Kiawah Island Conservancy

Kiawah Island ConservancyNight Heron ParkDemonstration Garden

Project GoalsKIAWAH CONSERVANCY - Demonstration Garden

Design GoalsENGAGE* strong vertical & horizontal axis * focal points sculpture & water features* compelling entry points * sense of enclosure, privacy, retreat* appealing native species combinations* classically structured garden

Design Goals* native species does not mean an informal, out of control garden* gathering spaces for outdoor classes* pavillions for informational signageEDUCATE* native species selection : which, where & why (provide on-line resources)

Design Goals* Recreate parts of Night Heron Demonstration Garden at home* Volunteer Native Gardening program to bring homeowners into the Garden* Support the garden thru naming opportunities: benches, nesting boxes, fountains, sculpture, paversPARTICIPATEGarden Layout - Hardscape

*Hardscape Elements/Focal Points Support Flow of the Garden * Give Sense of Distinct Rooms Encourage Stopping to Experience Garden

Garden Layout Plant Selection

95% Native Plant Selections All flowers specified are native and perennialYear round interest: Spring & Summer blooming perennial flowers & shrubs Deciduous Trees with reliable Fall color Fall & Winter interest from grasses, seed heads, berryfruitsVariation of plant height & density helps to distinguish various rooms

Garden LayoutHeritage GardenButterfly Garden Wildflower MeadowMainEntranceShade Thickets & Rest AreaWWetland GardenSandy Xeriscape

Main Entrance

Main Entrance

*Timber Frame Entry Pavillion (American College of the Building Arts)

* Lattice walls = Airflow & Signage Placement

*Bog Garden & Fringe Trees Focal Points

* Covered arbor passage will OPEN OUT into the Garden space

*4 outward facing benches suspended from arbors

Wildflower Meadow & Meditation Circle

Wildflower Meadow & Meditation Circle

Wildflower Meadow* Place for Meeting and MeditationSense of enclosure in meadowGrassed covered amphitheater seatingConcrete block seating not uniform in height or shape

* Wildflower species represented are native to coastal SC & natually occur in a developing SC pine forest

Indian Grass = State grass of SCLong Leaf Pine and Turkey Oak paired in wild

* Excellent Summer & Fall colors, esp. Copper, Purple, Silver Green

* Habitat/forage for meadow nesting birds

* Hummingbird attractors, ie. Coral Bean

* Elevated nesting boxes

13Roadside Border

Fall Interest * Wildlife Cover/Forage*Extension of Wildflower Meadow

Roadside Border

Butterfly GardenButterfly Garden

*Main Entry thru 10x10 Timber Frame Shelter & Arbor

* OPENs OUT into small garden

* Observation Bench

* Native Flowers for Pollinators beneficial to Heritage Garden plants *18 herringbone brick surrounds Sipping Pool for butterflies

Butterfly Milkweed larval plant for endangered swallowtail monarch butterfly17Heritage Garden

Heritage Garden

Heritage Garden* 4 Raised Beds of Mixed Herbs & Medicinals

* 2 Upright Teepee Trellis

* Secret Garden Entry/Exit

* Shaded seating for rest and viewing

* Residential Turf - Zoysia

* Focal points: Circle with Fountain or Sculpture, entry arbor, flowering Perennial border

Heritage Garden* Opportunities to educate about unusual edibles and/or forgotten uses of native plants

* Most plant choices(including plants of bike path border) reflect historical residential or agricultural gardens of recent and distant past

* Represented: Yellow False Indigo/Horse Fly Weed: Cultivated as source of blue dye in col-onial era by Charlestonblue bloods/Attached to horse harnesses to deter flys.Teas: Camelia sinensis, Wild Bergamot, HibiscusVanilla Bean: Fragrant leaves used to flavor smoking tobaccoPassion Vine: Edible FlowersRed Bay: Leaves used as a cooking spice, butterfly larval plant

Shade Thickets

Shade Thickets*Help to enclose garden interior

* Create an understory for native animal/bird habitat * Wide variety of native plant choices esp. Green Mulches Doghobble, Cinnamon Fern, Alleghany Pachysandra

* Showcase under-used, colorful shade-loving nativesFlorida azalea, Possumhaw, Parsley Hawthorne

Shaded Rest Area

Shade Rest Area * Appealing space for Observation & Rest

* Focal Point: Fountain or sculpture

* Strongly geometric ground plane+ interesting contrast with unstructured surrounding foliage+ plant with moss

Pond &Wetland Garden

Pond & Wetland Garden

* Sitting Wall for observation

* 2 Max Pond depth

*Interesting Plants demonstrate that standing water problems may be opportunities

*Habitat for : Wood Duck, Amphibians

Hooded Pitcher Plant * Thalia * Evergreen Blueberry * Salt Marsh MallowSandy Xeriscape Garden

Sandy Xeriscape Garden*xeric plants represented are marsh border plants + salt & drought tolerant + well able to survive in any sufficiently neglectful situation

* Transform the way people see shaggy, on the way to the beach plants+ Mass species for orderliness & effect+ Set natives amongst and beside plants people are accustomed to ` seeing in domesticated gardens - in this case, Yaupon Holly and Wax ` ` Myrtle

Sandy Xeriscape Garden

Sea Oxeye DaisySandhill RosemarySea RosemarySea PurslaneBright Edge Yucca

Horticulturist + Landscape Design