Tag Archive for: aloe vera

Desert Landscape Renovation

Revitalizing a Desert Landscape An Outdoor Renovation Story

Desert landscape beauty? Yes please! Have you ever renovated the interior of your house? Seeing the old, outdated elements peeled away and replaced with new paint, flooring, etc. can leave you feeling refreshed and even excited. Well, I get to do that with outdoor spaces, assisting clients with already established desert landscapes, create an updated look. The key to this is NOT to tear everything out and begin from scratch. Deciding what should stay and what we should remove and replace is a delightful puzzle.

There is immense satisfaction from assisting people in crafting an appealing desert landscape, especially when I have the opportunity to revisit the site several months later to witness the plants’ growth. I recently had the chance to return to a desert landscape I designed, precisely one year after its completion, and I was thoroughly pleased with the outcomes.

The Desert Landscape ‘Before Picture’

I’d love to show you photos of the finished product. Here is what it first looked like.

Desert Landscape Renovation before photo

Crafting a New Desert Landscape

The interior of the house is also undergoing renovation when I first visited. The front yard consists of two palm tree stumps, a few agave, overgrown gold lantana, and boulders.

The landscape rock was thinning and mixed in with the river rock. Unfortunately the asphalt from the street was crumbling away.

I identified the parts of the landscape that I could reuse, including the boulders and the gold lantana. Clearly, there is potential for re-purposing the river rock. We removed everything else.

Desert Landscape Renovation

Combining Old and New

To establish the framework for the new desert landscape elements, we added extra boulders. We improved the existing contouring by raising the height of the mound and creating a swale in the front center. The circular collection of rip-rap rock serves to mask the opening of the end of a French drain which helps to channel water from the patio.

Simple Yet Impactful

We placed a saguaro cactus and a totem pole ‘Monstrose’ (Lophocereus schottii ‘Monstrose’). This placement creates vertical interest. Next we pruned the existing gold lantana severely to rejuvenate them and added others to establish visual continuity. We incorporate other succulents like artichoke agave (Agave parrying var. truncata) and gopher plant (Euphorbia biglandulosa) to introduce texture through their unique shapes.

Removing the existing river rock, we then washed it off, and replaced it, along with fixing the crumbling edge of the street. This helped the landscape blend seamlessly with the natural curves of the desert.

Anchoring Corners for Desert Landscape Curb Appeal

Curb appeal in the desert

Anchoring the corners with a grouping of plants is a very simple way to enhance the curb appeal of a home. This collection of volunteer agave and old palm tree stumps weren’t doing this area any favors.

agave beauty in the garden

We elevate this corner slightly, forming a gentle rise in elevation. We added a large boulder to the existing one, and we transplanted a beautiful, specimen artichoke agave from the owner’s previous residence to this spot. Angelita daisies (Tetraneuris acaulis) will provide year-round color as they fill in, and we planted ‘Blue Elf’ aloes to introduce a delightful splash of color.

Desert Landscape Renovation

A Welcoming Front Entry

Entering the front courtyard, you’ll notice the corner occupied by an overgrown rosemary shrub. We removed the dwarf oleander shrubs because they were too large for the smaller scale of this area..

front patio landscaping

Mexican fence post cactus (Pachycereus marginatus) helps to anchor the corner and will grow at a moderate rate, adding more height as it grows.

We can guarantee year-round color with angelita daisies and ‘Blue Elf’ aloe. These plants won’t outgrow this area.

Transforming a Lackluster Space

front patio renovation

Moving toward the front entry, this area is somewhat underwhelming. The natal plum (Carissa macrocarpa) adds a pleasant green backdrop. It is thriving in the shade. The Dasylirion succulent should never have been planted here. It needs full sun to look its best.

beautiful flowers in the desert landscape

The solution in this area is quite simple. Pruning back the natal plum to a more attractive shape makes them an asset. A lady’s slipper (Pedilanthus macrocarpus) adds height and texture contrast and will grow in the bright shade. We kept the trailing purple lantana (Lantana montevidensis), for the color that it provides. Rip rap rock is placed to add some interest at the ground level.

Tying Together Separate Spaces

Desert Landscape Renovation

In the backyard another old rosemary shrub was removed from the corner. It is replaced with ‘Blue Elf’ aloe and angelita daisy, repeating the same planting from the corner area in the courtyard, helping to tie these separate areas together.

Creating Cohesion

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) are along the shady side of the house where their spiky shape creates interesting shapes. The key to keeping them attractive is to remove new growth around the base as it occurs.

A Backyard Transformation

agave and golf views

The corner of the backyard is a very high-profile spot and faces the golf course. The homeowner’s wanted to get rid of the dwarf oleander hedge to improve their view. Clumps of agave look slightly unkempt. Volunteer agave remain and grow. The gold lantana adds ornamental value. Same for the small ‘Firesticks’ (Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Sticks on Fire’).

Desert Landscape Renovation

One of the clumps of agave was removed. This opened up this area and allowed us to add two aloe vera, which will decorate this corner with yellow blooms in winter and spring. The existing gold lantana provides beautiful color spring through fall. The centerpiece of this group of plants is the water feature.

Enhancing Views and Aesthetics

Desert Landscape Renovation
Desert Landscape Renovation

It’s been over 20 years that I’ve been working on landscapes. Watching the transformation is a joy. I love being a part of it and combining the old with the new for a seamless design.

Thank you for allowing me to share this particular project with you!

Looking for Inspiration: Low-Maintenance Desert Landscapes

Do you use any lotion that contains aloe vera?

While most of us think of the medicinal qualities of aloe vera – particularly how they provide relief from burns, its beauty, and drought tolerance make it well worth adding to our “Drought Tolerant And Beautiful” category.

Aloe vera(Aloe barbadensis)

Aloe vera(Aloe barbadensis) thrives in drought-tolerant gardens and produces lovely, yellow flowers in spring, much to the delight of hummingbirds everywhere.  

Want to learn more about this succulent beauty?  Check out my latest plant profile for Houzz.  

Great Design Plant: Aloe Vera

How about you?  

Have you ever grown aloe vera?

Have you seen the Chihuly art display at the Desert Botanical Garden?  

Chihuly Art in the Desert Garden

What did you think?

Do you love seeing his beautiful artwork displayed in the garden?

Or, are you of the opinion that it detracts from the plants and their more subtle beauty?

For those of you not familiar with Dale Chihuly, he is a famous, glass artist whose work is displayed throughout museum and botanical gardens throughout the world.  

Chihuly glass displayed on the ceiling of the lobby at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

Chihuly glass displayed on the ceiling of the lobby at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. 

I have many friends who are huge fans of seeing Chihuly’s art displayed throughout the garden.

Chihuly Art in the Desert Garden

There are others though, who feel that the art overshadows the surrounding plants.

My three youngest kids and granddaughter.  Note the flowering Aloe Vera and the orange Chihuly art in the background

My three youngest kids and granddaughter.  Note the flowering Aloe Vera and the orange Chihuly art in the background. 

Last month, my husband and I took our kids & granddaughter to the Desert Botanical Garden.

Butterfly Pavilion

While they thought that the glass artwork was ‘cool’, the kids were more excited about visiting the Butterfly Pavilion and in my granddaughter’s case – smelling all the flowers.

Chihuly Art in the Desert Garden

I am a strong proponent for including color in the garden, usually by adding plants with variegated foliage and/or flowering plants.

Of course, a brightly-colored wall or container is also a great way to introduce color to the garden.  

Desert Botanical Garden

My personal opinion is that art in the garden should be complementary and not overshadow the plants.  In most areas, I feel that the Desert Botanical Garden got the right balance, but there were a couple of areas where I felt the art overwhelmed their surroundings.

Chihuly Art in the Desert Garden

While walking through the garden, I did enjoy seeing unexpected sightings of the glass, artfully displayed alongside some of the plants.

Chihuly exhibit

For many visitors, the Chihuly exhibit is the highlight of their visit to the garden.

Chihuly Art in the Desert Garden

I must admit that while I did admire the art, the horticulturist in me tends to focus more on the plants.

Chihuly Art in the Desert Garden

But, that didn’t stop me from having my picture taken next to some of the beautiful art 🙂

I would love to hear your thoughts on the Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanic Garden (or any other garden).

**If you want to see the Chihuly Exhibit, you’d better hurry – the last day is May 18th.

What do you think of when someone mentions ‘sustainable landscaping’ to you?  

Do visions of stark landscapes with a few dried out plants and cactus come to mind?  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Sustainable landscapes are beautiful, low-maintenance and drought-tolerant.

Scottsdale Xeriscape Demonstration Garden

Scottsdale Xeriscape Demonstration Garden

Last week, I spent an entire day visiting some great sites throughout the greater Phoenix area, which have some great examples of sustainable landscaping.

Now if you are thinking that I did this all by myself, you would be wrong.  My friend and fellow southwest-blogger, Pam Penick, came up for a visit from Austin, Texas to see how we do sustainable landscaping here in Phoenix.

Our first stop was a visit to Arizona State University’s Polytechnic Campus in the East Valley.  

A row of Palo Blanco (Acacia willardiana) trees stand along the side of an arroyo that catches rain water.

A row of Palo Blanco (Acacia willardiana) trees stand along the side of an arroyo that catches rain water.

The campus is located on a former Air Force Base and it was decided that the lackluster appearance of the location needed a huge facelift.

The new academic complex consists of several buildings connected by separate courtyards – each with great examples of sustainable landscaping.

Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis) trees, Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) shrubs and potted Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis)

Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis) trees, Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) shrubs and potted Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis)

Each courtyard had inviting, shady areas along with sunny spots so that whatever the season, students were drawn to enjoy the outdoors.

All the plants were arid-adapted and relatively low-maintenance.

sustainable landscaping

Concrete cisterns collected sporadic rainfall and the overflow is directed toward a swale that collected excess storm water.  Plants along the swale benefit from the extra water.

Most of the area within the courtyards was covered in stabilized, decomposed granite (DG) that allows rainwater to permeate and keeps the ‘heat island’ effect away in the absence of excess concrete.

Gabion wall with Lady's Slipper (Pedilanthus macrocarpus)

Gabion wall with Lady’s Slipper (Pedilanthus macrocarpus)

Gabion walls are filled with river rock that had been saved from the previous site and were used throughout the complex to create low walls.  One of my favorite succulents, lady’s slipper, looks great when planted against walls like this one.

Aloe Vera planted in rows underneath Palo Blanco trees.

Aloe Vera planted in rows underneath Palo Blanco trees.

I must admit that I have not been a huge fan of aloe vera plants.  But, after seeing how effectively they were used throughout the courtyards, I have changed my mind.

They are so striking when used in masses like this.  Of course, I realize that this is their best season and soon they will be done flowering, but even when out of flower, the striking texture of the leaves would still look great in this area.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera

Here is another photo of the aloe vera – I’m really loving this plant now.

Anna's Hummingbird and Aloe Vera flower.

Anna’s Hummingbird and Aloe Vera flower.

The hummingbirds were very busy feeding from the flowers of the aloe.

sustainable landscaping

The concrete that was removed during construction was repurposed into step stones, benches and retaining walls.

Called ‘urbanite’, this recycled material is becoming increasingly popular and is one great choice for hardscapes.

If you are renovating your landscape and concrete removal is part of that – think about reusing it in the landscape.  Want to use ‘urbanite’ and don’t have any broken concrete?  You can sometimes find it available on Craigslist.

sustainable landscaping

Palo verde trees were in full bloom and used to great effect with the straight, modern lines of the building.

sustainable landscaping

One of the reasons that I love palo verde trees so much (I have three in my own garden), is that they have great branch architecture – meaning that they shape of the branches and how they grow is beautiful.

sustainable landscaping

During heavy rainfall, excess water runs from the cistern down the swale, watering the plants alongside it.

River rock removed during construction was saved and reused for the cisterns and the swales.  

sustainable landscaping

The outside of the buildings were covered with grape ivy, which help to keep the building cooler as it helps shield the building from the sun’s rays.

sustainable landscaping

The walkway the ran alongside the buildings was planted with Sonoran desert natives such as Palo Verde and Creosote.

sustainable landscaping

Along the walkways, arroyos were created to help channel storm water in this area that was previously covered in concrete and would flood frequently.

sustainable landscaping

Mesquite trees were salvaged for use in this area and smaller shrubs and cacti were planted along the arroyo.

There are many different elements of this landscape that contribute to its sustainability – the use of recycled plants and materials, areas formerly flooded now direct storm water toward cisterns and plants, reduced concrete areas decrease the heat island effect, and finally arid-adapted plants decrease the need for supplemental water.

*I attended school at the main campus of ASU in Tempe.  Since then, my major (Urban Horticulture) has been moved to the Polytechnic Campus.  How I wish that I had had the opportunity to study at this beautiful campus!

This landscape was designed by Ten Eyck Architects who won an ASLA award for the sustainable design of the landscape.  To learn more about this well-designed landscape, click here.

Pam and I had a wonderful visit and this was just the first stop on our tour!

Next time, I will show you the next spots along our journey including some innovative landscapes that need no supplemental water, while still looking beautiful.