EcoUrban Designs

07/22/2015

This project has been really rewarding. We broke it up in phases but now that it's done it is a night and day difference from the plain old grass lawn that it used to be!

11/27/2014

Streambank restoration project. Erosion activity is beginning to undermine this concrete bike path. We harvested willow trunks and predrilled holes and staked them into the bank to provide structural support to the bank (the willow stakes have been kept in water so that they will root into the bank).

Now that stakes are installed, the next step will be to scatter seed, lay/wrap erosion blanket on the soil, braid willow branches around the stakes, and plant some more native riparian plants to further stabilize and protect the bank from erosion. The stream flow should then reroute away from the bike path.

Helped that it was a beautiful day and not too hot while working in the waders!

11/04/2014

We installed this trellis along the north fence to make the most of the property's sun exposure. These thornless blackberry vines filled in beautifully.

11/02/2014

Was getting too dark (and kind of forgot too :) for pics from the later part of the day but these shows the first stages of a turf to sheet-mulch conversion. No more lawn; trees irrigated onto drip (better for trees anyway); berms built in the convey stormwater from the downspouts to infiltrate the yard and conserve water. Just dig out the apron and shape berms; add cardboard as a food later for worms and a weedmat to help kill the grass; add compost layer and mulch next covert the hard clayey soil and dead sod to developed soil; add native and drought-tolerant plants with another valve and line for drip irrigation. Then you have a low-maintenance, water-conserving, beautiful yard also serving as a native habitat to birds, butterflies and beneficial insects. We have been doing a bunch of these this year.

05/24/2014

Other side of the duplex.

05/22/2014

Before and after of part of the duplex we just finished

04/24/2014

Sub-alpine native yard with new pathways. The retaining wall adds more yard. The drought-tolerant native plants serve many functions such as becoming a windbreak, native pollinators, water savings, and aesthetics. Lots of work tilling through hard clay and volcanic rock but well worth it. The mulch will gradually help break down the clay too.

04/19/2014

Today in the demo garden . CLICK on pic and SCROLL over photo for plant names.

04/05/2014

Crazy

About to go into mass bloom along side our front fence.Spectacular blooms!