Cultivating Privacy : Look for Happiness in Your Own Back Yard in a Secret Garden
When you enter Amy Stark’s garden, you feel like Alice walking into Wonderland. Every available inch is covered with plants, many of them flowering, and the sweet smell of jasmine fills the air. A water fountain bubbles and birds chirp, compelling you to sit down and read or just daydream.
Serenity is the purpose of Stark’s secret garden, which is tucked away in her Laguna Beach back yard.
“It’s important to have a place of bliss in your home,” says Stark, a psychologist. “People go away on vacation to find a sense of peace and happiness. Why not create a tranquil spot in your own back yard? You can still go away, but you don’t have to leave your home to find happiness and serenity. Any time I want peace, I go into my secret garden.”
You don’t need a lot of space for such a garden.
“It’s possible to create a secret garden for just about any space,” says Erik Katzmaier of Katzmaier Newell Kehr, a landscape architectural and architectural firm in Corona del Mar. “We installed a garden off a guest bedroom that had just three to four feet of space. In front of a block wall, we put trees, a trellis with vines and a collection of shade-blooming roses. Whatever size or shape yard you have, you should be able to do something.”
Stark’s garden is about 450 square feet. When she moved in three years ago, the back yard consisted of nothing but a rotted deck. Today she has a two-tiered deck that overflows with plants such as elephant’s ear, roses, foxglove, irises, lilies, fuchsias, trumpet vines, gardenias, orchids, begonias, wisteria and various trees. The bottom deck houses a spa and the top deck has a table, chaise lounge and water fountain.
To achieve a peaceful effect in the garden, you will need more than pretty plants and pleasant scents; a sense of privacy, running water, birds and butterflies make for a place to relax.
The first step, says Katzmaier, is defining the space. “Will it be a garden for viewing or walking through, or do you want to spend some time there, and if so, how much space do you need? Each shape has its own conditions.”
Research the flora before you plant to determine if growth habits will match your desired results.
“Plan for the future,” says Scott Lathrop, a horticulturist at Flowerdale Nurseries in Santa Ana. “Determine how much space you have available and then choose plants that will fit nicely into that area once they’re mature. Always find out a plant’s ultimate size. You wouldn’t want to plant a Sago Palm in a two-foot area, because it will eventually take up six feet.”
Walls make it easy to block out the world.
“Many people let vines grow on their walls, which creates a dense, attractive barrier,” says Gene Sottosanto of Green Gene’s Landscaping in Laguna Beach. “You can also add bushes and let the plants intermingle. This will give you good screening for at least six feet.”
For privacy, Sottosanto suggests shrubs like the fast-growing acacia, ceanothus (wild lilac), cotoneasters, dodonaea (purple hop bush), escallonia (an evergreen shrub with flowers that smell like gum), various privets, myoporum, lavender starflower and pittosporum.
Some good vines choices include Boston ivy, various roses, jasmine and fatshedera, which is a shrubby vine that is quick to grow, yet doesn’t get too large.
Hedges can create thick living walls. “The Texas privet makes a nice hedge, as well as the mock orange and European bay, which is a cooking bay. These can all be trimmed very tightly,” Katzmaier says. “You can also plant hibiscus, although they can’t be pruned too heavily or they won’t flower.”
In addition to screening, the use of vines, hedges and shrubs has another advantage: They block out sound.
“Plants provide noise barriers, such as the Waxleaf privet, which grows to about 10 feet,” Lathrop says. “I was in one established garden that had an oleander hedge separating it from the street and the traffic was barely noticeable.”
Another element of a secret garden is the sound of running water.
“The flow of water has a soothing, calming effect,” Lathrop says. “Many of the fountains on the market are attractive, take very little water and are easy to maintain.”
Sottosanto suggests being water wise if a fountain is installed: “Use the (run-off) water to water plants.”
Choose a fountain of good quality. “Buy one made of stone, terra cotta or cast concrete,” says Katzmaier. “Stay away from fiberglass, because it will deteriorate and look bad after a couple of years of sun exposure.”
Homeowners can construct their own fountain with a slow-running hose hidden in a garbage can, says Sottosanto. “You can also bury a thick plastic liner in the ground, fill it with rocks and let a hose drip into it. Keep in mind that the further the water has to fall, the nicer it sounds.”
Running water lures birds to the yard, which is another appealing element in a secret garden.
“Birds bring life to your yard, are attractive and often make pleasant noises,” Sottosanto says.
Beyond the typical feeders, there are plants that lure birds to landscape with their fruit, flowers and foliage.
“The easiest bird to attract is the hummingbird,” Sottosanto says. “They like many aloes and succulents, as well as small shrub fuchsias, delphinium cardinale and California honeysuckle. Hummingbirds like the latter because of its blossoms filled with nectar and finches eat the berries.”
Butterflies are also a welcome sight in a secret garden.
Stark has a number of fennel plants, which is a ferny plant that tastes like licorice. “I originally wanted to pull them out until I found out that they harbor caterpillars which turn into swallowtail butterfly,” she says. “Now I have them growing all over the place.”
When planting a secret garden, consider scents.
Some of the plants with nice strong scents include sweet olive, which is a shrub that has small white flowers with a sweet apricot smell, as well as some roses such as the climbing Lady Banks’ Rose and various jasmines.
“The Star Jasmine has a very nice fragrance,” Katzmaier says. “It is evergreen with small white flowers that bloom in the spring and early summer months. There is also night jasmine, which blooms at night and has a very strong odor.”
Another important aspect of the garden is the ground cover.
“Besides a lawn, you can have a gravel base with concrete for stepping stones,” Lathrop says. “Or you can incorporate herbs into your ground cover. Plant sage or rosemary on the edge of stepping stones. They grow into small bushes and smell really good when you brush up against them. Or plant corsican mint or creeping thyme directly on the walkway. They feel great on bare feet and also emit a pleasant odor.”
To properly finish off the garden, create a place to sit and enjoy your secret paradise.
“Become involved with your garden,” Sottosanto says. “Put in a lounge chair, table, hammock, Jacuzzi or even a swinging chair.
“If everyone had a secret garden, I think the world would be much more peaceful. When people like to be in their back yards rather than their cars, it preserves our environment and improves our standard of living.”
