Kyle's spectacular succulent garden – backyard (November 2024)

As I said in part 1 of this post, if you liked Kyle’s front yard, you’ll love the backyard. To put it differently, if the front yard was the appetizer, the backyard is the main course and dessert all in one. The metaphor may be wonky, but you’ll get what I mean as you scroll through this post.

Through the garden gate

Kyle made this piece of wall art out of slices of rock cut from core samples. I loved it the first time I saw it, and I still do.

In-ground succulents are what most visitors focus on, but there are many (many!) potted plants as well

One way to tame a prickly hechtia

The red leaves of Herbst’s bloodleaf (Irisine herbstii) add a perfect pop of color

Succulents reflected in an old Mexican mirror on the fence

One of about a dozen mounds in the backyard

Fiery Echeveria agavoides ‘Merrill Grim’ attached to a lattice trellis

Fence detail (photo by Kyle Johnson)

View towards the house

Another mound with a chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) as the center piece (already pruned)

The tall flowering aloe is Aloe dawei

Another red Echeveria agavoides paired beautifully with Serbian bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana ‘Blue Waterfall’)

There isn’t an overwhelming amount of ornamentation in Kyle’s garden, but you’ll find pieces here and there if you look closely:

Vintage glass insulator in a metal orb – I’d hang this in my garden

Dinosaur figurines from when Kyle and his wife’s niece and nephew were younger

Kyle would hide them all over the garden for the kids to find

Back to the plants:

Agave utahensis var. nevadensis is not the easiest agave to grow, but you’d never know that looking at this one

Echeverias have woken up from their summer slumber and are looking great right now

×Mangave ‘Silver Fox’

Aloe africana

Aloe africana et al.

Aloeland

×Mangave ‘Falling Waters’

View towards the home office shed (photo by Kyle Johnson)

Wider view looking south

Wider view looking towards the house and the patio; Kyle grows some vegetables and herbs in raised beds on the right. The bed to the far right is a flower bed to bring in the pollinators, currently zinnias, dahlias, salvias, and borage. 

The final set of photos was taken on and around the patio:

Aloidendron dichotoma, grown for its great trunk patterning and architectural structure, showcased in a tall container

The “retreat” seating area (photo by Kyle Johnson)

Potted Aloe pluridens getting ready to flower

Kyle’s professional background may be in earth science, but he has the eye of an artist. He instinctively knows what looks good, which plants pair well, and how to arrange things for maximum effect.

Kyle makes it all look effortless, but a garden this multi-layered – and immaculate – doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of dedication, perseverance, and hard work. Kyle pours his heart and soul into his garden, and visitors respond to that. I witnessed that first-hand last Saturday when Kyle had an open garden for people who’d attended a presentation he had given at the Public Land Store in Sacramento and for members of the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society. I watched folks walk around with big smiles on their faces, clearly excited by what they saw.

Making a garden is a very personal – and often solitary – undertaking. Knowing that what you’ve created for yourself resonates with others is the best feeling a gardener can have.

OTHER POSTS ABOUT KYLE’S GARDEN

• July 2022
• December 2022
• February 2023
• June 2023
• April 2024
• November 2024 (front yard)

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