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When Taha first visited my nursery during our off-hours, he caught my passion for tropical landscaping and rare plants. He even asked me, "How much will you pay me to design my landscape?" Brilliant. Taha is a retiring doctor and was in the process of moving from Lancaster to a beatuiful Mediterranean home with a canyon view in Laguna Niguel. Taha and Hala expressed two main requests: fragrance and a Damascan water fountain. The challenge: Match the Mediterranean architecture of their home to an authentic Damascan hardscape billowing with fragrance. After I designed the hardscape plan, our installers spent 6-weeks building planter walls, pergolas, a new storage shed, clearing a greenhouse pad, creating a ground-level fireplace, laying new pathways, installing an authentic Damascan water fountain and covering every surface with limestone and slate. Upon completion, we will have created an authentic Damascan water fountain that introduces relaxing sounds and enhances the gorgeous view of the canyons from the backyard. The fireplace, raised planters, garden walks and purposeful gathering areas all with 45-degree corners to keep the stone work authentic to Damascan craftsmanship and maintain continuity throughout the landscape - will be sure to charm guests while reminding Taha and Hala of their homeland. The elegant and soothing hardscape will complement their handsome Mediterranean home making it pleasant and energizing at the same time. It is not gaudy or chaotic, which is why it opens up my options for the softscape and plant selection. In this setting I can easily use the gregarious leaves of King Kong Palms, and Foxtail Palms against the lush foliage of Champagne Palms, Traveler's Palms, Kentia Palms, Teddy Bear Palms, a specimen-size Flame Thrower Palm, Purple King Palms and a Bismarck Palm, to establish the canopy. The understory plantings include plenty of fragrant hedychiums, jasmines, gardenias, Champacas, and plumerias with the evergreen qualities of Alocasias and Coryline terminalis. This is a Garden of Eden meets earthy-posh-spa ambiance that tempts the dwellers of this garden to sit back and relax which suites the retiring homeowners just fine! In order to pull all of the elements together for this design to work, I met with the homeowners a several times times, visited the site on several occasions (and enjoyed Hala's delicious and authentic Middle Eastern cuisine) and spent many hours in the creative process and drawing the master plan. Upon completion, this oasis will not only give rise to a lush and dreamy Mediterranean tropical garden but will also stand as a statement of conservation for its many rare tropical plants and palms some of which are almost extinct. We will add more pictures after completion.
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