Designer Mat McGrath's garden at age 4

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. California natives and Southwestern wildflowers. Bromeliads, proteas and palms. Riotously colored tropicals. And whatever else Mat and Mali like. The result is a garden that is intensely personal, yet also works brilliantly as a living advertisement for Mat’s landscape design company.

Even in mid-October there were plenty of things in bloom...

...including this beauty with brilliant yellow flowers:

Turns out it’s Aloe ‘Sunshine’ from San Marcos Growers. Mat was generous enough to share a few cuttings, so I’ll have it growing (and possibly already flowering) in my own garden next year.

Aloe ‘Sunshine’

Among my favorite plants in Mat’s front garden are two Australian grass trees (Xanthorrhoea glauca and preissii). They have a reputation for being slow growing, but Mat’s have put on quite a bit of size since he first planted them.

Over the last couple of years, Mat’s plant palette has shifted a bit. There are still plenty of succulents, but his current passion is tropicals. He’s added a number of palms in the front as well as bromeliads like the purple ×Vriecantarea ‘Julietta’ below:

A vignette I particularly like:

Many agaves are beginning to approach their mature size:

Agave guadalajarana (and Aloe broomii)

Another Agave guadalajarana

Agave titanota

Agave vilmoriniana ‘Stained Glass’ and Agave ovatifolia

One more look at the front garden...

...before heading into the back:

Furcraea and firecracker plant

The bromeliad wall is looking better than ever

The variegated succulent in the center (and lower left) is Crassula multicava ‘Mali’s Thai-Dye’. Mat and Mali discovered this variegated form in a Bay Area garden and he named it after her in honor of her Thai heritage.

Mat’s garden is only 50 miles from mine, but his climate is noticeably milder (cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter)

That’s why he can grow tropicals with much less effort

Each potted arrangement is cool in its own way

The back garden has a multi-level terraced retaining wall on one side, which gives Mat and Mali a lot of additional space. The planting area on the ground level has gone through some significant changes. Mat has removed most of the soft-leaved succulents that used to live here (check this photo from October 2024 for comparison) to display his collection of found metal objects.

The terraced planting beds along the east side are still packed with succulents big and small:

The upper part of the garden, above the wooden steps, is lush and tropical:

From Agave attenuata to Cuphea micropetala and Phylica pubescens to more agaves and aeoniums

Aeonium attenuata ‘Boutin Blue’ surrounded by variegated geraniums and aeoniums

Cuphea micropetala and Phylica pubescens

I grew Cuphea micropetala once, but it was in the wrong place, and I had to take it out. I need to find a good spot and try again!

Can you say l-u-s-h?

Prickly pears and bougainvilleas along the north fence

Upcycled art made of utilitarian pieces Mat found at Urban Ore Ecopark in Berkeley

The flowering plant on the left is Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’: dark bronze-green foliage with coppery orange flowers. In Mat’s garden, it’s in flower 365 days a year. Unlike many (most?) alstroemerias, which spread vigorously, ‘Indian Summer’ is well-behaved and doesn’t take over. Mat says it’s the only Peruvian lily he would put in the ground.

One final look at Mat’s ever evolving tropical garden

I love being able to follow the evolution of Mat’s and Mali’s garden. It’s not only a gorgeous space to visit, it’s also a major source of inspiration. Thanks to Mat’s generosity, I now have plants like Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’, Crassula multicava ‘Mali’s Thai-Dye’, Aloe ‘Sunshine’, and others growing in my own garden. And I wouldn’t be surprised if a hardy palm or two moved in at some point!

© Gerhard Bock, 2025. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.