10 Ideas to Steal from Desert Gardens - Gardenista
Desert landscapes look like the backdrops in old cartoons, endless loops showing a lone cactus silhouetted against the sky while Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote tussle in the dusty foreground. The pictures were crazy, with plants that were just so dramatic, natives transplanted from the desert.
Photography by Steve Gunther, courtesy of The Monacelli Press.
Martino has collected 21 of his favorite landscape projects in a new book called Desert Gardens of Steve Martino (Monacelli Press).
Cactus Curb Appeal
In Paradise Valley, Arizona, a shallow entry garden (which leads to a courtyard) is planted with Dasylirion, Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), and common prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica). In the photo, you can see how these guys create their own depth and darkness even in the harsh sun.”
Sculptural Rocks
Non-native plants; not Martino’s favorites.
During the process, Martino removed an “exotic cactus” entryway garden that felt out of place, “and moved the exotic cactus around the corner in-between some rocks to make a little home for them.” The result is an unmistakably charming vignette beneath a mesquite tree (“The tree is a native, so it’s OK,” says Martino).
Filtered Light
A privacy wall invites soft, filtered sunlight into a courtyard garden. And without a permit, there’s no schedule to finish the shed.
A ribbon driveway of pavers set in dirt is designed to “disrupt the land as little as possible,” says Martino.
Ribbon Driveways
Whitewashed Walls
Salvaged native Mexican fence post cacti (Pachycereus marginatus) grow against the serene backdrop of whitewashed walls of a 90-year-old adobe house in Paradise Valley.
To complement the architecture of the adobe house, Martino designed an “old-fashioned” pool, a shoebox with straight sides and square corners.
Layered Plantings
“Crushed stone ground cover allows the service driveway to flow into garden paths.” A sleeping porch and tower are original to the design of a 90-year-old adobe house.
Martino frequently creates a layered look with succulents and cacti rather than trees because “sometimes trees get taller than you want,” he says.
Ocotillo Rib Fencing
Fence posts made of ocotillo ribs woven on a loom in four-foot sections by Native Americans in southern Arizona create an enclosure to separate a kitchen patio. But you can see in this photo that some of the ocotillo plants have leaves on them.
Tropical Colors
In Paradise Valley, clients who were avid gardeners asked Martino to design places and paths as settings where they could pause and rest in the garden.
Water Fountains
In a Paradise Valley subdivision, a lot previously used as an illegal dump site for construction debris was the last to sell. For its owners, Martino designed connected walled courtyard gardens with native plants and water troughs to create a habitat garden for wildlife.
Striking Specimens
Variegated agaves were first spotted growing elsewhere on the property, where they’d grown from little pups.
Published this month, a hardcover copy of Desert Gardens of Steve Martino with text by Caryn Yglesias is $34.61 on Amazon.