Portfolio
Here are a few samples of Eco-yards™ designed and installed by Laureen Rama and crew. Please note that it takes a few years for the plants to mature and some of these yards are not yet at that stage. We usually plan for plants to fill in and to cover most of the wood chip mulch which acts to keep in moisture, prevent weeds and restore organic matter to the soil.
We tailor our designs to the desires of the client and the uniqueness of the site, so your Eco-yard may look different than those of these happy clients.
University Area
For this new home in an established area, the homeowners wanted a natural front yard with no lawn and a mix of mostly native evergreen and deciduous shrubs and groundcover flowers that will bloom throughout the growing season. Dogwood, birches, evergreens and grasses bring colour in winter too.
On both sides of the yard, we built rock river swales with flagstone waterfalls to take water from the roof and distribute it throughout the yard. Rustic logs act as edging against the neighbour’s lawn.
Marda Loop Area - Southwest Calgary
This yard was featured as an example in the design chapter of Eco-yards™: Simple steps to earth-friendly landscapes. The homeowner is a busy oilpatch executive originally from Scotland. He wanted a low-maintenance yard that would be good for the environment and nice to view from the porch where he sits and plays his guitar. After looking at photos, he decided he wanted a look that would remind him of the low heather on the Scottish moors.
So, everything newly planted is under a foot high. Plants were chosen so that something is blooming all season long. A low creeping pine will eventually fill to 9 feet wide and brings colour in the winter.
The homeowner also professed to loving pink-coloured granite. We built a rock river from the downspout of the roof at the front corner of the house to a sandstone ledge that ends about 6 feet before the city sidewalk. This river has some pinkish granite boulders. Rocks used in a sweat lodge were also brought in from a local source. Beautiful blue and purple Montana river rock were brought to fill the river in. The rock river distributes rain water through part of the yard.
Elbow Park
Before
After
These avid vegetable gardeners wanted a more attractive vegetable bed surrounded by mostly native flowers. So we designed a variation of a French Knot garden - raised beds of local rock filled with rich composted soil for the vegetables and a lower raised area for herbs in the middle.
We dug out the lawn where the rock wall and flagstone pathway were to go, turned over some of that sod to create beds, and took the rest of the sod to be composted into soil at Bow Point Nursery. We covered the turned over sod and the rest of the lawn and invasive daisy crop with newspaper to minimize digging and hauling and keep that rich organic matter in the yard.
We built a rock pond with another client’s extra rocks to capture run-off from the roof. Rain water soaks into the yard to minimize the need for watering.
Front Yards with Rock River Swales
A small vegetable garden is near the front of the tan house. Most of the bushes and groundcovers are fruit-bearing: gooseberries, saskatoon, currants and strawberries.
Both of these front yards feature rock river swales. The rocks are set in a trench that is level on each section of the s-curve so the rain water from the roof stays in the trench and soaks into the yard. Rock waterfalls allow the water to drop from one level to another.
An Evans Sour cherry tree graces the front of this yard full of flowering plants.
Aspen Woods - A Garden for Food and Dogs
This homeowner loves to grow her own organic food. She had a bare lot in very rocky Aspen Woods, so we built her raised vegetable beds filled with rich, composted soil and a compost bin at the back of the yard. We also put in a native raspberry patch. A chain link fence as per neighbourhood specs keeps the dogs in and other critters out. Near the house we put more raised beds where the homeowner grows tomatoes, eggplants and peppers watered with a giant raised rain barrel.
Near the house, we built a rustic paver patio surrounded by beds with flowers and fruit bushes and trees: currants, apples, honeyberries and a saskatoon. Rustic willow furniture and trellises made by one of our crew completes the natural look. A hardy, no-mow lawn keeps the dogs happy. Originally planning to move after a few years, this family loves their yard so much they now plan to stay.
Natural Stone Work
Flagstone patio with retaining walls and built in firepit.
Front walkways with planting beds.
