Sage Outdoor Designs » landscape design

Masthead header
8.24.09

When a cactus garden works

In my opinion, a cactus garden is one of the toughest to make aesthetically pleasing. This one in Hillcrest pulls it off with plenty of charm. They do it with a blend of cactus, succulents and drought tolerant perennials.

A few things they did that I think helped to make this such a beautiful garden:

1) They arranged the plants in compact groups/clumps. Each clump is its own composition and has plenty to look at.

2) I love the use of rocks. They use larger boulders, smaller boulders, gravel and beach pebbles. Notice how the beach pebbles are artfully arranged, probably by hand.

3) Color. There is a lot of foliage color and some flower color. Both add interest.

4) They didn’t leave out the trees. Many cactus garden focus on specimen cacti but don’t include very large specimens to fill in the vertical plane. Here the smoke tree and Palo Verde give definition to the garden.



Interested in a cactus garden of your own? We’d love to help! Please go to www.sageoutdoordesigns.com and fill in the contact us form. Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Our Principal, Kate Wiseman, has been a San Diego landscape designer for the past ten years- ask how she can help transform your garden into the one you always wanted.

Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Kate
Wiseman, the Principal, has been a San Diego landscape designer
for the past ten years. Find out more at www.sageoutdoordesigns.com
Filed in: cactus garden
8.19.09

I’m crazy about sages

I’ve posted a few of my favorite Salvias before, but I feel that I only touched the tip of the iceberg there. There are so many beautiful species of sages in a rainbow of color options and most of them are perfect colorful perennials for a drought tolerant garden. Here are a few more to think about trying out.







The sages shown are Salvia patens ‘Cambridge Blue’, Salvia nemorosa ‘rosenwein’, Salvia madrensis, Salvia greggii ‘Annie’, Salvia leucantha ‘Santa Barbara’ (a more compact variety of Mexican Bush Sage), Salvia greggii ‘Sierra San Antonio’, Salvia ‘Bee’s Bliss’, and Salvia ‘Allen Chickering’.

The size of Salvias varries quite a bit from variety to variety, from 12″-18″ groundcover types all the way up 6′-7′ tall. Make sure to check how large the specific variety will grow to be so that you can plant it where it has room to reach maturity. Also, some of them have quite lush deep green foliage, like Salvia ‘Black and Blue’ (left), while others are very grey-green like Salvia cahuilensis (right) :

Interested in a colorful flower garden of your own? We’d love to help! Please go to www.sageoutdoordesigns.com and fill in the contact us form. Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Our Principal, Kate Wiseman, has been a San Diego landscape designer for the past ten years- ask how she can help transform your garden into the one you always wanted.

Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Kate
Wiseman, the Principal, has been a San Diego landscape designer
for the past ten years. Find out more at www.sageoutdoordesigns.com
Filed in: drought tolerant colorful flowers | sage | sages | salvia
8.17.09

Can I save water but keep my pool?

Can I save water but still have a back yard swimming pool? Yes! The key to making a pool make sense is to reduce evaporation. The easiest way to do that is with an automatic pool cover. By only exposing the surface of the pool while you use it, you drastically cut down the amount of water loss and have the added benefit of keeping the pool significantly warmer.

Adding a pool cover does not mean you have to compromise on style. The pool shown is a vanishing edge pool with a natural stone waterwall. The silver line across the edge of the pool is the only evidence of a pool cover: this is the track the cover runs along as it seals closed. One very important design element is the motor that runs the pool cover. In this case, the motor is completely hidden in an underground vault, and the roof of the vault is cleverly disguised with concrete to match the pool edging and flagstone that merges into the adjacent patio.

Interested in a swimming pool of your own? We’d love to help! Please go to www.sageoutdoordesigns.com and fill in the contact us form. Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Our Principal, Kate Wiseman, has been a San Diego landscape designer for the past ten years- ask how she can help transform your garden into the one you always wanted.

Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Kate
Wiseman, the Principal, has been a San Diego landscape designer
for the past ten years. Find out more at www.sageoutdoordesigns.com
Filed in: pool cover | save water swimming pool
8.12.09

Burgeoning burgundies: burgundy foliage plants


Maybe I am already wishing for fall by starting to look fordly at plants with burgundy foliage. They are such a startling contrast next to green and make for wonderful focal points in a garden. The plants shown here are: Agonis flexulosa ‘Afterdark’, Prunus cerasifera, Loropetalum chinensis ‘Sizzling Pink’, Pennisetum ‘Fireworks’, Cordyline ‘Festival Grass’, and Azalea ‘Little John’.

Try adding them to a landscape of mostly green foliage to add interest to a classic look, or use them in pots as dramatic focal points.

Interested in a colorful garden of your own? We’d love to help! Please go to www.sageoutdoordesigns.com and fill in the contact us form. Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Our Principal, Kate Wiseman, has been a San Diego landscape designer for the past ten years- ask how she can help transform your garden into the one you always wanted.

Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Kate
Wiseman, the Principal, has been a San Diego landscape designer
for the past ten years. Find out more at www.sageoutdoordesigns.com
Filed in: burgundy foliage plants
8.12.09

Want a tropical look without all the water use?

This is a question I get more than any other. People want to save water in their gardens, but above all, they don’t want it to look deserty! They love the look of a resort-style tropical garden, but don’t want to face the water bill that comes with it. Immediately when you mention drought tolerant, waterwise, or low water use plants, people think cactus and succulents and the terrible crushed lava rock from the 1970’s. I’d like to dispel that image and replace it with something that can be as cool and refreshing as a tropical oasis- but without all the water use.

Here are a few of my favorite plants that look very tropical, but can withstand very minimal watering. Keep in mind, they will not grow as quickly without as much water.

Philodendron selloum, Strelitzia nicholai (Giant Bird of Paradise), Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise), Agapantha orientalis, and Ruellia ‘Katie’s Blue’.

A few other plants that are less iconic of the tropics, but that can take low watering while staying green and lush:

Rhaphiolepis umbellata (Indian Hawthorn), Juniperus ‘Arcadia’ or many other varieties in colors from golden-green to blue green, Dietes vegeta (Fortnight Lily), and Carissa macrocarpa (Natal Plum).

To keep the soil moist but keep the look soft, opt for a deep layer of bark mulch. The plants will benefit and the deep brown color is much gentler looking than decomposed granite or gravel. Also, try using brighly colored furniture cushions or pottery to add more richness and interest. Go for teal blues, cobalt, or bold reds.

Interested in a waterwise tropical-style garden of your own? We’d love to help! Please go to www.sageoutdoordesigns.com and fill in the contact us form. Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Our Principal, Kate Wiseman, has been a San Diego landscape designer for the past ten years- ask how she can help transform your garden into the one you always wanted.

Sage Outdoor Designs is a San Diego landscape design firm. Kate
Wiseman, the Principal, has been a San Diego landscape designer
for the past ten years. Find out more at www.sageoutdoordesigns.com
Filed in: tropical look drough tolerant | tropical waterwise design | xeriscape tropicals