A Love Affair with Texture, Stone and Water | Talk & Tour

A Love Affair with Texture, Stone and Water | Talk & Tour Moving to a new home with no garden, dry rocky soil and huge stone outcroppings was just the challenge this gardener was up for. Starting a new garden from scratch

Downsizing for Ruby and Frank Andrews meant moving from a 30-acre ranch with a 3-acre garden to their 1-acre property in Granite Bay, California, a suburb of Sacramento. There wasn’t much there when they moved in 13 years ago, but that was just fine with Ruby — she relished the challenge of bringing some life to this mostly empty yard. Drawing on her passion for textural plantings, Japanese maples (Acer spp. and hybrids) and water features, Ruby created a peaceful retreat, which the couple enjoys daily and also shares when they open their garden for tours.

Initially Ruby thought it would take a year to get the garden figured out—after all, she gardened on 3 rocky acres in the country for 32 years, and this is a much smaller space. But after 12 years, Ruby is finding, much to her enjoyment, that there’s still a lot to learn about the yard, and she’s in no hurry. Let’s walk through the garden to see what she’s done so far. Don't miss the Talk & Tour video to experience even more of Ruby's garden.

When you live where the average summer temperature is 92 degrees F, trees are a big help. Ruby and Frank have added countless trees to the original dogwoods (Cornus spp.), oleanders (Nerium oleander) and scrub oaks (Quercus spp.) in this northwest-facing yard. But the original trees and turf on the slope near the street used to struggle in the poor, dry soil in this northwest-facing yard. Ruby and Frank brought in lots of “planter’s mix,” a combination of