PLYMOuTH

RICHMOND, CA

2020

This was a project with a long-time client, which always feels both comforting and a little dangerous. Comforting because there’s trust. Dangerous because that trust sometimes gets used to sneak in roses.

She wanted to refresh a single bed in the backyard. The rest of the garden was already singing with seasonal irises, Watsonia, buckwheat, and a tangle of annuals and foundation plants that had grown in beautifully over the years. Lush, dynamic, a little chaotic in a good way. Honestly, it didn’t need me. But she wanted to give the garden a facelift, and I was happy to oblige.

The ask was bold and slightly dissonant. Australian and South African plants, lots of color, lots of texture, and yes… roses. I’m someone who likes to build plant communities that speak the same language. The rose felt like an unexpected guest at a dinner party. Still, we worked it in for better or worse.

The plant palette did its best to thread the needle. A happy patch of agaves is now throwing out pups like nobody’s business. Banksia, kangaroo paw, and casuarina 'Cousin It' are all holding down their corners with strange elegance. There’s also a milkweed called ‘Family Jewels,’ which earns its name with weird seed pods that look like, well just google it, you’ll see.

Now, the roses, no surprise, aren’t thriving. They’ve mostly sulked in place, refusing to join the party. But the rest of the space has filled in with resilience and unexpected combinations. The garden is cheerful, a dynamic, and very much alive. It’s a good reminder that even when things don’t go the way you planned, they sometimes go exactly where they should.