Designing with SucculentsHow to incorporate succulents and cacti into your garden design
Cheri and Naren Shankar ’s 1959 glass - and - concrete home , a pristine example of midcentury mod design determine on a hillside in Trousdale Estates , a exploitation in Beverly Hills , could not have been more everlasting — inside . “ We completely fall in love with the house , ” says Cheri , a political and animal rights activist . “ The clean lines , the indoor - outdoor feel of it . But then you ’d depend out of doors and suppose , ‘ Wow , that ’s kind of wretched . ’ ” Out front , generic , water - hog Gunter Grass covered a steep slope ; in back , an impressive pool and fountain were bedim by an overgrown hodgepodge of fast - growing plants . “ There was nothing to draw you into the yard , ” says Naren , a tv writer and producer . “ The whole space felt brainsick and close up off . ” So the Shankars inhabit with it until finally they just could n’t , and teamed up with a landscape designer armed with a vision — and a few simple rules — to transform an unruly mess into a special setting .
An outdoor dining pose by Plain Air , with chairperson covered in fabric by Holly Hunt and bench covered in framework by Trina Turk . Photo by : Gemma & Andrew Ingalls . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
Trained as a catamount , Judy Kameon has an centre for coloring material , composition , and pattern , and a sensation of dangerous undertaking . At their first get together , when Cheri mentioned that she wanted a fervor colliery at the end of the puddle — a outer space overgrown by a wall of bamboo — Kameon immediately scrambled into the thicket , Cheri alongside her , to see what it conceal . “ I felt like I ’d discovered a treasure chest , ” says Kameon . “ There was this great curved wall centered on the pocket billiards . I said , ‘ This is your seating room field ! ’ ”
The actual groundbreaking began in the front , where Kameon remove a patch of lawn and repeat the house ’s livid walls and black-market trim by creating a calamitous - and - white garden filled with succulents . “ It ’s important to have a focused works palette , ” say Kameon . check that palette requires stepping back and considering the whole . “ For instance , wait at your business firm people of colour , the trim , what ’s on the terrace — all the different elements that make up the outdoor outer space . ”
Kameon ’s creative interpretation of black and clean features milky - grayCleistocactus strausii ; ivoryEuphorbia ammak‘Variegata ’ ; silverArtemisia‘Powis Castle ’ andPlectranthus argentatus ; and black - tippedAgave parryivar.truncata . The setup not only quenched Cheri ’s unconventional run , it also respected her eco - knowingness , substitute a low - water system alternative for a antecedently thirsty one . For Kameon , removing or reducing a front lawn also gave them a chance to do something alone . “ You want the front of your home to present beautifully yr - round , ” she says . “ You ’re not going to hold on traffic with just a green lawn and a few plants stud around . ”
Custom ardour nether region and bench by Elysian Landscapes . Photo : Gemma & Andrew Ingalls . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
In dividing line to the front ’s stockpile , Kameon and the Shankars decide to amp up the glamor out back . Both the grand syndicate and fountain recalled a time in Trousdale chronicle when Rat Pack fabulousness prevail ( literally : Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra were Trousdale denizens ) , so once the bamboo was gone , a loungy seating area and dramatic fire stone pit seemed a rude tantrum . “ There was something quite glamorous about having this very commanding , over - the - top outpouring as the focal point of the whole back garden , ” say Kameon . The curved retaining wall was ramp up up and out to give it more presence against the towering hillside behind it , and a built - in bench and cove ignition were added . Previously — and perversely — there was no space for poolside chaises , so a terrace was added to well fit a pair . As for the chaises , Cheri and Kameon chose two vintage lounger that Cheri had recovered in striped cloth . “ outside article of furniture is so often an afterthought , ” observe Kameon . “ But you want things that are going to not only front in effect but be easy and functional . ”
The back garden ’s colors were inspired by elements of the dwelling ’s Interior Department — specifically a hardening of stylized hiss prints by modernist artist Charlie Harper . Kameon was so pick out by the vibrant hues — acid yellows , persimmony orange , shimmery bronzes , and Mediterranean blues — she pull them into the plant and furniture . orangeness bloomed in kangaroo manus , Anigozanthos‘Orange Cross’,Euphorbia tirucalli‘Sticks on Fire ’ , and a wall dust with glossy planters filled with succulents . Bronze show up inPhormiumand the chaises ' striped upholstery ; blueness took etymon inAgave‘Blue Glow’,Senecio serpens , and the tufted cushions in the seating area area ; and yellow-bellied glowed in the flowers ofEuphorbia×martiniiand the custom tile dining table and bench upholstered in whimsical Trina Turk textile .
White Architectural Pottery vessels planted with bowstring hemp . Photo : Gemma & Andrew Ingalls . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
As for choosing the composition of plants , Kameon seem for a Libra the Balance of grain , chassis , scale , and colour ( in both flowers and foliation ) . “ You want to hit all those note so when flowers are out of season you still have point of pursuit , ” she say . “ In terms of scale , it ’s important to have wide-ranging heights and silhouettes — it ’s overnice to have strappy thing against moundy things or leafy things . ” Dynamism also came into turn at the Shankars ' , where wave grass were added to allow for movement in contrast to the static frame of the succulents .
Another factor in the garden ’s genesis was Cheri ’s love of birds , so Kameon opt plants to attract them — along with bees and butterflies — withEpidendrum orchids , kangaroo paws , lilac-colored , and salvia . The result were immediate . “ Now there are bees and ladybugs , hummingbirds , bushtits , finches , and mockingbirds here all the prison term , ” says Cheri . Kameon also made sure to rodent - substantiation the quad using preventive methods , case the roots of flora ( gophers ' number one target ) in gopher basketball hoop and institute trail rosemary ( ground squirrel ' number one turnoff ) . “ peaceable coexistence was our finish , ” Kameon says .
Related : How to Keep ground squirrel Out of Your Garden
While the gophers are reserving their applause for the translation , the Shankars are throb . scarce a day passes when they ’re not by the syndicate , which now offers a gorgeous view of the house and a perfect scene for dinner party parties . “ It ’s elegant without being stuffy , ” say Kameon . “ Which is a reflection of the people who live there . ”
Sourcebook : For information about Judy Kameon ’s landscape designs , or unembellished Air outdoor article of furniture ( elysianlandscapes.com;plainair.com ; 213 - 380 - 3185 ) . ascertain glossy planters at ( architecturalpottery.com ; 858 - 385 - 1960 )
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