Superb agave-centric commercial landscaping in Irvine

Located 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles, the master-planned city of Irvine is, by all accounts, a desirable place to live: very safe, with excellent schools and a world-class university, and great job opportunities. On the flip side, it doesn’t rank high on the general excitement meter. In fact, Irvine and boring are often mentioned in the same breath.

Me, I actually like Irvine. Not only for the usual urban desirability aspects, but because more money seems to be spent here on commercial landscaping than in most other cities. Irvine has countless office parks and apartment complexes, and while many are as dull as dishwater, others have done everything right when it comes to beautifying the public spaces around their buildings.

Driving along in Irvine, I’ve seen quite a few commercial plantings that made me turn my head, but it’s often difficult to stop. But the landscaping featured in this post is so outstanding that I did pull into the parking lot and haul out the big camera.

I have no information on this project: who the building owner is, what their brief was for the landscaping, and which company did the design. But that doesn’t matter because the results speak for themselves. This is the kind of bold low-water design I’ve been longing to see in our parched cities. The plant palette is limited, but the mass plantings of agaves and Yucca rostrata, combined with chunky desert rocks, have high impact. This is not a job done on the cheap: Thoughtful discussions were held regarding the choice of materials and smart decisions were made. And for once, cost was not the overriding criterion. That makes me happy.

Let’s take a look:

Yucca rostrata, golden barrels (Echinocactus grusonii), and a top-dressing of chunky desert rock

These towering lemon-scented gums (Corymbia citriodora) were planted decades ago, long before the current landscaping was installed. They complement the water-wise planting scheme beautifully.

White bark of lemon-scented gum (Corymbia citriodora) surrounded by muhly grass (Muhlenbergia lindheimerii)

Agave ‘Blue Flame’ entering the mix

Agave ‘Blue Flame’

Agave ‘Blue Flame’ and Yucca rostrata

Agave ‘Blue Flame’ and Agave americana ‘Mediopicta alba’

Yucca rostrata, Agave ‘Blue Flame’ and Agave americana ‘Mediopicta alba’

Yucca rostrata and floss silk tree (Ceiba speciosa)

Yucca rostrata and floss silk tree (Ceiba speciosa)

Yucca rostrata

One of several palo verde trees, the sterile and thornless ‘Desert Museum’ hybrid by the looks of it (Parkinsonsia ‘Desert Museum’) and—even more surprisingly—pincushion bushes (Leucospermum hybrids)

Even an Agave americana that looks reasonably good. I hope they’ll remove the pups soon before they become too large.

Agave americana (left) and Agave americana ‘Mediopicta alba’

Agave ‘Blue Flame’ and Agave americana

Agave ‘Blue Flame’, Yucca rostrata, and a small Leucospermum!

Agave ‘Blue Flame’, Agave americana, and Leucospermum

Yucca rostrata

Agave titanota ‘Black and Blue’

Agave titanota ‘Black and Blue’, Leucospermum hybrids, and Agave americana

A strip of Agave titanota ‘Black and Blue’ plantings leading to a section planted with Ferocactus...

...most likely Ferocactus cylindraceus, the California fire barrel

Crown of thorns (Euphorbia millii) and Agave parryi

Agave parryi, crown of thorns (Euphorbia millii), and a mass planting of reddish cordylines in a raised planter

Crown of thorns (Euphorbia millii) and Agave parryi

Agave parryi

For small and medium-sized office parks in California, Agave ‘Blue Glow’ still seems to be the #1 choice. It’s no doubt an attractive agave and, thanks to the miracle of tissue culture, can be churned out by the tens of thousands. Unfortunately, it turns out that Agave ‘Blue Glow’ flowers an at early age, around 7 or 8. That makes it necessary to remove and replace scores of plants much sooner than designers originally thought. The agaves used in this project live much longer before flowering. In the case of Agave parryi, it may be as long as 15 or 20 years.

The biggest surprise of this project was the inclusion of pincushion bushes (Leucospermum). They’re still fairly small, but in a few years, they’ll produce quite a show when in flower. I’ll be sure to check the progress of these plantings on future visits.

UPDATE: If found a before image on Google Maps from May 2018. What a shocking difference!

May 2018

 

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