marhayl miguel tevyss
Edilma Howard
By combining agaves with yuccas, the designers used similar-but-different plants to create continuity. The Yucca rostrata at far right repeats the dark green starburst shapes of slender-leaved agaves at middle left. These in turn echo an intriguing aspect of each other: white filaments that curl from leaf margins.
Texture is both what's seen up-close, like fuzzy red kangaroo paw flowers, and what's viewed from a distance, like the mounding jade at middle right and 'Sticks on Fire' beyond. Also highly textual are barrel cacti and any plant that shimmers in the breeze---like the Yucca rostrata at left.
... with berms and valleys. Mounded soil is more interesting than flat and height enhances drainage. Tip: Bring in several yards of topsoil amended with pumice and mound it atop your former lawn or a difficult-to-dig area of compacted dirt. The succulents you plant in fresh soil will quickly take root and thrive.
In Nancy Dalton's garden, Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire' serves as a backdrop for medium-sized succulents such as barrel cacti and variegated elephant's food (Portulacaria afra 'Variegata'). Low-growing blue Senecio mandraliscae and Othonna capensis complete the high-medium-low vignette.
Those most prone to rot, such as cacti from to the desert Southwest, tend to do best atop a berm that allows water to drain away from their roots. Finer-leaved succulents tend to dry out more easily and will be happiest around the base of the mound or in a swale. See my article, "How to Water Succulents."
Instead of in the ground, Nancy's herb garden occupies large terracotta pots near her kitchen door. This keeps the plants under control (some, like mints, are invasive) and makes them easy to water, tend, harvest, and replant.
Succulents come in all colors, as do glazed ceramic pots, so have fun with them! Here, Nancy contrasted blue and orange. Coppertone stonecrop (Sedum nussbaumerianum) in the bed serves as a ground cover, frames the focal point, and flows around pots of Kalanchoe orgyalis (copper spoons) at left and Agave colorata.
Nancy lent interest to a white stucco retaining wall with three brightly-glazed pots. They contain a tall, columnar cactus, a clustering euphorbia, and star-shaped Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'. Find more ideas in my book, Succulent Container Gardens.
In a drought-prone climate it's soothing to suggest the presence of water. To create the look of rushing water, designer Michael Buckner lined Nancy's dry creek bed with cobbles turned sideways. Such enhancements can channel water from gutters into the garden and provide access to hard-to-reach areas. See the section in Designing with Succulents on dry creek beds, pp. 56-59.
... with crushed rock. It may seem minor, but this often overlooked aspect of design makes a huge difference. A layer of gravel lends a finished look, discourages weed growth, and helps hold moisture in the soil. See my articles, "Ten Reasons Why You Really Need Rocks" and "Why Top Dressing is Essential for Succulents."
Nancy Dalton's s garden won the city of San Diego's drought-tolerant landscaping contest and was on the San Diego Horticultural Society's Spring Garden Tour. Located in Carmel Valley, the garden has a mild, frost-free climate. Landscape designers Samantha Owens of Barrels and Branches nursery and Michael Buckner of Deeter-Buckner Design helped with soil amendments, plant selection, placement, and installation. Nancy herself is knowledgeable about plants and is a hand's-on gardener.
On her journey to becoming a garden celebrity specializing in high-end succulent landscapes, Laura repeatedly battled insecurity and uncertainty. Years ago she told me her goals...which I thought were ambitious, to say the least. Amazingly, she has accomplished all and more, due to passion, determination, necessity, smart timing, a bit of luck, and supportive husband Greg.
LE: It's all about bringing joy to people's lives. That's powerful and leaves a beautiful fragrance behind. I have no storefront or franchising brand. It's me, it's what I love, and I do it with assistance. Relationships with clients are important. As a designer, I'm continuing to evolve. I'm completely open to new ideas.
LE: Anyone is welcome to copy or emulate what I do. I love mentoring young designers. I don't feel I have any competition. There are plenty of yards for all of us. So much goes into the succulent design business. There's a lot to learn and figure out. So many stars have to align. You can't just be good at one thing, like design. It's a business, and you have to be good with clients. New designers tend to lack confidence, resources and support.
LE: We're shifting toward gardens that showcase larger specimen plants. Succulent tapestries are a side dish. It's exciting to have clients who let me tell them what I want to do. We're using more cactus and fewer long-term annual succulents. The ratio of plants to rock has shifted: More rock and bigger plants, as opposed to 5-gallon.
LE: The cactus garden in Tustin is in phase three. It's a five-year project. The Pasadena project is in phase two. We're booked through the end of the year and are about to start an installation in Rancho Santa Fe.
LE: Ribbon work is still my thing. We still use a lot of rock, and we mix varieties. The difference is we're doing larger boulders and ribbons of rubble, and less of the fussy stuff. Also adding lighting---wells, pathways and spotlights.
LE: We stay in a hotel, or Greg and I stay with the client, and the crew's in a hotel nearby. But that's at the client's expense. In the future we hope to use locals. We've already built a nice core of people that I can call on in Orange County, Los Angeles and Ventura.
LE: It started when I got the word out on social media that people who wanted to learn my techniques could come and help with installations. Volunteers also receive a free Design for Serenity T-shirt.
LE: Do something different. Find your niche and build on that. I fell into it. There are so many variables. You can't just "be a landscaper" in San Diego, the Mecca for succulents, where it's highly competitive.
LE: I let people try on my shoes and walk around in them. I encourage them to find their own spin. I tell them, "I'm open to sharing and am transparent. Here's how I make money. Learn to establish credibility, a portfolio, and what sets you apart. Otherwise you're just a contractor or installer. Build a reputation, a desire, a hunger for what you offer. You want clients to call because they want YOU and are willing to wait."
LE: I don't draw and I don't sketch, but that's just me. No plant list. I can't even follow a road map. My clients are people who have watched my videos, who hold their breaths hoping I'll take them. Clients have to trust my vision. Sometimes I need to tell them, "That's not how I work." For example a client told me her husband wasn't sure. I don't work well with parameters. They backed down.
When Laura installed this "pocket garden" for me several years ago, I expected to go to the nursery with her to select plants. "I'd rather you didn't," she replied. Even though Laura chose a few I might not have (due to seasonal sun, heat and cold concerns), nearly all the succulents are thriving.
LE: People talk about their favorite videos of mine. I do my homework. I want to see photos via email. I now refuse to work under trees. The space has to be cleared and ready for me. There's rarely a bad vibe or conflict, but if there is, then I'm not available until a year from September, or I may refund the consult fee.
LE: I'm very specific and detailed. How far I have to drive factors in. How many days, how large the crew, how many rocks and plants, plus irrigation. We're not licensed to do hardscape, so it has to be great to begin with. Greg does wonderful waterfalls and stream beds. We throw down decomposed granite and move stones into place. Greg retrofits the existing irrigation system, adds valves, and does repairs.
LE: Rip out lawns and maybe trees, bring in soil, so I can come in and it's ready to go. I want a blank slate with soil on top, flags on pop-up sprinklers, caps on irrigation. The further I have to go, the more I rely on the client.
LE: I move dirt around, creating undulations and mounds. That's the art. I get asked a lot of questions on how to do it. It looks like freshly buried bodies. We may move 25 yards of soil one wheelbarrow at a time. We roll boulders around. Greg has a background using heavy equipment, so he'll rent and drive a tractor or skiploader. I supervise the delivery and placement of rocks, plants and topdressings.
LE: I navigate, micro-manage, figure out how to capitalize the project, negotiate, arrange deliveries, make sure the client is ready, and decide how many people are in the crew. I evaluate the terrain, accessibility, and distances we'll have to move rocks and soil.
LE: What I do is a gift I was born with that I've developed through experience. I didn't have a mentor. Starting out, I felt alone and insecure. I had no advisors, I was making it up as I went. Confidence comes with trial by fire, by being under pressure. When someone says,"OK, here's $25K," you make it work. When 25 people are all looking at me and asking "OK, boss, what next?" I'm able to keep them busy. It's my way.
LE: My time, the ability to work with me, and to use what they learn to build their own unique sense of design. It takes a lifetime to get where I am. I'm not a teacher in the traditional sense. I've created a brand.
LE: I started ten years ago with complete insecurity. We lost our house to foreclosure in '08. We lived in it a year longer, until they threatened us with a shotgun. I love working with plants and needed to share my blossoming passion for succulents. For a craft fair near my home, I made succulent moss-and-glue arrangements. Nothing sold, and I brought it all home. When you [Debra] spoke at the Coronado Garden Club, I brought a succulent-topped pumpkin and wore succulent-decorated earrings. I was so happy you wanted to photograph them.
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