Garden Photo of the Day

Kathy’s Design for Her Son’s Los Angeles Garden, Part 2

Stunning succulents and more

container planting of large unique succulents

We’re back to see the garden that Kathy Sandel designed for her son in Los Angeles. She leaned into the sunny climate and embraced the design of his new home by choosing durable, drought-tolerant, architectural succulents mixed with a variety of other plants to soften and add green to the small space.

small foundation garden bed next to three container plantingsThis is in the rear garden, with its beautiful paving stones. A purple Alstroemeria (Zones 8–11) adds a pop of color with very long-lasting flowers, and a trio of beautiful glazed containers house orange roses.

oakleaf hydrangea in a container next to patioAn oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia, Zones 5–9) blooms in a pot. The container and the white wall behind it form a perfect frame to show off the hydrangea like the work of art that it is.

stone raised garden bed planted with succulentsThe beautiful aloe in the front of this raised bed looks to be fan aloe (Aloe plicatilis, Zones 10 –11). What an incredible living sculpture!

ivy-leaved geranium with pink flowers in a containerThis ivy-leaved geranium (Pelargonium hybrid, Zones 9–11 or as an annual) is massive. Forms of geraniums such as this grow long, trailing stems, and look so perfect spilling over the edge of a container, raised bed, or window box.

small corner garden bed surrounded by hedgesIn this corner of the front garden, yellow and orange kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos, Zones 10–11 or as an annual) bloom in front of the privacy hedge.

close up of succulents growing in a containerSilvery succulents cover the ground in a container.

container planting of purple flowersA purple bougainvillea (Bougainvillea hybrid, Zones 10–11) shares a pot with succulents and a purple verbena (Verbena hybrid, Zones 10–11 or as an annual).

container planting of large unique succulentsTwo great succulents grow together in this container—a fan aloe, and at its base Echeveria gibbiflora ‘Caronculata’, which has silvery leaves topped with unusual lumpy growths that give it a very unique appearance.

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

View Comments

Comments

  1. btucker9675 03/28/2024

    Love, love, love everything about this charming house and garden! Your son is fortunate to have the house and to have you to design this perfect garden.

  2. [email protected] 03/28/2024

    I really enjoyed yesterday's and today's pictures. I have lived most of my gardening years in the PNW, but when my husband's work moved us to Southern California for several years, it was fun to grow a whole different plant palette. Fun to see such creativity here- so many things I hadn't even considered!

  3. user-6841468 03/29/2024

    why is one of the week's gardens always showing up for a second time? nothing new to put out?

  4. madcosta_7 03/30/2024

    Love the hydrangea! Is it Ruby Slippers? All the arrangements are beautiful and fitting for a California home. Thank you for sharing.

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Related Articles

The Latest