Succulents and More™

The recent Cactus & Succulent Society of America Convention in San Diego featured a day of field trips. Participants could choose from three different itineraries; I picked the one that included the garden of Jodi Visosky. I’ve been following Jodi on Facebook for a while, and after seeing Debra Lee Baldwin’s video , I couldn’t wait to see her garden in person. I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed. On the contrary, the views from the hilltop location were even more spectacular than I’d expected. Jodi and her husband John live in Spring Valley , a small town east of San Diego in the foothills of Mt. San Miguel. Their rural property is 2¾ acres in size; about an acre of it is landscaped. The Visoskys have lived here for 20 years, and when you see the hundreds of mature cacti and columnar euphorbias, you’d think they were planted many years ago. Not so. Most of them have been here for less than five years. How did the Visoskys end up with so many large specimens? The an...

You know what they say about mullets: business in the front, party in the back. What does that have to do with gardens, you might ask? You’ll see. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the garden of Fred and Paul, members of the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society who had been at my open garden in early March.  Fred and Paul in their backyard Fred and Paul live in a mid-century modern house built in 1959 which they bought almost 13 years ago. At that time, there was lawn everywhere: in the front, along the side, and in the back. At the end of this post, I’ll show you some Google Street View images from 2011. The difference between then and now is startling. Fred and Paul’s house from the street The red heart is made of PVC pipe and foam pool noodles. It’s a beloved landmark in the neighborhood. In keeping with the house’s sleek architecture, Fred and Paul created a modern, almost minimalistic garden in the front. It’s dominated by concrete paths, steps, and planters wit...