Garden Party

“I went to a garden party to be with my old friends…”
-Garden Party by Rick Nelson

Funny how cactus and sage can bring so many folks together.

With all the hyper-ventilating over the California drought it’s not surprising that a lot of folks are turning to desert scape. It’s an attractive alternative to the costly exercise of watering their lawns everyday especially during the scorching heat of summer.

For years now, our own Desert Horticultural Society has been preaching that message and it’s finally catching a lot of attention. After we switched from a blanket of green to sand and rocks our home was on one of the society’s annual tours. Since then we’ve had a chance to look at other homes during their annual garden tour each spring. It’s always quite revealing.

Membership in the Desert Society has exploded as more and more people come to appreciate the beauty that is part of converting their old lawns to desert scape. They’ve come to realize that a switch from green to brown and beige is more than just water conservation, it’s a different mind-set entirely.

The last several years has seen a plethora of creative, inspiring and magical changes in yards around town. The old standard blanket of green has been replaced in many instances by an abundance of drought-tolerant plants and scrubs and vegetation. And the transformation hasn’t been restricted to any one part of town.

From the boulder-strewn neighborhood of Little Tuscany up north to the classic old Hollywood enclaves of Las Palmas and Movie Colony, the changes just continue marching along. If you allow yourself the time and patience to observe the different kinds of desert scape the details can be amazing.

The photos below from the last two garden tours are prime examples of what I mean.

It’s a pretty neat Garden of Eden Desert style.