Series of red Flax, Phormium tenax, along a terraced garden surround an outdoor living space to define and frame a seating area and provide a cozy environment for the family to gather. These low maintenance and vibrant plants are versatile and diverse with many colors and sizes to choose from.

Series of tree trunks of different heights provide a contemporary pathway linking interior and exterior spaces together in a zen garden. The tree trunks are reclaimed and reused from the same site to add another level of sustainability to a xeroscape garden.

Succulents come in a variety of forms that can be used in an endless number of ways to create a contemporary look for a sustainable garden. This variety, Senecio jacobsenii, offers a cascading quality that can be used in raised planters, elegant pots, or living walls. Other examples include Sedum morganianum ‘Donkey Tail,’ and Crassula arborescens.

This water feature, along with the rich colors of the rounded pebbles, acts as a visual focal point in a serene courtyard, and provides a gathering space for contemplation.

The outdoor furniture with its organic quality by the palm trees enhances the quality of seating in this outdoor plaza. The Phoenix dactylifera ‘Date Palm’, acts as a sculptural element in the landscape casting ever-changing shadows.

The flowering succulents provide an element of surprise in the garden through color, shape and form. In this pot, the rosettes of this pink tinted Graptoveria provide an interest in its height and color during their flowering period.

Various size and colors of pebbles and gravel clearly define borders, walkways, and sitting areas. This sustainable approach allows water to percolate down into the ground and offers a beautiful alternative to a permanent hardscape.

This echeveria is an example of how succulents can offer a high-end elegant look and provide a sustainable budget conscious alternative for homeowners through government incentives and rebates due to their low water needs.

Clusters of Bambusa textilis, a type of slender bamboo, create a privacy screen while providing an added element of texture and color.

The rich purple color of the Echeveria enriches a living wall with a burst of color to provide a focal point within the structure.

Succulent gardens can be bold, vibrant and low maintenance while using a variety of colors and shapes.

Plants are used as sculptural elements to provide volume in an arid garden. This variety of agave, Agave attenuata has a smooth surface in contrast to other varieties, like Agave americana.

Blue Fescue is one of the many types of grasses used to create a clumping ground cover with its unusual blue color and seasonal flowers.

The fascination with succulents comes from their beauty, simplicity and their organic structure. This is an Echeveria agavoides which can provide an interesting focal point within a potted planter. Other unique and unusual succulents include, Aloe polyphylla and Agave goshiki bandai variegated.

Colorful succulents, like the Kalancho thyrsifolia, in their changing colors, provide a dynamic contrast when planted against a crisp white pebble planting bed.

Each detail serves to reinforce a design idea within a feature. This custom designed stainless steel water wall is a perfect example.