Rock landscapes in raised beds: Rick Bjorklund's San Diego garden

When you hear the word “rock garden,” I’m sure you think of something like this:

Rock garden as envisioned by Adobe Firefly

But that’s not the kind of rock garden Rick Bjorklund and his partner have created in San Diego. As you’ll discover in a little bit, theirs is something else entirely – something I’ve never seen before.

Rick was gracious enough to provide additional information about the making of their garden. I’m going to intersperse his insights throughout this post. To make them stand out, they’re in a different font.

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Gerhard: When did you start your garden?

Rick: I began renovating the yard and gardens shortly after renovating the interior of the house, 20 years ago. The front yard had ¾" white gravel, a few shrubs, a pine tree and small palm, and a very large olive tree. I dug in the gravel, removed many shrubs, and began adding aloes and agaves.

The backyard had an un-terraced slope full of ivy (which I later discovered rats loved), several almost dead fruit trees, some large shrubs and small trees often trimmed into geometric shapes, a small pool, and a black bottom plaster pool. I initially put large planks across the pool as a bridge and added a zip line at the top of the slope in a large Brazilian pepper tree, Schinus terebinthifolia, to ride down the slope and drop into the pool.

My dog seemed to enjoy and use the pool more than I did, and the maintenance and expense of the aging pool and filter system became more than the use I was getting from it, so the decision was made to remove it and add large raised garden beds.

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Let’s start in the front yard, definitely very different from what it used to be:

The front yard is quite similar to mine: It has a ton of plants packed into a small space. There doesn’t seem to be a plant that Rick doesn’t like – I can relate. The palette ranges from agaves, aloes and cacti to flowering perennials and Spanish moss. Everything seems to thrive in San Diego’s mild climate.

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is everywhere

Baja tree ocotillo (Fouquieria diguettii)

Rick in his domain

The backyard has two distinct areas: a flat section where the “rock garden” is (the domain of Rick's partner), and a slope at the back of the property (Rick's domain). Let’s look at the slope first.

Looking towards the raised rock beds from the slope

Rick wanted to created something on the upper slope to hang his hose on. He was using an orange tree but wanted something a bit more artistic. Here’s what he came up with: 4×4 posts painted to look like stained glass cacti, with solar lights as endcaps. Pretty darn creative!

Retaining wall at the top of the upper slope

I was surprised by how much room there actually is up here – the path continues towards the back

Variegated Agave attenuata and Mangave ‘Queen for Day’

Agave guiengola ‘Crème Brûlée’

Agave impressa

Agave chazaroi

More agaves and aloes...

...framed by Mexican tulip poppies (Hunnemannia fumariifolia)

Mangave ‘Pineapple Punch’

Now let’s look at what I’ve been calling the “rock garden.” Essentially, it’s four raised beds with miniature rock landscapes that are home to an astounding variety of succulents. Because the beds are elevated, it's easy to look at everything up close. Small plants often get lost – this setup lets them shine. 

Looking from the back of the garden towards the front

Gerhard: What inspired you to create the raised beds?

Rick: Jeff Moore of Solana Succulents created under-the-sea gardens at the San Diego Botanic Garden out of pot rock (aka waterfall rock)—a type of lava rock. This became a starting point for thinking about how to design the garden beds. We found that we liked the sculptural aspects and rugged appearance of pot rock as well as the planting pockets it created so we chose to use it, but not for an under-the-sea look as some others have done to great effect. We added other types of rocks as well to increase the focus on the beauty of the rocks themselves as part of the raised beds’ identities.

Monkey tail cactus (Cleistocactus colademononis) and Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides)

Curtains of Spanish moss everywhere, gently swaying in the slightest breeze

Now that we’ve brushed aside the Spanish moss, we get a better view of the raised beds. Take your time to look at the photos. There's much to see.

Gerhard: How long did it take to create the raised beds?

Rick: It took a few months for the foundation and construction of the beds and pavers, then a couple of months to fill the beds with a DG/scoria/soil mix. Several months elapsed to source the pot rock boulders and rocks and arrange them in the beds along with setting concrete block foundations under the larger boulders. We hired some strong guys to move the largest boulders as they were quite heavy!

We later discovered the initial DG used in the soil mix was too fine for optimal drainage, so we began raising the planting areas with additional pot rock, which increased the drainage.

These are pretty impressive specimens...

...of Aloidendron ramosissimum

Gerhard: How much rock did you bring in and from where?

Rick: Approximately 10 tons. We checked out several rock and block landscape businesses and found that KRC Block in San Marcos, CA had the larger boulders that we wanted to add sculpture to the garden. We also choose small, flatter ones which are great for creating nooks and crannies, useful for tucking smaller plants in. My partner arranged the boulders and smaller rocks, sometimes using them to break the plane and extend onto the walls of the raised beds. He modifies the arrangement of the boulders at times, so the hardscaping continues to evolve.

Aloidendron tongaensis, another tree aloe

Monstrose form of Agave pachycentra, sometimes called ‘Flying Saucer’

Mexican rock fig (Ficus petiolaris)

Gerhard: Where do you find the many unusual plants you have in your raised beds?

Rick: There are so many wonderful small growers and hybridizers in the Southern California area that have great plants. Sources also included the Huntington Botanical Garden, plant sales, online sources, and trades and gifts from friends and other collectors. [Rick and his partner are very active in the San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society.]

Multiple forms of Agave victoriae-reginae

Miniature form of Agave victoriae-reginae from Japan

Agave victoriae-reginae ‘Sun King’

Agave pilosa – not just one, two, three, or four...

...but at least five of them

Gerhard: What do you like best about the raised beds?

Rick: They make it much easier to feature smaller succulents and cacti, such as mesembs, crassulas, adromischus, and miniature agaves. They were also planned to enhance our ability to age in place and continue to garden. They are 2’ tall and 4’ wide, which allows us to reach across them to maintain the plants and beds, and the height and wide edges allows us to sit down. The paths are 4’ wide, which should allow for wheelchairs if we become impaired.

Agave utahensis var. nevadensis

Agave potatorum

Euphorbias, cacti, agaves, adromischus, and sedums

I love the “caves” in the rocks

Dudleya pachyphytum tucked into crevices

Dudleya pulverulenta, a San Diego County native

Take a look at these rocks! I’ve never seen anything like it before.

Gerhard: How do you water the raised beds and the back/slope, and how often?

Rick: Almost everything is watered by hoses or watering cans. That method allows us to water more or less depending on what is getting watered since cacti and succulents are combined in the various gardens. There is an irrigation system for the large shrubs and trees along the side and back fences, which is on a few times each week in the hotter parts of the year. All else depends on how hot and/or windy it is. With more heat and wind, we have to water more. We usually water two to three times weekly in the warmer parts of the year.

I like using automatic fertilizer injectors for the hose as an easy way to feed the plants. I’ve tried other methods but this one is easy, allows different types of fertilizers, or I can choose not to fertilize and just use water. We also use time released granular fertilizers.

So many vignettes to study and admire

More cool rocks

I left Rick’s garden with a major case of rock envy

Gerhard: Anything else you’d like to add?

Rick: The gardens are our lab to experiment with different plants as well as my partner’s interest in growing from seed and hybridizing haworthias. He arranged for the shade structure, which is very helpful for many succulents, even for the cacti which appreciate a bit of shade (about 15-30%. Clear plastic tarps are used at times when rain is expected for areas that want limited or no moisture in the winter. I’ve experimented with developing various ways to add shade to certain areas via use of window screen, expandable window screens, or customized “umbrellas” over plants such as echeverias (which do not seem to appreciate temps over 80°F in my area), aeoniums, gasterias, and haworthias. I also use stacks of bowls to increase the amount of planting space in the same square footage. We also appreciate the beauty, geometry, and diversity of rocks and how much they complement succulents and cacti and have added quite a few throughout the landscape.

Haworthias grown by Rick’s partner from seed

It’s difficult capturing the scale and intricacy of these miniature landscapes in still photos. This video, while not great, gives you the bigger picture:

A big thank you to Rick for chauffeuring me around San Diego and for answering all my questions. His insights add an extra dimension to my photos and give us a deeper understanding of what went into creating this remarkable garden.

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