from the wildlife that would be visiting the living space, she buried it lightly with a few inches of mulch on top.<\/p>\n

When it came to water features, Hanna used two approaches, each with a different purpose. She installed a double-tiered basin fountain that could be enjoyed closer to the patio and house. But out among the flowers, she placed what she called a pollinator watering station. The fountain is a flat boulder with a hole drilled up through the middle with a subgrade basin, which allows the water to trickle shallowly across the top of the rock. This is safer for pollinators like bees and butterflies, which would be in danger of falling into the deeper water source.<\/p>\n

Working with nature<\/h2>\n

The house had so much roof area that Hanna was able to use two of the downspouts to direct water into a rain garden. While Hanna usually does that kind of work on the surface by contouring the land, the garden\u2019s pathways were in the way and the client didn\u2019t want to use bridges in the design. She used a subgrade system with decomposed granite hardscaping and drainage paver rolls to direct the water throughout the rain garden from the downspouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lot of labor,\u201d she says, including marking beforehand where trees and other elements would be placed. \u201cI had to map it out.\u201d Using permeable hardscaping in the pathways allowed water to flow without requiring bridges in the design while making the most use of rainwater.<\/p>\n

\"irrigation\"
Hanna gathered rainwater from the downspouts and used a subgrade system with permeable hardscaping to distribute water throughout the rain garden. The goal was to slow collected water down so that it could spread through the soil to the plants\u2019 roots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the rain garden, her goal was to slow the collected water down so that it would spread through the soil, giving the plants plenty of opportunity to gather what they needed and sink it so that it wasn\u2019t running across the surface. \u201cI tried to work it so I got as much coverage in the yard as I could get,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause if we get a lot of rain, I can turn those stations off for quite a long time and we don\u2019t even have to irrigate that area. That way you can really save a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanna uses a soil probe regularly to check that water is moving through the area efficiently, but the way the plants have started to thrive in the irrigated space is a solid indicator for her as well. \u201cA soil moisture probe is important because you can\u2019t tell just from the surface,\u201d she says. It allows her to get a read for how much moisture is in the soil and if it\u2019s reaching the appropriate depth for the trees and other plants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we get enough rain and I utilize that rainwater, you\u2019re going to have some crazy happy California native plants,\u201d Hanna says. This approach works best with spongy soil, which will allow the water to remain available. A more compact soil like hard clay will need a different solution to get water to flow. \u201cIt\u2019s all about the soil, so when it does rain, the soil will be able to hold on to the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

The landscape is teeming with wildlife, Hanna says. While she was out taking pictures of the finished project, she spotted two of the small wild quail that the homeowner had specifically wanted to support with the installation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are literally wild quail running around in the shrubs, which is fantastic,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are tons of birds. I\u2019ve even seen them nesting in the coast live oaks. There\u2019s tons of hummingbirds. I\u2019ve seen them drinking from the fountain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The outdoor living space gets lots of attention from the bees maintained by local keepers as well. They\u2019ve even brought neighbors together, as one local keeper noticed that in the mornings his charges would often make a beeline straight to the property. At the end of the season, he shares some of the honey with Hanna\u2019s clients as a kind of payment for providing so many flowers for them.<\/p>\n

\"HannaIt turns out that the new irrigation system hasn\u2019t quite paid off, as Hanna initially said they would be paying a lower water bill. But the homeowner\u2019s irrigation bill hasn\u2019t gone up, she says. They\u2019re watering less than they were before the installation with more efficient systems. And in supporting even more life in both plants and animals while using less water, Hanna sees it as getting more for what they were already spending.<\/p>\n

With the project completed, Hanna is most proud that one of the homeowners, who had initially been skeptical of the worth of the installation, is out in the garden almost every day, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s definitely a feather in my cap,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ll drive up there in the morning and he\u2019s out in the garden. And I can tell that the kids have been over because you\u2019ll see the tracks from the bikes on the DG pathways. It\u2019s like a big park for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI always feel that I\u2019ve achieved something if people who didn\u2019t ever go out into their yard are spending all this time outside and their quality of life has been enhanced,\u201d she says. \u201cThat, to me, is just the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in Irrigation & Green Industry magazine.<\/em><\/h6>\n
Kyle Brown<\/strong><\/a> is editor-in-chief of Irrigation & Green Industry magazine and can be reached at kylebrown@irrigation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Solid planning turned a complex installation into a rain-powered native habitat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3833,"parent":0,"template":"","main-categories":[27,28,35],"class_list":["post-3610","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","main-categories-irrigation","main-categories-landscape","main-categories-sustainability"],"yoast_head":"\nWild water - Irrigation & Lighting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Clients may not know what they want out of an outdoor living space. It's up to designers like Kelley Hanna to make their dreams reality.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wild water\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Clients may not know what they want out of an outdoor living space. It's up to designers like Kelley Hanna to make their dreams reality.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Irrigation & Lighting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-30T22:18:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-water.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"467\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Irrigation & Lighting\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Irrigation-and-Lighting-LogoNoTag.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Irrigation-and-Lighting-LogoNoTag.jpg\",\"width\":1117,\"height\":178,\"caption\":\"Irrigation & Lighting\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/\",\"name\":\"Irrigation & Lighting\",\"description\":\"The business and technology magazine for contractors\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-water.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-water.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":467,\"caption\":\"Hanna design; Kelley, plan, outdoor\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/\",\"name\":\"Wild water - Irrigation & Lighting\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-06T10:00:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-30T22:18:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"Clients may not know what they want out of an outdoor living space. It's up to designers like Kelley Hanna to make their dreams reality.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Features\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Sustainability\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/main-categories\/sustainability\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Wild water\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wild water - Irrigation & Lighting","description":"Clients may not know what they want out of an outdoor living space. It's up to designers like Kelley Hanna to make their dreams reality.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wild water","og_description":"Clients may not know what they want out of an outdoor living space. It's up to designers like Kelley Hanna to make their dreams reality.","og_url":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/","og_site_name":"Irrigation & Lighting","article_modified_time":"2021-12-30T22:18:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":467,"url":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-water.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#organization","name":"Irrigation & Lighting","url":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Irrigation-and-Lighting-LogoNoTag.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Irrigation-and-Lighting-LogoNoTag.jpg","width":1117,"height":178,"caption":"Irrigation & Lighting"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#website","url":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/","name":"Irrigation & Lighting","description":"The business and technology magazine for contractors","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-water.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-water.jpg","width":700,"height":467,"caption":"Hanna design; Kelley, plan, outdoor"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/","name":"Wild water - Irrigation & Lighting","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-10-06T10:00:58+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-30T22:18:54+00:00","description":"Clients may not know what they want out of an outdoor living space. It's up to designers like Kelley Hanna to make their dreams reality.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/wild-water\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Features","item":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sustainability","item":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/main-categories\/sustainability\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Wild water"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/3610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/features"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/3610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3834,"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/3610\/revisions\/3834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"main-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/main-categories?post=3610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}