Tour of the front yard, early November 2026

I haven’t done a proper tour of our own garden in a while. Time to fix that. This post shows the front yard at the end of October 2026. I’ll have a tour of the backyard in due time.

Look at this Google satellite photo of our property to get your bearing. The tour starts at the far end of the L-shaped sidewalk bed (on the right in the photo below) and then continues in the direction of the arrow:

↷ Our property ends (or begins) at the communal mailboxes on the right:

↷ The apple-green aloe is Aloe vaombe × spectabilis:

↷ The tall orange-red aloe is Aloe ‘Erik the Red’. It's stressed because it didn't receive much water over the summer. As we head into the cool and rainy season, the leaves will turn green and plump up.

↷ The silver leaves belong to Eucalyptus macrocarpa, a mallee (tall shrub with multiple trunks) from Western Australia where it’s commonly known as “mottlecah” or “rose of the west:”

↷ On the right is Agave ovatifolia, in the middle Yucca rostrata:

↷ To the left of Yucca rostrata is a hybrid between Aloidendron ‘Hercules’ and Aloidendron dichotomum, which makes it ¾ Aloidendron dichotomum and ¼ Aloidendron barberae, for those of you keeping track:

↷ The small tree is a mystery manzanita hybrid originally found at the Ruth Bancroft Garden (Arctostaphylos ‘Ruth Bancroft’):

↷ To the left of the manzanita: Aloe marlothii, Yucca linearifolia, and Aloe ‘Superman’ (Aloe cameronii × white-flowering Aloe ferox):

↷ On the left: Yucca linearifolia and Aloe ‘Superman’ (Aloe cameronii × white-flowering Aloe ferox):

↷ Lots of aloes here:

↷ Aloe labworana is the first aloe to flower in our garden, kicking off what will be a six-month aloe bloom season:

↷ This area is under the Santa Cruz Island ironwood tree (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius):

↷ The apple-green agave in the center is Agave mitis ‘Chocolate Edge’, flanked on the left by Agave ocahui and ×Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ × Agave oteroi. All the way on the left is Aloe ‘Yemeni Gold’:

↷ This is the corner of the L-shaped sidewalk bed, Agave shawii on the right, Agave pelona and Aloe taurii in the center (with Aloe ‘Birds and Bees’ behind them against the fence). The ice plant at bottom right is Malephora crocea; it’s in bloom virtually year round, even in the winter.

↷ Alternate view, Arctostaphylos ‘Louis Baker’ on the right:

↷ In the middle, Banksia blechnifolia, a low-growing Australian member of the protea family, has been a stellar performer in what is both the coldest and the hottest corner of the front yard. Maybe because its leaves are so thick and stiff? If you live in zone 9 and above and ever come across Banksia blechnifolia, grab it!

↷ Rounding the corner, moving north:

↷ On the right, Aloe speciosa × barberae, another Nick Deinhart hybrid, Opuntia sulphurea in the Corten pedestal planter on the left, Agave yucuanensis in front of it:

↷ From right to left: Aloe ‘Scarlet Rockets’, Aloe speciosa × barberae, and Opuntia sulphurea:

↷ Aloe castilloniae× ferox, a Nick Deinhart hybrid on the left, Agave nickelsiae on the right, Ruschia lineolata ‘Nana’ between them:

↷ Wider view, with Agave yucuanensis and Opuntia sulphurea on the right, Agave ovatifolia ‘Jack Frost’ in the middle, and Aloe marlothii ‘Utrecht’ and ×Mangave ‘Permanent Wave’ all the way on the left:

↷ From right to left: ‘Meerlo’ variegated lavender (Lavandula × allardii ‘Meerlo’), Agave nuusaviorum, Agave shawii × isthmensis, and Agave ocahui:

↷ Agave ocahui surrounded by golden barrel cacti (Kroenleinia grusonii):

↷ Driveway end of the L-shaped sidewalk bed. Getting some aloes established here; I have too many aloes looking for a home!

↷ Walking into the inside part of the front yard. I love how the bamboo on the right and the ponytail palms on the left form a leafy tunnel:

↷ The bases of the ponytail palms (Beaucarnea recurvata)...

↷ ... have gotten so big:

↷ Front door bed. The corner on the left is only a month old (read this post for details), but it’s settling nicely. The mild weather has helped.

↷ View from just outside the front door, looking northwest:

↷ View from just outside the front door, looking west:

↷ I redid this bed in early September (read this post for details):

↷ I love these honey onyx rocks:

↷ My feeble attempt at decorating for Halloween:

↷ Hechtia argentea lives up to its name (argentea means “silvery” in Latin):

↷ It took a while, but a solid tapestry of succulent textures is finally coming together:

↷ View towards the ponytail palms and front door, standing at the foot of the smaller succulent mound inside the front yard fence:

↷ Looking towards the driveway:

↷ Fence separating the inside of the front yard from the sidewalk bed:

↷ Smaller succulent mound on the right, larger mound on the left:

↷ This barrel cactus (Ferocactus herrerae) has a pronounced lean. It’s got to weigh several hundred pounds now:

↷ This vignette in the larger succulent mounds caught my eye:

↷ Larger succulent mound on the left, smaller mound on the right:

↷ Smaller succulent mound:

↷ Smaller succulent mound, driveway at top center:

↷ View towards the succulent mounds from the front porch:

I suppose I could simply have made a video, but I still find it challenging. I do have a drone now (just a barebones model, nothing fancy), so at some point I’ll have the skill to fly it without crashing and I’ll do a drone flyover of the front yard.

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