Designer Mat McGrath's garden at age 3: front yard

Last weekend I had the opportunity to revisit the garden of landscape designer Mathew McGrath of Farallon Gardens and his wife Mali in the East Bay town of Rodeo. I had been there last in June 2023. Back then, the garden was 1½ years old. Now, 16 months later, it’s 3 years old. but looking far more mature than its age suggests. That’s what you get when you combine design experience, smart plant selection, and fertile new soil.

I took 150+ photos and I've split up this post into two installments: the front yard (this post) and the backyard (here).

The company van parked in the driveway sports two of Farallon Gardens’ designs: one symbolizing succulents, the other tropical plants. These are Mat’s primary design focuses. The company’s clientele is mostly in the Bay Area where succulents and tropical plants flourish side by side.

In the three years since starting his garden, Mat’s plant preferences have begun to shift a little from succulents towards tropical plants, especially palms. This is evident in the number of juvenile palms planted in both the front and the back. If you look closely, you’ll spot several of them in the photos below.

Standing on the sidewalk, I was transfixed by three spectacular Xanthorrhoea glauca. You don’t often see larger specimens of Australian grass trees in our area.

Here’s one of the newish palms in Mat’s front yard (Dypsis decaryi)

Middle: Dioon spinulosum. Right: spineless Aloe ferox (or A. marlothii)

During my June 2023 visit, the front yard was a sea of spring wildflowers. This time, most of the flower power came from gaillardias.

A path made of large flagstone slabs leads through the front yard. The rock mulch is Sierra Ginger (sometimes sold as Nuns Canyon).

I enjoyed coming across hidden gems like...

...Mangave ‘Praying Hands’

So many cool plants, including Leucadendron ‘Jester’, Cannomois grandis, Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, and Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ (Mat says ‘Indian Summer’ doesn’t spread aggressively like many other alstroemerias)

Agave nickelsiae

Aloidendron ‘Hercules’

Another little gem...

...Agave albopilosa in a hollowed out moss rock

Mangave ‘Kaleidoscope’

Senecio fulgens with red-orange flower

In containers: Mangave ‘Pineapple Punch’ and Pseudopanax crassifolius

Dypsis decipiens and Alcantarea imperialis

View of the front garden from further up the hill

The hill on the east side of the property has filled in spectacularly

Shrubs and larger succulents are Mat’s thing, while his wife Mali takes care of all the smaller succulents. You’ll see a lot more of Mali’s work in my upcoming post about the backyard.

Seen from the street

Agave guadalajarana

Agave gypsicola

Mat’s and Mali’s garden on the left, the neighbor’s property on the right. What a contrast!

When Mat and Mali bought the property three years ago, it looked like this:

The transformation is so radical, it almost defies reality.

Click here for part 2 (Mat and Mali’s backyard).

© Gerhard Bock, 2024. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.