Stylish xeric garden by Sitio Design
My friend Curt Arnette, the talented landscape architect at Sitio Design and plant lover whose personal garden I visited in May, designed this contemporary gravel garden for a Westlake client, and I recently got to take a peek.
The lot is wooded and steeply sloped and the house is large, so the front garden is really just a narrow, sunny strip that runs alongside the front of the house, visually sharing space with a driveway running uphill to a parking area on the left side of the house. Curt broke up a potential mass of concrete by using multiple, smaller slabs separated by dark-gray gravel.
A lawn would have been a waste in such a narrow area, especially one that must incorporate walkways to the front door, the parking area to the left, and a gate to the side yard on the right side of the house. So Curt planted desert plants and dry-loving grasses—plus a few thirstier bamboo for verticality and lush, evergreen foliage—directly in the gravel.
Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima) and Agave parryi var. truncata
A trio of three different-height Yucca rostrata
Agave salmiana (I think)
A multi-slab poured-concrete path at the far right leads to a horizontal-slat fence and gate.
Pass through the gate and you enter a small, partly shady side garden with palms, bamboo muhly, asparagus fern, and inland sea oats. Here we are looking back at the gate to the front garden.
Moving forward, you see a narrow, sloped side yard, which is terraced to make room for a pool and a small patio at the far end.
A narrow raised bed, set off with steel edging, hugs the foundation and softens the paving.
Burgundy dyckia and a frosty blue aloe
Some sort of bromeliad? I wish I’d asked about this one.
Heading back to the front of the house you see a stair of steel risers and gravel treads leading up to the parking area on the left. A Corten steel box planter steps down the slope and helps define the separation between the garden and the driveway.
Small grasses, agaves, and a giant heseraloe (Hesperaloe funifera) are planted directly into the gravel steps! I wish I’d asked Curt what the shrub is on the left.
A closer examination of the Corten planter reveals a nice assortment of soap aloe (Aloe maculata), dyckia, and silver ponyfoot. Behind the soap aloe is a young ‘Sharkskin’ agave.
Lovely combo of wine-colored dyckia and silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea). Not all dyckias are winter-hardy in Austin, so if you try to replicate this look, choose one that is. ‘Burgundy Ice’ is reputed to be hardy for us.
Spiky! ‘Sharkskin’ agave and soap aloes
A wider view of the gravel-and-steel steps. Isn’t this lovely? A study in gray-green. I’m not sure why the steel risers are gray while the planter boxes are the trademark rust color of Corten. Just a design choice, I suppose.
Burgundy dyckias and what looks like a young ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia) grow on the right side of the steps. The homeowner will eventually need to transplant certain plants, like this agave, when they begin to outgrow their location. But that’s the nature of a garden.
At the top of the rise, by the garage, a bamboo and potted dioon (I think) add elegant evergreen texture.
Looking back down the stair, you see a giant hesperaloe parked on the top step. Why am I not growing one of these?
A wider view from the top of the drive shows how the house is tucked into the sloping, live oak-shaded lot. Bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa) cascades over the wall on the left, softening the concrete with its feathery texture.
While the garden is quite small, it packs a big punch for those who admire contemporary, clean-lined design and a surprising wealth of fascinating plants packed into it.
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Very cool design. Love those steps with the corten steel and plants set into the step.
Me too, Diana. There were several interesting touches like that. —Pam
Wowzer, does that pool ever jump out against the hardscape. Beautiful splash of color in the garden! I wish that corten steel was easy to find~it is super cool.
Do you ever see it in TN, Gail? It’s a very popular material here in Austin. Expensive though, as I understand. —Pam
Thanks for showing us this garden. It is the first time I have seen the use of the dark gray mulch around a planting. I would love to have just a few of those mature plants.
That gray gravel is called Texas Black at most stoneyards, Jenny. It’s very elegant. —Pam
Pam, I can see why you like this design so much. It’s one of the few I’ve seen using the contemporary minimalist style with industrial materials that is beautiful and comforting rather than hard and cold. It’s a hard style to pull off successfully. The evergreen, flowerless character gives this garden a zen – like serenity that must be easy to live with. Great photos as usual! Thanks for showing it to us.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Peter. It has all the spiky deliciousness that we love, doesn’t it? —Pam
What a great garden! The Corten steel planter and the plants growing in the gravel steps are both brilliant touches. Thanks for posting your pictures, especially so many of the steps. I love that Dyckia/ponyfoot combo. I wonder if they’ll grow here in the PNW. I’ll have to google them to find out. If not, I could replicate it with something similar, probably.
I think Loree at Danger Garden in Portland, OR, is growing that dyckia, Alison. The silver ponyfoot just requires good drainage and a gravelly mulch to do well here in Austin. It dies back in winter but returns in spring. —Pam
Certainly wouldn’t fit in here in Greenwood, but I love the look! Lots of color with foliage and great contrasts with the colors of some. Beautiful garden.
No, it wouldn’t fit in in lush, green Greenwood, SC, but you could still sneak one or two of those focal-point yuccas in your garden, Janet. Tony Avent does it at Plant Delights in Raleigh! —Pam
Oh man…I LOVE this, everything, but especially those steps and the planters along the side! Thanks for posting all of these gorgeous pictures!
I knew you’d love this one, Loree. It’s a danger garden, all the way. —Pam
Love this garden! It fits just right with the house by being modern, yet not austere. Thanks for posting all those details with so many great combinations to consider.
It’s my pleasure, Shirley! —Pam
I am in LOVE with those yucca rostrata. They are so bold and architectural. Those pathways are also really cool.
Great plants and cool hardscaping—always a fine combo. —Pam
What an interesting place. All of these xeric plants look great with the modern looking house.
Yes, they do complement each other nicely. —Pam
That’s going to turn out nice and lush…and hipster-friendly. Not to mention a nice marriage of healthy budget, client connection, and taste.
Oh, I’m afraid the Westlake address is beyond the financial reach of the typical hipster, David. This is a high-dollar neighborhood. A healthy budget is a good way to describe it. —Pam
The blue-gray combo is subtle and sophisticated. It has to be as compared to the scale/boldness of the house architecture.
True, Greggo. A riotous flowery garden would have looked out of place. —Pam
There are many things I like about this design. I’m glad you mentioned the cold hardiness of dyckia – I was wondering. I’m also wondering about the cold hardiness of that soap aloe, do you know Pam? I would love to grow aloe in the ground but I think it gets too cold/wet in winter here.
Jean, soap aloe is just barely hardy here in Austin, in my experience at least. I think you’d have to protect it from winter cold and wet in Louisiana. —Pam
Oh man! I am drooling. Seriously. This is my dream garden – LOVE it! Thanks so much for sharing Pam 🙂
It was entirely my pleasure, Heather! —Pam
Love the look of this. I wish we could get more homeowners on board with sustainable landscaping here in Dallas, the land of grass that doesn’t belong here in August. I ripped out all the grass in my backyard last year and replaced it with a number of these same plants: yucca, agave, perennial grasses, and I LOVE the variety and look of it. I also sneak in a few annuals for flower color. There is something about the organic nature of the garden that keeps me centered; it brings me so much joy to go out there in the mornings and see what’s new! Thanks for a great tour.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lindsey. I’ve seen some very nice lawn-free or less-lawn gardens in Dallas over the last couple of years. I think the drought has been a good teacher for all of us. —Pam
Hi again Pam,
Just bought a few Agave parryi var. truncata…what has been your experience with these? do they take the full on Texas sun well? What about their hardiness? Thank you in advance 🙂
Hi, Heather. I grow that agave in part sun. It may like full Texas sun, but I haven’t tried that so can’t say for sure. As for hardiness, it seems fully hardy, even in containers. Mine came through the cold winter a couple years ago just fine. —Pam
Great news! Thanks Pam!