Rusted Steel Privacy Screens - Gorgeous!

A client asked me for to come up with some creative ideas for the upgrade to her mature landscape and I came across these rusted steel privacy screens.  Oh wow, I love these!

I am thinking of placing these maybe a couple feet apart in the landscape to act as art and privacy screen without being too "fency" about it.

Plus they are deer resistant and drought tolerant!!!  :)

Check out these other great screens from Houzz:  Houzz Rusted Steel Privacy Screens

Xeriscape Backyard Makeover

So many of my clients here in Bend Oregon are looking for a low water, low maintenance, fire safe landscape and deer resistant as well.  It is often a challenge to make all of that work but here is a wonderful example of just how good it can look.

Before any work was done, the backyard was largely untouched and full of flammable Manzanita bushes.

Plus, without anything to distract the eye, the view of the neighbor's house was all too apparent.

Since this client, like so many of us in Bend, likes to spend her time out playing, it needed to be a low maintenance landscape and attractive as well.

I came up with a palette of plants to provide seasonal interest that was deer resistant, low water and good for beneficial pollinators that invites the client into the landscape.

What a fun project and gorgeous results!!!  By choosing a few key plants and repeating them throughout the landscape, unity within the yard was obtained.  Dwarf evergreen elements were also incorporated in addition to the native Chokecherry Tree that provides interest and habitat for the bird population.

Besides a good landscape design, having an excellent contractor install it is crucial.  Anna Vacca of Anna's Gardening installed this garden and knows exactly how to make plants happy.

Plants for a Bend, Oregon Landscape

Gardening and Landscaping in Central Oregon is actually not as difficult as most folks think it is, but then maybe I just like challenges  :)

When I moved to Bend in 2006 I had been living in a USDA zone 9 and I thought I was crazy moving to a zone 5 (sometimes 4 and sometimes 5 depending on the microclimate). I had a garden full of flowers, bulbs, trees, shrubs, vines and had just planted one of my favorite apple trees (King apple).   I even had a screen of clumping bamboo in the backyard, it was paradise!

But I soon realized that Central Oregon helped me to become more creative with the new challenges I faced and I have grown tremendously as a designer.  Since I can't rely so heavily on the plants to carry the show I focus more on the structure, the patterns and the textures in a landscape, and the plants then become more of an icing on top of the cake.

Of course I still love my plants and my little yard here in Bend is filling up with varieties I am testing out and experimenting with.  When I am working with a client though most likely they request low maintenance and/or deer resistant (as much as is possible with deer!) plants.  I thought I would share with you some hardy varieties I am using for a current design on Awbrey Butte.  These are all deer resistant.  Enjoy!

                                                                                                         Alpine Fir Trees

Japanese Red Leaf Barberry                                                    

                     
                                                                                       Orange Rocket Barberry


Golden Spirit Smoketree Bush

                               Yellow Potentilla











Red Sunset Potentilla

A very mature Vine Maple, best with some shade

Mountain Ash tree, one of my favorites!

Native Idaho Fescue Grass

Shenandoah Switch Grass, great coloring!

There are many more plants I will be using, see the rest Carlseng Designs Pinterest