SmartScapes
Healing Ecosystems offers full landscape conversions, garden installation, maintenance and garden coaching at affordable rates. You save on water and maintenance long-term while giving back to our local ecology, and enjoying food from your yard.
If you live around the Bay Area, you may be eligible for a cost-effective smartscape. Fill out the form below & we will contact you soon.
Checking on the veggie starts. We planted vegetables from seed so the family could experience the full cycle of growing their own food. The process involved clearing the landscape, sheet mulching, building garden beds, setting up irrigation and planting. Beds were created from materials found on-site. The perimeter is lined with drought-tolerant native plants and culinary herbs. (Berkeley, CA / November 2017)
Emeryville Backyard Conversion
The family now has a safe area for the kids to play, a dinner table space under their pear tree and partial raised beds filled with vegetables and perennial food plants.
Backyard Pre-conversion
The yard had been neglected for quite a while and consisted of overgrown bushes, trees and dead grass. Clearing out the shrubbery and creating a clear to pallet to work on was the first step.
Berkeley Lawn Conversion
This landscape is made up of an array of drought-tolerant native plants and a fruit tree. We used rocks found on-site to create pavers and accent the contours of the yard. Note the picture below to see how the lawn looked previously.
Pre-conversion
This lawn had gone without irrigation for some time and was particularly dry and dead during the long summer months. This was the perfect canvas for a new landscape and also qualified for a water conservation rebate through a state program.
Another Lawn Conversion
Followed a simple theme as requested by our client. A couple of native huckleberries (Vaccinium ovatum) line the house which will produce food for birds and people. The drought-tolerant Pineapple Guava tree (Feijoa sellowiana) is the centerpiece and will create delicious fruit while becoming a window screen in years to come. The California Lilac (Ceanothus spp.) in the corner will grow to a large bush and its purple blooms match the neighboring rosemary perfectly.
Pre-conversion
Yes, the grass is greener but only because it is winter. This homeowner knew his weedy front lawn would be turning into a brown, dead mess by mid-summer without constant attention, maintenance and water. He took action to convert this lawn at the tail-end of winter when perennials get soaked in the best for root establishment.