Brown is the new green

Green may be a misnomer for residents trying to create environmentally conscious yards in California. But, landscape designer Sherri Osaka is working to dispel the myth of green yards in favor of ones that are a little bit browner.

The Bay Area and most of California sit in a Mediterranean climate -- also found in South Africa, Chile, Australia and the Mediterranean -- which is known for hot dry summers and cold wet winters. The European-derived foundation landscape of shrubs, annual flowers and green grass usually leads to an artificially sustained landscape in a Mediterranean climate, which involves heavy maintenance, petrochemicals and negative effects on the environment.

Osaka will be teaching a class at Common Ground in Palo Alto on Nov. 22 to show that landscapes with native plants, proper irrigation and prudent use of resources can create a yard that is sustainable, environmentally sensible and still aesthetic.

She always had an interest in nature and holism, but her previous career was notably computer technology. In 1981, she graduated from the University of Michigan with an electrical engineering degree and went straight to work at Hewlett-Packard and later other software companies. to read all of the articles ckick here