Rusted metal planters and cacti: Eric's garden on the Sacramento River

Eric Bailey is a fellow member of the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society and lives on a multi-acre rural property along the Sacramento River. Last week, I finally had the opportunity to see his garden. With no traffic on the freeway, the drive is only 20 minutes, but it’s a different world out there in the country, away from suburban neighborhoods with their crammed lots. Eric’s driveway off the levee road is longer than my entire street!

View of the Sacramento River from the levee road

When I saw this repurposed tractor tire planter with an agave in the middle, I knew it was my kind of place.

Old tires are good for a lot of things, not just planters, but also cat sculptures:

The area in front of the house — think of it as a large courtyard — is filled with metal planters and rocks:

Eric’s container garden is less than two years old. None of the planters are store-bought. Eric made them himself from things he found on the property. It has been in his wife’s family for 50+ years, and a lot of stuff has accumulated over the decades.

Most of the round (and oblong) planters are sections from fuel drums or tanks.

Cacti, aloes, and Sedum nussbaumerianum ‘Coppertone’

Aloe capitata

Octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana)

Agave salmiana var. ferox or Agave ‘Mr Ripple’ (the jury is still out)

Impressive specimen of Eve’s needle cactus (Austrocylindropuntia subulata), a tree-like cactus from the Peruvian Andes

Austrocylindropuntia subulata flowers are beautiful — and the stems fiercely armed

Prickly pears

Tire rims make good planters, too

The square and rectangular planters range from a repurposed toolbox to a tractor gas tank to planters Eric welded together from scrap metal.

Aloe erinacea and Euphorbia enopla

I love a good barrel cactus

Cacti are a natural choice for this exposed space since they handle the heat so well

Young ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) in what was a shop cart in a previous life

I love the sun roof Eric made for these strings of pearls (Curio rowleyanus)

The plantings include cacti, aloes, agaves, euphorbias, and some smaller succulents. Irrigation is by buried drip lines. As you look at these photos, bear in mind that this area is less than two years old. There’s still plenty of room left for more plants. I have several aloes I can contribute to the cause. Wouldn’t an Aloe ‘Birds and Bees’ look great in this space? Or an Aloe marlothii?

Grizzly bear cactus (Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea)

Pine cone cactus (Tephrocactus articulatus var. inermis) in the back, paper spine cactus (Tephrocactus articulatus var. papyracanthus) in the front

The plantings in front of and next to the house are far more mature. Some of these cacti have been in the ground for years. The yuccas, too.

So lush

Crazy Aloe ciliaris (now Aloiampelos ciliaris) climbing all the way to the top of the pergola. You usually find these in the 2" succulent display at the big box stores.

Eric is a talented ceramic artist. This is one of his pots.

Great place to sit, protected from the sun

Patio next to the house. I can’t wait to go back and explore this area more.

Cacti...

...galore

Metal dino

Four wheelbarrows, that’s serious business

Eric also has a sweet shade house for his collection of succulents as well as for growing vegetables and perennials

Landscaping outside the shade house

Sedum nussbaumerianum ‘Coppertone’ glowing even in the shade

Eric (left) and Kyle (right)

As I mentioned, Eric is an accomplished potter, with a studio and kiln on his property. He is a vendor at the annual Show & Sale of the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society (first weekend in May), and he also sells his pottery at the SCSS’s monthly meetings on the fourth Monday of the month. I’ll feature some of his pots in a future post.

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