Succulents and More™

Landscape designer Mat McGrath of Farallon Gardens and his wife Mali have created their own exotic paradise in the small East Bay town of Rodeo . I’ve been following and documenting their progress over the last two years ( June 2023 | October 2024 | May 2025 ) and have been astounded at how quickly the plantings have matured. A quick recap: When Mat and Mali bought their 14,000 sq. ft. property in the fall of 2021, it was a blank slate: some lawn and lots of bark mulch and dry grass. In seemingly no time, they transformed it into a one-of-a-kind oasis that is as vibrant as it is ever-changing. ( Start here if you want to see how it all began.) A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity for a quick stop to see how the garden is doing. It had just finished raining when we pulled up. Mat was out there weeding. Never a moment’s rest for the gardener, right? Mat’s garden is impossible to shoehorn into any one category. There are agaves, aloes, and cacti. Aeoniums, crassulas, and echeverias....

Our Mediterranean climate is dry from late April to October. By the time the first rainfall of the season arrives, we’re more than ready for it. This year, we had rain at the beginning of October, which is very early for us. It was followed by a month of wonderfully warm temperatures in the high 70s, so it didn’t really feel like autumn. But after yesterday’s rain event (about 0.8"), it does now. This morning was crisp, the sun is lower in the sky, and the leaves are falling — still in a polite way instead of the smothering deluge that will be here soon enough. Rain makes for great photos so I grabbed my big camera to capture some of the ephemeral beauty in the garden: Calliandra ‘Sierra Star’, a hybrid between the two California fairy dusters ( Calliandra californica and Calliandra eriophylla ) Washington naval orange in the backyard Meyer lemon in the front yard Agave ocahui and golden barrel cacti × Mangave ‘Inky Fingers’ Agave ‘Lion’s Mane’ Agave ‘ShawPot’ ( shawii × pot...