BCAA

HOME iStock, Botanica Design/Hank White Co. SPRING 2018 BCA A .COM 21 Making the grade If your yard is uneven, it can be re-graded to create functional areas for recreation, better drainage and protection against erosion. Or, it can be stepped into tiers using retaining walls. This is what's known as a "cut and fill" approach. It's a cost-effective fix, says van de Poll, because it limits the amount of new soil and fill material needed and doesn't drastically alter the layout of the yard. It also gives the homeowner a chance to create visually appealing multi-level garden zones. One method of stabilizing soil and preventing erosion is to carefully embed boulders in sloped areas. Another is to add hardy ground cover plants. Try Vinca minor (periwinkle), Pachysandra terminalis (Japanese spurge), Fragaria chiloensis (coastal strawberry), Rubus pentalobus (emerald carpet or creeping raspberry), Hypericum calycinum (St. John's wort) or Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Vancouver jade or kinnikinnick). Adequate drainage is also a high priority. "Often a large, deep [gravel-filled] pit that is hidden from sight can be a way to direct drainage from a patio space," says van de Poll. Creating a rain garden Rain gardens are another practical and beautiful way to improve water management and drainage in your green space, and can be as simple as diverting a downspout into an existing garden or landscape bed. Larger and more sophisticated rain-garden beds are engineered, constructed and densely planted specifically to absorb runoff. "Storm water is then taken up by plants or simply absorbed by the ground, just as water is absorbed by a sponge," says Deborah Jones, longtime BC gardener and volunteer project coordinator at Cougar Creek Streamkeepers in Delta. "As that soil sponge gets saturated, excess water seeps underground to a nearby creek or other water body in a slow and steady process, continuing long after the actual rainfall – (top, left to right) BC-hardy plant species camelia, bergenia and spirea; (middle) retaining walls turn a sloped lot into an attractively tiered green space; (bottom) bushy greenery gives an urban backyard (by Botanica Design) a privacy and security boost.

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