Landscape and Xeriscape Design, Austin Texas
Replace your boring sod with a Texas friendly, low water, low maintenance garden that adds value to your home and life.
Landscapes in Austin can be tricky as we are in an evolution of environmental change and a desperate need for water conservation and sustainable gardens. If you are in the market for a landscape design in the greater Austin area, especially Xeriscape low water, low maintenance design and installation, than that is my specialty and I would be delighted to work with you on your project. But before you call anyone there are some things you need to consider.
The first thing to consider when planning a landscape installation is how long you plan to live in your home. If you are there for a good long time, or you want it to suit you no matter how long you plan to be there, then have at it. If you are considering a move in the next few years. I suggest you read up on how to stage your home for sale before you start.
The next important consideration is your budget. If the sky is the limit, then good for you, enjoy the ride and what designer would not love to have an endless budget to play with. (I have had the opportunity and it’s delightful ) Though most people are not in that position and new landscapes are pricier than people think because materials like stone, mulch, plants and trees add up quickly and quality labor comes at a price. You would not go to a second rate dentist who has a general idea how to fix your problem, and you should not cut corners when it comes to your precious plants and expensive stone work. I pride myself in assisting the customer to make the most of the money they have to spend and it is important for your landscaper/designer to understand the value of your dollar no matter your income. Certain materials cost what they cost and there are no substitutes, but it is the designers job to create clever alternatives that can save you money and give you the ultimate results you are looking for. If your landscape professional is spending most of your time trying to sell you upgrades, they may not be serving your best interest.
Be sure you are hiring a professional with a native and adapted plant knowledge. Proper plant selection, layout, planting techniques and soil knowledge are something that comes with experience. The wrong plant selection can destroy the best executed design.
This is what a xeriscape, low water, low maintenance garden looks like!
Be sure the plants your designer is choosing are the plants that belong in our area, not just the least expensive plants they found to make a profit. Always choose low water, low maintenance plants and trees. Austin is in a serious drought with no relief in sight and water friendly landscapes can be lush and beautiful. The less maintenance for you (through proper plant placement) the greater your reward from the landscape.
Something a lot of people neglect to consider is the maintenance that goes along with the garden your designer has created for you. Your designer should ask questions about your life, ages of your children, pets how much time you travel with work or for play and how often you want to be in the garden doing maintenance. My goal is to give you a garden that requires real work every Spring and Fall, not every week or every month. This is achieved by choosing the right plants for the space and by placing the plants with enough room from sidewalks, patios and each other, so that they do not require trimming. River rock sidewalks and creek beds require a weekly weeding. River rock is not a no maintenance solution, this is a no water situation and your designer/installer needs to tell you these things so your expectations are met.
Another important consideration is to be realistic about what are your priorities and what are your dreams for this project. If a budget has to be met, it is important to keep your needs in check. If you must establish some shade before you can enjoy your space, then obviously some trees or a covered patio are a priority or all the flowers in the world will not encourage you to spend time outside. If you need a patio to grill and entertain, then solutions need to be made to give you the space of your dreams with the budget of your reality. Alternative materials can be used to create all sorts of fabulous spaces that you may not have considered and that is again, where your designer/installer should shine.
Lastly, follow your instincts not your pocketbook to make the best choice for your design and installation. I firmly believe your designer needs to meet your personal needs as the space you are offering to them (and they are charging you for) is an extension of your living space and not a place you want to look at with regret. Do your homework on the person/people you hire. Check references and establish a trust so you can maintain a lasting relationship. I maintain relationships with my customers years after the landscape installation so I can guide them through at least the first few years until they feel comfortable with their success. You do not want to deal with someone who installs and runs, as anyone who “creates” landscapes, (not just installs them) takes pride in their work and needs for you to be successful and happy so you will tell your friends and so on.
I am a 100% word of mouth business owned and operated by me, each plant is hand picked by me, and while I obviously share the task of installing stone, plants and trees, I oversee each project personally and take incredible pride in what I do. I believe installing organic, Xerophytic landscapes the way nature intended, is one of the most honorable jobs on the planet and if you are Austin local, I would be honored to work with you in the future. Here is a little more info about ME.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design ( “like” me on facebook!)
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Beneficial Bugs “Get to know your friends”
Lizards, frogs and many beneficial insect eat the destructive pests in your garden. You need to be able to recognize who is who…Amphibians are hyper sensitive to chemicals so always use organics whenever possible.
Beneficial insects play a very important role in our biological warfare. One of the best reasons to employ the bug world to fight your pest fights is that chemical insecticides in the form of a broad spray or granular broadcast kill the good guys and can make matters worse. It has also been shown that destructive insects are actually becoming immune to chemical pesticides do to the gross over use in tremendous volume, which is obviously counterproductive in a large number of ways. Chemicals destroy not just the pests, but people, water and soil too. It is very important to get to know your friends and foes in the garden. When you know who is actually working for you, you can make better choices in the way you tackle a potential pest problem. For example, spraying a pesticide over a large area kills your bees, lady bugs, spiders, lizards and any other soft bodies creature who comes in contact with it. Do you really want your children and pets around that? Best part is (not really the best part…being facetious) is that when the destruction is done on land, it dissipates into the air as well…lose, lose.
You can order many bugs online to add to your arsenal, and others like Ladybugs, beneficial Nematodes and Praying Mantis can be purchased at local nurseries and released in your yard. (How cool is that!) You can also order them online at The Bug Lady and some natural pesticide at Planet Natural online. Many of your local nurseries will carry much of this as well so always support your local business whenever possible and if they do not carry these items, ask them to do so!
Lady bugs eat Aphids, in fact, an adult Ladybug can eat up to 5000 Aphids in its lifetime. While you may easily recognize a
These are the Aphids being munched on by Lady Bug Larvae…This is why it is important to know who your allies are!
lovely Lady Beetle, you may not recognize its eggs that are attached to the bottom of a leave in a yellow egg cluster, or that it’s larvae, that can eat a good amount of Aphids themselves, looks like a tiny ugly alligator. This is why it so important to know who your allies are.
One example of a pest or visitor I don’t mind sharing with is a caterpillar that will some day be a butterfly. Swallow Tails love dill and every year I plant plenty so they can have their fill. However, the Tomato Horn Worm is another story. While the Horn Worm will become a Sphinx Moth (Hummingbird Moth) they are voracious and should be controlled as they can eat an entire tomato plant or Penta overnight. I choose the pick and flick method. Yes, it is just how it sounds, I pick them off the plant and flick them off my property, or I escort them down the road to a field away from my house if my son catches me as he believes you should find them a new home, but you may choose to employ the Trichogramma Wasp. This wasp lays it eggs in the caterpillars and many other pests and when the eggs hatch, they feast on the host. Pretty gross really, but after you have lost enough food to the critters…it feels more like tit-for-tat ;-/ The variety of wasp depends on your location and you can ask for the ones for your area when you order them.
Now maybe you’re not the buying bugs type, so at the very least you need to get to know who your friends are. There is a list of beneficial bugs you can find on-line, there are plenty of books, and you can find a short list of both good and bad bugs on a handy laminated single page you can buy at any bookstore for about $6. You can keep the page somewhere convenient and when you see a bug you don’t recognize, you can identify if it is a friend or a foe. If it is a friend, thank him for his kindness 
, if it is a foe, you will know who it is and you can learn how to attack it. (organically of course )
Now, say you have found a huge breakout of Aphids, (which by the way can be controlled by a hard spray of water from the hose) you can get your Lady Beatles and set them free on that plant/plants, and they will go right to work. If it is a pest you identify but are unable to locate a beneficial bug to “sick on it”, you can be sure your Praying Mantis will take on the job. They are ravenous and vicious and while they will make good work on the bad bugs, they aren’t choosy and will eat anything in their way, including good bugs or her partners head after she has mated. Ugh
However, if you locate a certain bug and realize that the infestation is too great and or aren’t going to purchase bugs, and you think you need to rely on chemical warfare, than you will know what you are treating and can treat only the affected plants, not the whole yard. You begin of course with organics, but if the problem persists, you go to the chemicals as a last resort. There truly is an organic remedy for just about everything, so taking a daily stroll through the garden is not only therapeutic, but helps you see there is a problem before it is too big for an organic solution.
If you are on Facebook, please ck out my” Lisa’s Landscape & Design” Page and by pressing the “like” button you will get daily updates about all sorts of great info including pics of beneficial bugs and what they are hungry for. Here is also a list of the good guys from the Mater Gardeners website.
Happy Gardening !!
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design 
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Check me out of YouTube!
The Wonders of Worms in the Garden!
A handful of worms is worth a fortune in the garden.
Earthworms are greatly valued in the garden community for a number of reasons. I would say that the earthworm is a lot like the “trophy” you get for the success of your soil preparation. After years of composting, composting and composting some more, my soil is now a rich, dark mixture of organic matter and nutrients and with that success, comes earthworms in great numbers.
This morning as I was planting 3- quart sized plants in my garden, I found a total of 18 worms in an 18″ x 8″ area. I was as proud of that number as I am of my prized flowers, fruits and veggies, for that number is pretty darn impressive by anyone’s standards.
Earthworms are a huge value because they are crawling composters of all things organic. Worms literally plow through the earth churning the organic matter while eating everything in the soil exchanging it (from the other end) for worm castings which are highly nutritional, power packed compost pellets that re-energize the soils nutrient content providing an even greater amount of food for plants and trees. Worms also aerate the soil adding oxygen and allowing water to pass through the soil more effectively by the nature of how they pass through the earth.
You will not have worms in your soil if you do not have healthy, organic, chemical free soil. So they are a great measure of how well you are doing in your space.
When you see earthworms in your soil, thank then for their hard work and contribution to your garden!
In order to get the greatest amount of worms and the benefit of their presence, you have to be organic all the way down to your fertilizers. Commercial fertilizers are bonded with salts and they will kill off your earthworms and eggs. Chemical treatments for pest and disease control will also affect your worm population so this is yet another reason to only chemically treat what is necessary after all organic methods have been exhausted.
If you are beginning with a new garden bed or are in a new home and you are interested in conditioning the soil with earthworms, you can order worms online and add them to your soil. Be sure you buy the Earthworms native to our area and that you release them in the evening when it is coolest. Be sure you loosen up the soil for them and hose them lightly so they can acclimate as easily as possible to their new surrounding. Some of the worms may die during this process, but they will become compost as well.
Earthworms are a very beneficial ally in the garden and the more compost and organic matter you add, the larger the number of earthworms you will attract and re-populate. In exchange for their hard work and yours, you will reap the rewards of a beautiful nutrient rich, oxygen filled soil.
Dark, nutrient rich soil is the gift we get from earthworms and compost.
Now go get your organic garden on!
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design (“like” me on facebook )
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Check me out on Youtube!
Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)
I am a big fan of vines in the right space. They serve an excellent purpose in the landscape as there is a lot to be said for a vertical plant that can provide color and fragrance while hiding an unsightly fence, wall or view. However, you have to be very careful with the vines you choose as they can also be your enemy in the wrong place.
One of my favorite vines to use in landscape designs and in my own space is the Confederate Jasmine (also called Star Jasmine or trader’s compass). Though most people may think the name “Confederate” refers to the “South, or the Confederate States”, the truth is that is refers to the Malay Confederacy of Southeast Asia where this beautiful plant is a native.
Incredibly fragrant, evergreen and beautiful.
The Confederate Jasmine is in fact not a true jasmine, it is a member of the milkweed family which is obvious if you break off a stem and the milky white substance drips from the cut. (Be careful with the milk because it will stain your clothes with a black mark if you are not cautious when trimming and some people are allergic to the milk.) The family name “jasminoides” refers to its jasmine-like fragrance and oh, how I wish you had smell-o-vision. This vine is so incredibly fragrant while in bloom that it is absolutely intoxicating. The aroma wafts through the entire yard and when the wind blows the fragrance carries though the neighborhood. With its stunning star-shaped white flowers and glossy green leaves, this is a very special vine in the landscape.
Confederate Jasmine has to be trained on a wire or fence. It makes an excellent vine because it is not invasive and does not attach itself to everything around it.
The Confederate Jasmine is hardy in zones 8-11, low water, evergreen, can tolerate sun to mostly shade and grows to about 10-15′. This vine is slow to get going, but after the first year or two it will take off and fill in quickly. Unlike Asian jasmine that will take over everything it comes in contact with, Confederate Jasmine also makes an excellent ground cover because it will stay on top of the ground and go where you encourage it to grow.
This video demonstrates how beautiful this vine truly is and I encourage you to find a special place in your landscape for this fabulously functional addition.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design (“like” me on facebook!)
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Check me out of YouTube!
Mushrooms on my Mulch?? It’s a Good Thing!
This is Mycorrhizae in the mulch that has been hand tilled to show the fungi beneath the soil where it lives.
One of the questions I hear often after an installation of plants into organic matter is “What do I do about the Mushrooms growing in my mulch?” The answer is, “Tell them thank you!”
Mushrooms growing in your mulch, composted beds or landscape beds are a really good thing and they are telling you that you have very rich organic matter, otherwise, much like the presence of Earthworms, they would not be there in the first place. Mushroom growth in your soil and beds is a sign of a healthy soil. These are not edible mushrooms, so never try a mushroom you do not recognize as the wrong mushrooms can be deadly, but they can be a huge advantage to your plants.
Have you ever noticed while planting, the little cluster of white webbing under the mulch that seems to have thread like webbing that travel throughout the mulch? I receive a number of panicked emails about the mushrooms on soil and sod and I am here to tell you that there is an entire eco system in your soil and it is time to educate yourself on the many living organisms that make up the balance of this glorious planet we inhabit.
Mushrooms are the reproductive structures of fungi and indicate healthy soil where trees and other plants grow. This growth is especially present right after a rain or after you compost and if you are concerned about pets or children consuming the mushroom, I suggest you simply till them back into your soil. Mushrooms are a fungi that, along with bacteria in your soil, play a very important role in breaking down more complex organic compounds, proteins and carbohydrates that are used by other organisms.
Plants rely on soil fungi and bacteria to seek out and digest nutrients for them which in turn feed soil organisms with sugars (or carbohydrates) they (the plant) make in photosynthesis. Hyphae, which are thread like underground filaments that attach themselves to plant roots then reach far into the soil, can increase the surface area of the plant roots a thousand times by creating a symbiotic relationship. When plant roots and fungi hyphae work together, they form mycorrhizae which is an incredibly fascinating process.
Certain nutrients, like phosphate are insoluble to plants and they must rely on mycorrhizal filaments to break down organisms in the soil like leaf litter and needed minerals to make those nutrients available to the plant. The tiny thread like mycelia are much smaller than even the smallest root and mycorrhizae can reach to great lengths. (there can be miles of mycorrhizal filaments in your landscape). In exchange, the plant provides the mycorrhizae with carbohydrates from the plants leaves. The presence of mycorrhizae help hold soils together, improve soil structure and increase porosity that enhances the plants root growth. Mycorrhizae also protect plants from root diseases and suppresses soil-borne pathogens.
It’s a nice day for a “White Webbing”
This process has been evolving for millions of years and many of the plants in your landscape depend on some type of fungal activity. If you are organic and have added lots of organic material (compost does not contain mycorrhizae but may encourage growth) you may already have this beneficial organism present in your soil. However, if you have ever used chemicals, have inherited a yard you are unsure of, have standing water, have over fertilized or used fungicides in, and you would like to be sure of this process, you can inoculate the fungi into your plants roots when planting. Here is a video and information on the process.
This is another great reason why organics in the garden are so important for your over all success. Creating the most symbiotic relationship with the planet as is possible, will result in the most healthy environment for the Eco system you want to create and nurture.
Happy Organic Gardening!
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design (Like me on facebook)
“Saving The Planet One Yard at a Time”
Check out my video’s on YouTube!
Springtime Trimming, Is It Time Yet?
So it is mid to late Winter in Austin Texas and as usual you cannot decide if it is Spring or Winter (hot one day, cold the next, sometimes in the same day) and you are jonesing to get in your garden! A little landscape advice from a well seasoned professional,…Don’t be too eager to trim back your perennials just because Mother Nature cannot make up her mind about the weather. The fact is that we very often will get a late season freeze and you may be trimming off the only protection your plant has.
Another really important fact is that if your landscape company or lawnmower guy is telling you it is time, this is their downtime and they are looking for billable hours. Make sure you know when the time is right. While that lawn services might be excellent at mowing and mulching, it does not mean they know plants. If the person/s you hire cannot give you the name of the plants and trees they are trimming, do not let them trim unless you know their growing habits and can show them the proper way. Hard pruning a flowering shrub late Winter/early Spring (once flowers are already set) may mean you lose all of your Spring flowers. Trimming your fruit trees too late in the season means you will lose the fruit on those limbs, trimming a woody perennial plant to the ground means that you have lost years of growth or may cause death, etc. Cropped Crepe Myrtles are a perfect example of landscapers and home owners not knowing proper trimming techniques.
Crepe Murder- Absolute No, No!
This photo is a classic example of a bad trim that leads to irreparable damage. It is important to know the proper trimming techniques and timing and this can be found online, (below) and by hiring a landscape professional like my self to train you. I offer educational landscape consultations where I teach you how to care for you trees, shrubs, plants and lawn and the information than can then be shared with your landscaper, or lawn service for the best results. The tree above will never look the same, and can no longer hold the burden of the flower and seed pods because it has been structurally damaged.
Remember that the dead branches and leaves that are left behind from Winter are protection for the roots of your dormant (still sleeping) perennials and trimming your perennials sends them a message that it is time to start growing. New foliage will later be burned by a freak cold snap, so be sure to check your extended forecasts and when possible, wait until at LEAST late February, early March( in Texas) to do your hard pruning.
When the time is right and your extended forecast looks like the coast is clear, you can begin to trim and your plants will give you the cue. You should now be seeing lots of green appearing at the ground level, along the stems of woody limbs and branches, and from the seemingly bare ground (bulbs and such). You are also going to find a whole lot of dead leaves, and burned branches, so be sure to use those in your compost pile or bag them up for the city to recycle whenever possible.
Spreading compost on your beds and your plants should be done in early March to promote growth throughout the season, and composting your lawns should be done as soon as you see some green peaking through. (typically early March) Composting too soon will promote growth that may later be damaged by a cold snap so same rule applies here. NEVER compost your lawn past tax day! Composting too late in the season (when the heat is on and days are long) will burn your lawn if your compost contains manure products and most commercial compost does. Use organics whenever possible, the Earth thanks you
For detailed information on trimming techniques, please check out this link !
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design ( “like” me on facebook!)
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Check me out on YouTube!
Finding Some Landscape Motivation in Changing Times
I have had the same philosophy for the last 20 years, longer really because I have been a Texan for 29 years. I moved here as a teen from south of Chicago and lived in a rather rural area with dark fertile soil, beautiful trees, 4 seasons and the most amazing flower displays all Summer long….then I came to Texas. I was culturally, emotionally and seasonally challenged and my therapy was to find my place in the garden. I knew way before it was cool (or really hot as the case may be) that Austin was getting a bit big for its britches and needed to change the glutinous landscape situation the builders and HOA’s were encouraging and requiring. We needed to go back to the way things used to be when you collected rain and ate what you grew while embracing the super cool Austin feel. Living in a time where changing climate and water shortages are a the wave of the future we have to come to some new conclusions. Long gone (or should be) are the days of sweeping lawns and over-watered commercial properties, here to stay are alternative solutions.
Edible and perennial beds, Earth Kind rose shrubs, fruit trees for shade and NO LAWN!
The truth is that Austin is a cool cat, forward thinking kind of town stuck in an old and outdated tradition passed down by our parents generation, sold to us as a bill of goods by the chemical companies who convinced our parents that there was an easier way to do things. Sometimes the “easy way” has terrible consequences and those consequences were put on Mother Earth. We all have to look to the past for these answers as there is a lot to be said about the way our ancestors did things.
This is an excellent opportunity to redesign the face of Austin. We can take the lessons from gardeners past and create a new way of more futuristic, Austin-tastic landscapes unique to our region and like no other. No offence to anyone else, but I am not interested in having Austin conserve water to look like Arizona, or El Paso, and there is no reason we need to. We simply need to garden more intelligently and that is to turn back to the way things were before we started all of this.
When the settlers came here they didn’t redirect rivers and hills to build their homes, they embraced the lay of the land and used it to their advantage. They used garden journals to keep track of successes and failures and they used organic remedies to control their environment. Now, we are not going to burn down the yard to fertilize, but we can take some lessons in gardening and use it to our advantage now.
Obviously, we need to begin by planting what belongs here. Many a generation brought plants here that were not indigenous to the area and created an ecosystem nightmare i.e. Juniper. Now we have people here from all over the world who are continuing to plant plants that are not indigenous to our area and there are ecological consequences. We remove the rock and put in sod, we re-grade the land and build retainer walls, we build our homes on tree roots, throw out chemicals we know nothing about to control things we don’t understand and pour concrete on the land to direct all of our rain water to the ocean, then wonder why things have gone so badly?
We cannot undo what has been done, but we can damn sure do better. This year, instead of re-planting that unsuccessful sod, add a river bed, a native grass or an herb garden. To create shade for your burning yard, plant a fruit tree instead of another that will take the same water but doesn’t give you food. Time and time again I hear “River rock just seems so sterile”. Really? When was the last time you sat along a river bank and thought, wow, this seems so unnatural? River rock is round and soft and adds an organic feel by adding color and textures, rocks can make a huge statement! I guess I struggle understanding how something natural wouldn’t fit into the landscape. Elements like crushed glass, pea gravel, crushed granite, reclaimed bricks, reclaimed pavers, stained concrete blocks, stone and moss boulders, even nut shells can be used for interest in mulch.
Reduced sod, river rock nuisance strips and lush Xerophytic beds.
The combination of drought tolerant native and adapted plants, organic and inorganic materials in place of sod can reduce the need for excessive watering it also reduces the need for pest control and attracts native bees. Correcting hills and drainage area’s with river rock beds and dry creeks can solve run off issues you may never resolve with traditional methods. Adding boulders, alternative landscape materials and architecture to fill the garden space can save water and the need to over plant. Building larger mulch beds around your trees and place seating areas in your beds to takes up space and makes it more inviting.
Research alternative landscapes before making a change. Remember that an estimated 150 people are moving here daily. The water shed that we all share has an estimated shelf life of about 10 years by the water conservationist at A&M. We have to change the way we think about what will be left to drink, and create alternative Xeriscape (drought tolerant, not stabby) landscapes.
The planet is sending us a message and an opportunity to make a profound change before we no longer have time to change…what will you do??
Happy Gardening!!
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design ( “like” me on facebook)
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Texas HOAs, Water Crisis in the Lone Star State
Today I was invited to participate in a press release meeting held by David Foster of the “Clean Water Fund” to discuss a recently published report (below) on the need for HOAs to make adjustments to their sod requirements as an act of water conservation. Irony being what it is, the need for water conservation was overshadowed by a rare rain event that resulted in a less than impressive turnout by the press, but the message was not lost. The state of Texas is in a state of crisis with our current water supply and this report covers the incredible statistics of HOAs requirements and addiction to sod.
With our current water supply in jeopardy, it is imperative that we reduce the use of water lost to irrigation. Sod accounts for nearly 60% of our annual drinking water usage and the need for change is more important than ever. I am very proud to have been part of a movement to change the current HOA rules in my neighborhood of Avery Ranch. The board members knew that creating an amendment to our CC&R’s (HOA covenants, conditions and restrictions) would require a majority vote of our nearly 3600 homes, so instead, they created a “Variance” to allow up to 75% Xeriscape and as little as 25% sod in our front yards, with 100% Xeriscape in the back. This is a HUGE improvement over the 80% sod and 20% landscape that was allowed previously.
HOA boards have to create new rules and variances to allow home owners to make intelligent decisions to conserve our precious resources. By adding rules and regulations to the variance as Bob Beyer, a friend, A/R resident and Master Gardener drafted for us, neighborhoods can still regulate the change by restricting materials to be used, and by requiring approval by the architectural board.
This is not going to happen over night and it is going to take a movement by the people to force HOAs to come into the 21st century. If you are worried about the look of this change or the value of your home, then be an active part in what this looks like for your neighborhood. Xeriscape is beautiful, lush and colorful. Native plants invite native bees, require less water, less maintenance and when you have the right combination of plants, can look very elegant. There is a Xeriscape design for every home, and with a small, intentional lawn space, the lawn becomes more manageable, the over all landscape requires less water, less time for maintenance, no need for chemicals and with the extra time you have, you can sit in your garden and enjoy a lovely glass of water.
http://www.cleanwaterfund.org/wateronthehomefront
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design ( “like” me on facebook)
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
So…Who is this “Lisa” Anyway?
In my favorite place…the garden
Well, I will tell who I am. First and foremost I am the wife of an awesome husband for over 20 years and the mother of two amazing boys. One who just turned 21, who is a full-time honors college student, an incredibly smart and talented artist and photographer, and a part-time production assistant at a local production company. The other, is a 13 year old with Autism, who is bright, funny and incredibly imaginative, with a heart the size of Texas.
I am a lucky woman who spent many years as a full-time Mommy, who has since been able to juggle a business and home life with the support of my husband who has always encouraged me to chase my dreams. My dream is to create a planet of gardeners one yard at a time. I want to change the way people think about their landscape opportunities. Your yard should be an extension of your living space and my mission is to teach people to create the most symbiotic relationship with nature possible. If I had the power, I would make traditional lawns illegal, as they are one of the greatest water waste offenders out there. I would require rain water collection systems for all home use in addition to city water, allow only native and adaptive plantings and ban chemicals when organics will do the same job without the harmful side effects. It is very important to me to be a teacher in all ways and to lead by example. I would like to pull people away from their TV’s and grocery stores and get them back into their gardens for entertainment and sustenance. Garden’s bring people together, cleanse our souls, and have therapeutic properties.
I began my current business over 10 years ago as a personal gardener, designer and installer, who did some commercial work and consulting. I also installed and maintained landscapes for flips and make ready’s for local real estate companies, but there is far more to the story…
A little background…I have an amazingly talented, beautiful Mother with the energy of those half her age, who with the help of my step-Dad, who is an angel of a man, has owned and operated one of the longest standing interior plant maintenance & design companies in Austin, called “The Plant Connection”. I am blessed with two set of parents, as my Father is a well-known artist and creator of Kinetic Sculpture, Jim LaPaso, owner of “Designs By LaPaso”, who is married to an awesome, beautiful woman who I adore. This marriage gave me my baby sister, Mia, who is a talented hair artist and co-owner of “Moxie Hair Lounge” On Bee Caves Rd. We have a third sister who lives in Illinois,(Hi Danna) but as you can tell we have made our mark on Austin.
I was inspired to be a gardener by my grandparents who were incredibly talented. They used the garden as therapy and a delicious source of food and it was a great source of pride to them. I have assembled the skills I have been blessed with and made a path all my own. As a landscaper I wanted to be different from the rest, and my philosophy is “Keep it simple”. To me, to be truly successful, you have to meet the customers needs in a very specific way and be able to speak to their hearts and their heads. The customer needs to feel heard and respected and while honesty and integrity have become past tense in many businesses, it is at the forefront of mine. I believe working to make a better connection between people and the planet is a great honor.
While I have a pretty decent educational background, I have a lot to learn. I believe when you think you know it all, you show how much still have to learn. For now, I know what I know, and I know what I don’t know, it serves neither the client nor myself to claim to know things I do not. I am a Master Gardener, a certified Oak Wilt and water conservationist, I have several years of landscape design education and certifications and I take about every extended education course available to me. Additionally, I pride myself in my knowledge and use of native and adaptive low water, low maintenance plants. This has certainly been important to my success but I believe that the best education I have ever received is the experience I have attained over the past 25 years as a Central Texas Gardener
I am teaching my customers when I speak and write so it is important to keep it user-friendly. In that same vein, I have kept those same principles in my practice. The least amount of amendments, use plants that belong here, low water, low maintenance, NO CHEMICALS unless absolutely necessary, organic alternatives and compost saves the world. I could charge you a lot more if I convince you that you need a lot of extra stuff, but I give people a fighting chance at being successful with minimal effort. I make an honest living, and they will be motivated to be better gardeners with the basic information needed to be successful . If I had my way, I would teach everyone to put me out of work and feel really proud of that accomplishment. However, so far I have my work cut out for me
I would say that my favorite part of what I do is to help people make better choices. Part of my educational back ground has been spent learning about our past mistakes, when we know better, we have got to do better. We have got to conserve our resources and respect what our Planet has provided us. Simple changes really do make life altering differences and we are all capable of such change. I sleep better knowing that I am a contributing force in what I do as a profession. My super awesome assistant Melissa and I believe that we work for Mother Nature first, and the customer second.
-Be the change you want to see in the world – Gandhi
Lisa LaPaso (lisalapaso@yahoo.com)
Lisa’s Landscape and Design- ( “like” me on facebook)
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Thryallis – Golden Shower (Galphimia glauca)
Thryallis is one of the terribly underused and under appreciated, beautifully adapted jewels in the Central Texas landscape. This full to part Sun semi-evergreen, flowering shrub is a great replacement for the terribly overused shrubs most homes have parked outside their windows. Too many cookie cutter plants are used in place of something unusual and this is one of those times when an alternative can be a fun option.
Golden Showers Thryallis
Obviously this is a beautiful shrub, typically reaching 4-6′ tall and about 3′ wide at maturity, which it reaches rather quickly as it is a pretty fast grower. What I also love about it is that is not as dense as many of the evergreen options we have here. Very few of the typical “front bed” shrubs the builders commonly use have flowers at all and most that do are short-lived. This shrub blooms late in the season, usually around August or so, but has a steady pattern of blooming until the first frost. I also love that it requires no trimming!!! Yeah, no trimming…when you are constantly trimming back your hedges, this is a big deal. When properly spaced and given adequate sunlight, this is a great low water, low maintenance, deer resistant shrub. The Winter time is a bit tricky because the shrub tends to be sparse and multi-colored rather than a true evergreen, but well worth the sticky Winter appearance considering the fabulous Summer rewards.
Try this shrub the next time you are considering a low maintenance, low water, semi-evergreen flowering shrub and set a new trend for your neighborhood.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design ( “like” me on facebook) 
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Check out my other video’s on YouTube!!
Sustainable Gardening
Sustainable Gardening is a term you are going to be hearing more frequently in the garden community and for a very good reason. The basic principle is “sustenance and sustainability” but there are several meanings to the words “sustainable gardening” and they lead you all to the same place. “Sustainable”, environmentally sound, “sustenance”, nourishment grown in a sustainable manner, or “sustain”, which is to keep alive, supply with nutrients and nourishment. These all imply that what you are doing is beneficial and not harmful.
The definition in Wikipedia is;
… design, construction, operations and maintenance practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
by attempting to:
…protect, restore and enhance the ability of landscapes to provide ecosystem services that benefit humans and other organisms.”
Clear to the average person perhaps but this is over simplified, we need to talk more about why this is important. Clearly deforestation is harmful to the planet, when we remove more trees than we can replace, or use copious amounts of water on our lawns when we are running out of water to drink, that is not sustainable in the simplest of terms.
What is sustainable in the garden place? Reduction of water hogging sod whose use was originated in the 16th century by wealthy home owners as a sign of opulence. Now it is a sign of waste and times they are a changing…Sustainable gardening is the use of chemicals only when they are absolutely necessary. Most times when chemicals are used by the average homeowner or business they were never necessary in the first place and there is an organic remedy for just about everything. IPM, or Integrated Pest Management is the use of organic methods until they have failed and chemicals are the last-ditch effort. There is also the use of beneficial insects such as Lady Bugs, Preying Mantis and spiders, or toads, lizards and the like. Making intelligent plant choices by using native and adapted, disease resistant plants can make a huge difference in the success of your overall garden by using less water and attracting fewer pests. You can also utilize companion planting techniques by using aromatic plants to ward off particular insects from plants that may be more susceptible. Knowing how to work with nature can assist the gardener if we are educated on which plants and insects are on our team. Another excellent way to reduce the damage to the Earth is to compost and there are a number of excellent reasons why composting and using compost in your landscape are not only incredibly beneficial but sustainable as well. These are all forms of sustainable gardening. Make sure that what you use in your space is good for you and for the planet. Do no harm, very simple.
Organic Edible Garden
Sustainability is another area of sustainable gardening where you organically grow your own food (sustenance),save and collect your own water (rain barrels or water catchment system), and use what you grow. Growing peaches on a tree you do not eat the fruit from, which in turn fall to the ground and attract bugs that you then poison, is not sustainable. Grow what you use, water responsibly, and use chemicals only when necessary. To grow your own sustainable veggie and fruit gardens means that you are planting foods you will eat (which provide sustenance), understand that they will be nibbled by a few bugs and that you have protected the air, soil and ground water in the process. Apply only compost and natural fertilizers and use only native and adapted fruits and veggies.
Re-purposed headboard now creates a “Garden Bed”
Lastly, we need to re-use, recycle and re-purpose everything we can in the garden space. Recycle your plastic bags, planting pots and planters whenever possible. create clever ways to use old, outdated items in the garden see here, and composting all of your kitchen scraps, lawn clippings and plant cutting will reduce tons of trash from our landfills.
All great ways to create sustainable, sustenance that will sustain us all
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design ( “like” me on facebook)
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Check out my video’s on YouTube!!
