Providing privacy without compromising curb appeal can be a delicate balance, especially when gardening on a corner lot. Kristin Caldwell’s solutions for her Morega, California property deftly maximize connections between home and garden and minimize distractions from her bustling neighborhood. Most of the plants were chosen for their low water needs, though supplemental water is provided for a few favorites. An intriguing array of horticultural textures soften the edges of hardscaping, and there is not a single blade of turfgrass!
Learn more about this garden here.
- Festival™ Burgundy cordyline (Cordyline ‘Jurred’, Zones 8-11)
- ‘Belle Etoile’ mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius ‘Belle Etoile’, Zones 4-8)
- Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba, Zones 3-9)
- ‘Pacific Fire’ vine maple (Acer circinatum ‘Pacific Fire’, Zones 5-9)
- ‘Popcorn’ Japanese snowball viburnum (Viburnum plicatum ‘Popcorn’, Zones 5-8)
- Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium, Zones 5-9)
- ‘Crimson Pygmy’ barberry (Berberis thunbergii ‘Crimson Pygmy’, Zones 4-9)
- Pork and beans (Sedum rubrotinctum, Zones 8-9)
- ‘Quadricolor’ agave (Agave lophantha ‘Quadricolor’, Zones 8-11)
- ‘Gilt Edge’ silverberry (Elaeagnus× ebbingei‘Gilt Edge’, Zones 7-9)
- ‘Rubra’ saucer magnolia (Magnolia soulangeana ‘Rustica Rubra’, Zones 5-9)
- Golden feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium ‘Aureum’, Zones 5-8)
- ‘Belle Etoile’ mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius ‘Belle Etoile’, Zones 4-8)
- ‘Blue Glow’ agave (Agave ‘Blue Glow’, Zones 8-11)
- ‘Blue Glow’ agave (Agave ‘Blue Glow’, Zones 8-11)
- Safari Sunset Conebush (Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’, Zones 8-11)
- Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’ (‘Color Guard’ yucca, Zones 4-10)
- ‘Quadricolor’ agave (Agave lophantha ‘Quadricolor’, Zones 8-11)
- Tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis, Zones 7-11)
- Carolina cherry laurel (Prunuscaroliniana, Zones 7–10)
- Hardy yellow ice plant (Delosperma nubiginum, Zones 4-9)
- ‘Fred Ives’ echeveria (Graptoveria ‘Fred Ives’, Zones 9-11)
- ‘Louis Edmunds’ manzanita (Arctostaphylos bakeri ‘Louis Edmunds’, Zones 7-11)
- ‘Flying Dragon’ hardy orange (Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’, Zones 5-9)
- ‘The Third Harmonic’ Peruvian lily (Alstroemeria ‘The Third Harmonic’, Zones 7-9)
- Evergreen clematis (Clematis armandii, Zones 7-9)
- ‘Madame Julia Correvon’ clematis (Clematis ‘Madame Julia Correvon’, Zones 4-9)
All photographs by Jude Parkinson-Morgan
Fine Gardening Recommended Products

Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Featuring gorgeous photography and advice for landscapers, Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West is dedicated to the idea of a new nature—a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated—that can nourish in our cities and suburbs.

Buffalo-Style Gardens: Create a Quirky, One-of-a-Kind Private Garden with Eye-Catching Designs
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Buffalo-Style Gardens is a one-of-a-kind, offbeat garden design book that showcases the wildly inventive gardens and gardeners of Buffalo – and offers readers “the best of the best” ideas to use in their own small-space gardens.

The Crevice Garden: How to make the perfect home for plants from rocky places
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
A crevice garden replicates the environmental conditions of mountain tops, deserts, coastlines, and other exposed or rocky places on earth. These striking garden features provide perfect conditions for the plants native to these far-off places, bringing the cultivation of these precious gems within everybody’s reach.