To go along with our new Arbutus (Strawberry) Marina tree, Mike Garcia of Enviroscape designed a new front garden for us. It contains a wonderful mix of drought tolerant plants and succulents and a beautiful dry river bed made of rocks and pebbles. He said the dry river bed will look like running water when it rains. I said, "ha-ha, when does it ever rain here?" Here's a few pix of our new garden. We love it thanks to Mike. He really knows how to paint pictures with plants and other interesting garden elements. He also is very careful to preserve our environment in all that he does. P.S. While we were in Austin TX last week we saw several dry river beds. I'm getting to like the look a lot. … [Read more...]
A Strawberry Marina now in place of Paul’s tree
March 23, 2014 By Leave a Comment
In December 2013 we removed the tree we had planted in September 2000 on the first anniversary of our son Paul's death. We had to because the tree we called Paul's Tree was undermining our property. We have finally planted a replacement. Though it's much smaller than the tree we had removed, it promises to become fuller and laden with a strawberry type of fruit high in antioxidants. It's called an Arbutus (strawberry) Marina. Right now it has a display of pink flowers and buds that attract many hummingbirds. One feature of this tree's beauty is its red multi-branched trunk that perfectly matches our home's red tiled roof. Our new Strawberry Marina tree is bringing me joy already. While my garden maven Mike Garcia and his Enviroscape team were planting the tree, they produced two videos about it. I also took a few photos to share here. … [Read more...]
Mike Garcia asks: what in life is most important to you?
March 6, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Mike Garcia and his team have been taking care of our garden in Manhattan Beach for several years. He's always been an advocate for drip irrigation, and with the drought situation here in southern California, my husband and finally decided to have it installed. Mike says drip irrigation uses 60 percent less water than a traditional sprinkler system. I can see the savings already. We see no residual water from miss-aimed sprinklers on our driveway anymore. As we've worked with Mike and I've gotten to know him better, I more and more like his philosophy of protecting the our planet, our bodies and our minds. I've thrilled to share his words on those subjects here on Choices today. Light Overcomes Darkness By Mike Garcia Life is the most precious of gifts. When we break it down, what in life is most important? It depends on who is being asked. Some may say making a living, which means making money. Some may say relationships or health. And of course, there is no reason to … [Read more...]
Paul’s Tree is gone….
December 7, 2013 By 3 Comments
Paul's Tree is gone. Inside of three hours its branches were cut down, its trunk chain sawed into moveable chunks and its huge root ball dug out of the ground and also split into small pieces. Now the ground is covered with a few plants. However after the first of the year we will plant a smaller 36-inch tree in its place. The city mandated we plant a new tree when it gave us permission to remove this one. I'm sorry to say we couldn't save it and move it elsewhere. It was just too big. My gardener, Mike Garcia, owner of Enviroscape LA Landscaping, said we would have had to remove overhead wires and hire five helicopters to lift it away not an economic option, unfortunately. And Mike would know. He cares about growing things. He creates sustainable and healing gardens like I create healing words. By the way, Mike offered some words of advice don't let your tree guy just take a few inches of the root ball away when/if you ever have to remove a tree. He says you won't be able to … [Read more...]
