Gardens
Budget Plants Plants in this garden bed include: ‘Jack Spratt’ New Zealand flax (Phormium ‘Jack Spratt’, zones 8 to 11) Perez’s sea lavender (Limonium perezii, zones 8 to 10) ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia (Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, zones 6 to 9) Blue fescue (Festuca glauca, zones 4 to 8) Breeze mat rush (Lomandra longifolia ‘LM300’, Zone 8) Blue chalk sticks (Senecio mandraliscae, zones 9 to 12) Silver carpet (Dymondia margaretae, zones 4 to 9) Water requirement: Low to moderate Light requirement: Full sun
Gardens using jewel-toned color palettes benefit from tones chosen from opposite sides of the color wheel (like orange and blue or yellow and violet). Pairing plants with foliage or flower colors in closely complementary hues makes each color stand out in contrast to its neighbors. For example, in this seaside garden on Bainbridge Island, Washington, dark purple ‘Caradonna’ sage (Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’) and cool blue ‘Little Titch’ catmint (Nepeta racemosa ‘Little Titch’) set off bright orange California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) planted close by.
Create a spot to rest. A well-placed bench, pair of chairs or outdoor lounge can encourage you to slow down and appreciate the passing of the season. If you’re adding a new seating nook to your garden, look for places where you would naturally be inclined to relax, such as an area that catches the afternoon sun or a place against a wall to admire the garden from.
creating great plant combos in containers: Select a thriller, a spiller and a filler. The thriller (aka the uppy) is the focal point, soaring toward the heavens; the spiller (aka the downy) grounds the plantings in the pot, softening its hard edges and drawing the eye downward; and the filler (aka the bulky) allows the eye to rest in between points of interest (that is to say, the uppy and the downy). Consider the qualities each component brings as you’re formulating your composition — beyond color, plants can bring textural interest, contrast in form, movement and more.
The aptly named ‘Sticks on Fire’ milkbush (Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Sticks on Fire’) lights up this potted succulent arrangement in Santa Barbara, California, with its branched, coral-like structure and brilliant orange color. Lean it against a post or provide sturdy stakes to support this tall, brittle plant. The addition of deep purple aeonium (Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’) and purple New Zealand flax (Phormium sp.) creates a rich fall color palette that is perfect for warm-winter climates. Green-leafed aeonium (Aeonium ‘Starburst’), blue chalk sticks (Senecio mandraliscae) and slender myoporum (Myoporum parvifolium) round out the front of the container. Water requirement: Low Light requirement: Full sun
Black Dalea (Dalea frutescens) Native to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and into northern Mexico In fall, just as many shrubs slow down their flower production, black dalea is just getting started. Vibrant purple flowers create unexpected interest in autumn, making this a great choice for those who want year-round color in the garden. The lacy foliage of this shrub adds an airy texture, which is shown to its greatest effect next to boulders or succulents, such as Parry’s agave (Agave parryi) or Santa Rita prickly pear (Opuntia santa-rita). p
Distinguishing traits. Echeveria is rosette forming, with fleshy green leaves in colors ranging from green to gray-green to purple, with colored tips and other quirky accents augmenting its playful demeanor. The color remains strong year-round, and even in the dark grays of winter, your garden will receive a nice pink foliage pick-me-up. Unlike many succulents, Echeverias are not monocarpic and can flower several times throughout a lifetime. In summer look for a stem of clustered flowers, often in bright pinks and yellows. Shown: Echeveria 'Afterglow'
Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting 8. Twin-Flowered Agave (Agave geminiflora) Native to Nayarit, Mexico The finely textured leaves of this bright green agave set it apart from most other species. Twin-flowered agave tolerates a range of exposures, from full reflected sun all the way to full shade, which makes it an asset in most situations. Where it will grow: Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 9.4 degrees Celsius (Zone 8) Light requirement: Full reflected sun to full shade Mature size: 3 feet tall and wide
7. Artichoke Agave (Agave parryi var. truncata) Native to central Mexico, including Durango Wide blue-gray leaves with maroon spines bear a striking resemblance to artichoke leaves, hence this Mexican native’s common name. Prized by many for its beauty, artichoke agave is a popular choice for container gardening, whether used in rows of three in a long, narrow container or singly in a modern pot.
Agave lophantha ‘Quadricolor’ growing alongside totem pole cactus (Pachycereus schottii var. monstrosus), ‘Blue Elf’ aloe (Aloe ‘Blue Elf’) and golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii). 6. Agave Lophantha (Agave lophantha) Native to the Rio Grande area of Texas and adjoining Veracruz, Mexico The leaves of this succulent are a lush green color, with curved maroon teeth along the edges. The center of the leaves often has a lighter stripe that runs the length. There are several varieties of Agave lophantha, including ‘Quadricolor’, which has yellow margins on bright green leaves.
love this courtyard and architecture
rock style path
custom stone lounge chair, built by master mason and friend Michael Lohan, that sits below a live oak tree in the California native garden.
Gabion
Trash gabion
ceramic totem pole sculpture by Kimberly Tyrrell pulls colors from garden plants while creating a strong and whimsical focal point. Photo by Jay Sifford.
The very upright 'Orange Rocket' barberry contrasts with the prostrate 'Blue Cascade' blue atlas cedar.
water diverter with steel
sections of rusted agricultural hog wire repurposed as a trellis for a serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’, zones 6 to 9).
o turn found objects into custom art. Rebar can be used to mount ordinary objects, giving them prominence and new life in the garden. This mundane piece of driftwood was drilled and elevated on a rebar post, and made a focal point. Keep this idea in mind the next time you attend an estate sale.
wine bottles. Bottle trees are common in the southern United States, where legend portrays them as a way to capture evil spirits. Typically a metal frame or pieces of rebar are placed in the ground and topped with inverted wine bottles. creative take on a bottle tree, wine bottles were threaded onto pieces of rebar, making privacy screen.
As a pedestal for a planter. Three or four lengths of rebar can be wired or welded together to make a custom base for your favorite ceramic pot or planter. Here the rebar was bent to resemble branches or vines. Industrial metal
Chuparosa (Justicia californica) Native to the Sonoran Desert of North America Vibrant orange-red flowers appear throughout the year, providing a valuable source of color to the drought-tolerant garden. The sprawling chuparosa is at home in a natural-style landscape. Heart-shaped leaves may or may not be present on the stems, depending on water availability. As you might expect from its red, tubular flowers, it’s a hummingbird favorite and provides much-needed nectar in the winter months when not much else is blooming. Where it will grow: Hardy to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 7 degrees Celsius), zones 9 to 10 Water requirement: Low; water one to two times a month in summer and twice a month in winter, when much of the flowering occurs Light requirement: Full sun and filtered shade Mature size: 3 to 4 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide Growing tips: Plant in well-drained soil; little to no pruning is required other than to remove frost-damaged growth in late spring after most of the spring bloom has faded; avoid any heavy pruning See how to grow chuparosa
Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) orange, tubular flowers of this small shrub appear all year long. Light green leaves add a tropical feel to the garden, and its flowers attract hummingbirds, making Mexican honeysuckle a must-have for gardens where hummingbirds live year-round. Where it will grow: Hardy to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12 degrees Celsius), zones 8 to 10 Water requirement: Low to moderate; water weekly in summer and every two weeks throughout the rest of the year Light requirement: Filtered sun
planters from salvaged filing cabinets. She removed the doors and painted the the cabinet black, building boxes inside to hold herbs and flowers. Reuse
window fence trellis
side garden
For this San Diego outdoor retreat, landscape designer Debora Carl built a banquette out of concrete blocks and added a smooth finish with a colored wall stucco.
love this!
water through iron trellis
This giant silver mullien (Verbascum bombyciferum, zones 3 to 9) goes a step further, introducing both texture and color to this planting scheme. The result is jaw-dropping.
Plant between steps. Here, low-growing blue fescue and perennials are planted between steps. They effectively soften the steps, as the steps become a garden in themselves. (Consider the safety of plantings like these in your garden before implementing them.) Love this!
Planting beds generally abut areas of hardscape. Why not create unexpected interest by working planting areas into your hardscape? To do this safely, plan for extra-wide pathways and appropriate lighting.
moody blue wal
built-in planters and vertical garden, arranged by size and planter depth.
Key hardscaped the entire backyard and planted the periphery in containers. “Because it’s a small garden, we wanted to build planters that were strong but thin-walled,” she says. She had containers made from raw copper. “We loved the way the copper and the limestone spoke to each other,” she says. Shady plants like ferns, tropicals and annuals rotate through the planters. A wood and copper trellis on walls surrounding the garden provides space for plants to grow and creates a green wall to soften the hard edges. The copper reflects natural light around the space.
raised beds
Cotten planter
Metal pergola
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