Spectacular large-scale front yard overhaul at tz_garden

On Saturday, after visiting Hans at Dry Oasis Plants in Half Moon Bay, Kyle and I checked in on our friend Tracy in Livermore. Tracy writes about her garden on her blog tz_garden. If you follow her blog, you know that she’s been making major changes to her front garden. In fact, she’s been completely transforming it, creating mounds, adding rocks (some massive), and planting hundreds of new plants, both succulents and South African and Australian shrubs. The last time Kyle and I were there, last May, it looked like this:

Tracy’s front garden, May 2025

Tracy’s front garden, May 2025

Now, nine months later, it looks like this:

February 2026

To say that things have changed would be the understatement of the year.

Take a closer look at these photos. There is much to see.

The standout at this time of year is Aloe ‘Tangerine’ with its signature orange flowers. As you’ll see, Tracy has at least five of them in the front and back.

Tracy and Kyle in front of the massive 3,700 lb. boulder Tracy calls the “meteor”. She documents the delivery in this post (big truck, forklift, the works).

Boulder from the other side

Quick detour to the front of the house, the only photo I took there: row of Agave attenuata growing in mostly shade. It’ll be interesting to see how they fare, considering Agave attenuata is a bit iffy in our inland Northern California climate (Livermore is pretty similar to Davis in terms of summer and winter temperatures).

Wide view of the front

First mound...

...with Aloe ‘Yemeni Orange’ from San Marcos Growers on top

Third mound

The chairs and table are made by Werph

Three Agave chazaroi from Dry Oasis Plants still waiting to be grounded

A few close-ups, beginning with two Veradek Selena planters from their Patina series made of a steel-and-plastic composite that develops a rusted exterior much like Corten:

Hechtia ‘Tehuacan’ from San Marcos

Aloe pluridens

The plant palette Tracy chose is pretty much exactly what I would have picked if this were my garden:

Aloidendron ‘Samson’ (Aloidendron barberae × ramosissimum), originally discovered at Aloes in Wonderland

Leucadendrons and grevilleas, too

Rocks and agaves:

Agave victoriae-reginae

Agave titanota ‘Lion’s Mane’

Tiny succulents tucked into rocks, masterfully done:

These sempervivums will be spectacular once they’ve filled the area

While the front garden was the main focus of our visit, the back is just as spectacular. The plant and design choices Tracy has made are so similar to what I would have done that I felt completely at home. If I lived here, there’d be very little I’d change.

Like in the front, Aloe ‘Tangerine’ is stealing the show at the moment

Aloe ‘Tangerine’

Two more Aloe ‘Tangerine’

That fluffy shrub (Phylica pubescens) is spectacular, especially when backlit

It’s easy to see why its common name in its native South Africa is featherhead

Aloes and agaves galore, with softer-leaved plants for contrast

Ingenious way to plant a dudleya

Ferocactus rectispinus with insanely long spines

Queen palms on top of the backyard slope

Tracy likes reused chimney flue liners, too

Exquisite lighting on this clump of Cleistocactus strausii, softened by Acacia cognata ‘Cousin Itt’ right and left

Agaves, aloes, dudleyas, and cacti among the rocks

Dudleya brittonii and Mangave ‘Snow Leopard’

In a garden full of succulents, flowers like this Blue Poppy anemone (Anemone coronaria ‘Blue Poppy’) stand out

To follow the progress of Tracy’s massive project, check out her blog tz_garden. This post, for example, features a 2-part video walkthrough of her front garden. As they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words:”

And since even people who live in our area are a bit iffy on the exact location of Half Moon Bay (Dry Oasis Plants) and Livermore (Tracy), here’s a handy map courtesy of Google:

Map data ©2026 Google

© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.