In
July last year, I posted photos of my friend Lynda's succulent garden. Being both an artist and a perfectionist, she's continued to futz with both her design and her plant selections, which is good for me as every time she's planning a change usually means we make a trip to our favorite succulent garden center in Orange County. In advance of one such trip, I took photos of the succulent beds in the front of her townhouse.
Her succulent beds are enclosed within tiered, brick-lined planters along the right and left sides of her sloped driveway. Here's the first tier on the right side.
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| The bed is tightly packed but the plants are very happy |
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| Close-up of Agave desmettiana, Graptoveria 'Fred Ives', Euphorbia tirucalli and Crassula capitella 'Campfire' |
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| Agave 'Blue Flame', Agave Blue Glow', more Graptoveria and Euphorbia, and Sedum rupestre 'Lemon Ball' |
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| Another view of the plants shown above plus what I think is Agave pgymaea 'Dragon Toes' |
The second tier planting bed on the right side featured (past tense)
Opuntia santarita. As it had become impossible to weed around the
Opuntia, it was destined for removal when I visited.
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| Lynda intends to replace the Opuntia with another Agave 'Blue Flame' |
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Agave desmettiana, Euphorbia tirucalli and Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi 'Variegata' among other smaller succulents (Let me know if you can name the plant in front - I can't identify it Thanks to Jane, the plant in front has been identified as Crassula arborescens 'Blue Waves' aka Crassula ovata undulata) |
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| The condemned Opuntia sandwiched between 2 Euphorbia tirucalli |
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| Manfreda x 'Silver Leopard' backed up by Euphorbia and an unidentified Aloe |
The succulent bed on the left side of the driveway is wider and serves as a divider between Lynda's property and that of her neighbor.
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| Lynda added beach pebbles to create a pathway she could use when weeding the bed |
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| Agave 'Joe Hoak' provides a focal point in this bed |
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| Aloe cameronii (with what may be a crested Euphorbia in front) |
Lynda has used plant repetition and contrasting foliage texture and color to great effect. Since last July, she has removed the
Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' that formerly shared the beds, added lots of rock, rearranged plants and added new ones. It looks great now and I have no doubt that it'll look great next year too - only probably different.
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© 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
