Sneak Peek at City Hall Landscape Plans

Our new , perched at the top of Crown Valley and Alicia parkways,  is shaping up to become the crown of Laguna Niguel. The California Mediterranean landscape design will enhance the overall look of the space. Planned to conserve water and to mitigate any possible fire risk, it consists of a large paved courtyard flanked by carrot wood, Australian willow and Columbian sycamore.

Mediterranean plants are an excellent choice for our climate, as well as for  the style of the building. More and more landscape architects are designing gardens that mirror the native climate rather than forcing plants to grow out of their natural zones. A good example of this can be seen in our local deserts. Once typified by beds of water-hogging annuals, newer gardens reflect the beauty of the desert species. Areas of the world that share the Mediterranean climate are around 40 degrees north on the coast of California and surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and 40 degrees south in parts of the western coast of South America and southwestern Australia.

The grayish greens of rosemary, acacia and olive trees are common to these gardens imparting an almost silvery hue to the foliage. Two stunning succulents used in the landscape are Agave attenuata ‘Raea’s Gold’ and torch aloe. The sculptural thick leaves of these plants act as a foil to many of the smaller leafed plants in the design.

The main entrance is a large corridor lined with carrot wood trees with a median strip of Columbian sycamore. Combining deciduous and evergreen trees will cool visitors in the summer and allow sunlight to warm the space in wintertime. Adjacent areas nearby offer shaded benches for both visitors and employees to enjoy the space.

A fountain and small amphitheater, two features our old building lacked, will provide ambient sound and an informal gathering spot for small groups to meet and greet city officials.

Some of the color in this garden will come from bougainvillea, Phormium tenax and Jacaranda mimosifolia. Another interesting plant planned for the slopes is called Echium candicans ‘Pride of Madeira,’ an extremely drought-tolerant, picturesque plant that does very well near the ocean. It sends up huge blue spike-like flowers dramatically accenting the landscape. There will also be areas planted seasonally with annuals, but as accents rather than large focal points.

As the building nears completion, the steep slopes beg for speculation about what will fill the space. As far as I could see, there will be three main areas of slope covered with hydro seed mix, one wet and one dry. Hydro seeding is a cost-effective solution to erosion control on slopes. At the top there will be a ribbon of Acacia redolens ‘Desert Carpet’ with accent trees. The area behind the new amphitheater consists of another large planting area of mixed species. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all comes together.