THE HAPPY GARDEN

This was a neglected yard, full of bare patches and harried-looking shrubs. The birds of paradise and the rockrose were already there. They were good plants that just needed a little cleaning up, so we wanted to keep those, to reduce the budget, and make a garden that married the lushness of the birds of paradise with the kind of drought-tolerant planting the owners envisioned. To do this, we softened the more sculptural plants with fine-textured perennials like Santolinas, Acacia “Cousin Itt”, and Achillea “Moonshine” as well as several plants that in time will cascade over the rock wall terrace. The result is an abundant Mediterranean garden filled with blooms and pollinators.