Everything comes out of the great book of nature. Anything created by human beings is already there.
– Anatoli Gaudi

Living in the mountains we have a definite sense of place. Like the seaside and the desert, the alpine atmosphere is unique. The natural landscape is integral to life and to mountain communities. For mountain gardeners, including those of us at Aspen Hollow, the object of an alpine garden is to create a sense of wilderness and serenity, an attitude of living with nature, not fighting it or trivializing it.

Whether walking through meadows or beside streams, paddling lakes or hiking the high country trails, we find secret places that speak to us. Places shaped by time and water, sun and stone, snow and ice. The dwarfed conifers and shrubs present a scale we appreciate, that we want to re-create in our home environments to transport us back to the special wild places we love.

Creating a Vision for Clients

As principal designers at Aspen Hollow Landscape Nursery, John Fellows and Darah Zurit implement design principles that bring the beauty of the alpine environment to the home landscape. Working directly with clients, architects and skilled craftsmen and builders, they are dedicated to integrity at every level, from providing superior plant stock to considering the unique set of challenges every project faces in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

One guiding principle is to omit the large front lawn, an American obsession that catapults a landscape out of the alpine environment and right into suburbia. It has been said that the great lawn is descended from times when peasants cut all trees and scythed the meadows surrounding the castles so the owners could see an advancing enemy at a distance. Today, with the lack of invading hordes, we have as much use for the great lawn as we do for a moat around the house.

Since most of us rarely want to entertain in the front yard anyway, our designers take any lawn they do design to more private spaces, where a smaller area of bluegrass might integrate with adjoining decks and terraces to create a more social area that expands into native grasses and wildflower meadows. Hard fescues, creeping fescues, bromes and wheatgrass are some of the many grass species that are site specified for optimum performance in this area.

A second guiding principle is to leave as much of the native landscape as possible. As there are many reasons why building is restricted in wetland areas, most properties in the Tahoe Basin are dryland sites. The native plant species on these sites are usually mature and well-established, surviving and thriving with very little water and the specific microbes and mycorrhizae of the soil, as well as enduring years of heavy snow loads. These criteria are very difficult to re-create once they have been compromised (as in completely clearing a building site), and these plants are almost impossible to propagate, transplant, or replace. Dryland natives such as Manzanita and Ceonothus are not only extremely hardy, they are evergreen, a colorful benefit in early spring, late fall, and mild winters. Our designers can give areas of existing native landscaping a little help, using thinning and pruning techniques, and boulder placement to maximize their aesthetic appeal and fire resistance.

A third principle for the alpine garden is the use of beautiful large boulders, symbolizing the up-thrust granite masses of the Sierra. Although initially expensive for the labor they require to be installed, once set they become a part of the landscape that requires no water or maintenance, resists fire, and will not die. Boulders make a great interface between native trees and plants and hardy ornamentals that might have more finicky water and nutrient requirements. So dedicated are Aspen Hollow’s designers to this aspect of mountain landscaping that it could rank first, and lucky is the new homeowner or builder who has a site that contains existing stone outcroppings.

Bringing a true sense of the four seasons into the landscape is another principle that distinguishes the successful alpine garden from the more mundane or artificial environments of any climate zone. Blooming species like crabapple, chokecherry, serviceberry, and quince herald the arrival of spring along with mass plantings of crocuses and daffodils. A recycling creek or pond will bring birds in abundance, use fewer maintenance resources than plants and lawn, and also will not die. Robins and Steller’s jays will nest and chickadees and nuthatches will seek out the right cavity for a home.

In summer, the perennials do show off and a well-placed bench or boulder seat can provide a place of respite and repose. Autumn brings glorious color, often provided by those trees and shrubs that bloomed in the spring, as well as by the aspens and oaks, mountain ash and various hardy maples. Boulders, evergreens, sun and shade will provide winter with a dramatic setting, while leafless deciduous species can add interest in the form of texture, structure, and bark color. The carmine of a red-twig dogwood’s stems and the glow of a golden willow’s boughs are welcome accents in the white and dark neutral tones of snow country’s dormant season.

With a background in art, as well as plant-scaping and building, John and his team are sought out for their expertise in bringing sculptural elements into the garden landscape. It is their goal to create a personal outdoor environment that flows seamlessly between the structures it encompasses and the larger natural picture of the mountain environment, while knowing that artistic touches help to make it more personal and special.

Over the last decade, Aspen Hollow has hired and trained specialists in horticulture, irrigation, planting and erosion control methods, to set a solid foundation for visionary design. Hardscape and waterscape solutions are implemented by our skilled craftsmen with over 40 years combined experience in stone, masonry and construction design.

Aspen Hollow--meeting the high demand for quality plant stock & service. Enjoy the mountain lifestyle; make an appointment with our professional staff.