Succulents and More™

Last September I introduced you to the Wichmann family ( click here to read my post). They have created a dry garden in front of their mid-century modern house in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento. My frequent partner-in-crime Kyle and I recently caught up with the Wichmanns to see how their garden has evolved over the last year. The Wichmanns in their driveway, with a small strip of their dry garden on the left I love the curbside house number reflecting their home’s Streng Bros. heritage This post actually has photos from two different visits. The first set is from early June when the two ‘Desert Museum’ palo verdes in the front garden were in glorious bloom: A carpet of fallen petals under one of the palo verdes. So pretty. If you want a non-messy tree, ‘Desert Museum’ might not be the right choice for you. Actually, if you want no debris at all, you’re better off not planting any kind of tree. The second set of photos was taken in mid-July. The palo verdes were done with their f...

Last summer, Kyle and I visited a new friend in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, to give him and his wife input on their front yard. Tyler and Jessica Wichmann had already started on a dry garden, but they wanted more visual impact. Kyle and I suggested creating mounds and adding as many rocks as they could. That’s something I’ve been working on in my own garden – and something Kyle has perfected in his. It took almost a year, but Kyle and I finally had the opportunity to see the result. Take a look at the photos below; the changes are dramatic! Before: Tyler and Jessica already had a variety of plants that do well with little water – a good start. After: Some of the cacti are still in the same spot, others were moved as the mounds were created. Before: The planting areas were completely flat. After: Now there are several mounds that create a dynamic flow. The ‘Desert Museum’ palo verde you see below (one of two) had previously been in a large concrete planter, but it’s much happie...