One of my most exciting clients this past season had just gotten back from a trip to Bali. In our initial phone conversation she mentioned her trip and informed me that she was so inspired by their landscapes that she wanted to transform her back into a “feel of Bali” She was wanting to remove the grass and large over grown shrubs to really create an outdoor space where she could entertain, work and relax. It was a great opportunity to shape this existing small yard, with existing patio and shed and really create a relaxing space. After reviewing the plant material found in Bali, much like I expected, none were hardy for our climate. We were able to utilize some plants, more commonly tropical house plants to us, in different spots in the garden instead of using typical annuals. The plants that did work in the space and our zone were more Asian or Japanese inspired. The nicely shaped and coloured Japanese maples, a few varieties of ornamental grasses as well as some nice interesting spreading evergreens. A nice thick coat of mulch made walking among the plants a breeze and a lot easier to maintain than the lawn. We topped it off with some of the more tropical summer annuals, a few rocks and a water feature !
