Dwarfed by an imposing ancestral house, this front garden presented the multi-faceted challenge of limited space, time and budget. CYAN Horticulture laid out simple hard surfaces in oversized concrete pavers and thereon peppered rough basalt boulders. The usual perimeter fence is present in essence only, embodied by simple steel pipes. A handful of plant taxa also plays on this economy of glitz. Various grasses, thinly-leaved California myrtle and fetid hellebore are enlivened throughout the year by ephemeral bulbs and self-seeding annuals. With modest appetite for fertilizer and water, these plants help make this garden truly low-maintenance.