This Succulent Garden Is Like Joshua Tree in the Front, Palm Springs in the Back

"I'd never seen a cactus before visiting California,” says Jasmine Fitzwilliam, surveying her garden and the half-dozen species it now contains. “It was eye-opening. We just had to move closer.” Jasmine and her husband, Scott, were on a camping trip to the Salton Sea when she saw a cactus in the wild for the first time; now her garden stands as a monument to that and other trips. “I wanted the garden to feel like Joshua Tree in front and Palm Springs in back,” she says.

Jasmine, owner of Let’s Frolic Together photography and Scott, a tech engineer, didn’t start out as plant lovers with desert-chic style. “I thought I had a black thumb until we moved to California, and I started growing cactus and succulents,” she says. The first succulents she ever grew were jade plants in vintage teacups. “That’s when I knew I needed a garden of my own,” she says. The quest kicked into gear when the couple left Toronto, where they attended college, and acquired their home in Normal Heights, San Diego, in 2015. By summer 2018, they’d completed interior and exterior work. “From the beginning, we knew there were going to be lots of cactus and succulents,” says Jasmine. “We also wanted to fit several entertaining areas, space for pets, and plants into a property that’s under 5,000 square feet.”

“I had a plant list with well over 100 plants, so I knew I’d need help selecting and sourcing material,” says Jasmine. Enter San Diego-based horticulturalist Kirk Neuroth to help. Desert-inspired gardens can feel sparse, but Neuroth employed a handful of key design techniques to make this one feel lush and vibrant. Cactus and other succulents are mixed with leafy plants such as Salvia chamaedryoides, a fruitless olive, rosemary, Artemisia californica, Salvia apiana, Mexican bird of paradise, and even artichokes—just enough leafy plants to soften the garden and make it feel verdant. Jasmine says, “I didn’t want the garden to look like vacant desert. It had to be cactus-rich—because I’m obsessed—but it couldn’t be crispy and dry either.”

The Fitzwilliams also focused on planting colorful varieties that introduce blues, reds, oranges, and yellows to the garden. These colors pop well against the navy-blue paint color selected for the house. Plants such as yellow-orange Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Sticks on Fire’; blue-gray Agave ‘Blue Glow’; golden barrel cactus; Kalanchoe luciae, with its red-edged foliage; or the aptly named coppertone stonecrop add to the vibrant, lively feeling the Fitzwilliams wanted.

Another unifying theme: Planters. “The pots bring the plants into living spaces. They can be featured in corners to dress up bare walls, they can hide unsightly utilities, and they can accent a space with color or an interesting shape,” says Jasmine. Potted cactus and other succulents are next to nearly every chair or seating area throughout the garden. “I don’t like being too far from my babies at any given moment,” she says.

Draw on color and water to make a hot spot seem cool. Hoang and Silver painted the low walls Kelly-Moore Ivory Mist (KM4926-1), chose gray-green plants, and used frost-colored tiles for the shower. “The outdoor shower doesn’t need to be on to be refreshing—it’s the sense of water that’s essential,” Hoang says. Within that cool palette, baby barrel cactus paired with pale thimble cactus make a stylish duo planted in a low container. To hide the potting soil and create a more consistent look, the designers top-dressed each container in the garden with dark gravel.

Succulents, herbs, and floral arrangements are tucked into nearly every nook Jasmine can find.

Artichoke rosettes are edible but also add a decorative element to the garden.

To wrap up the project, Scott applied his tech mind-set to old-fashioned DIY. “I’d design what he was going to make, then he’d put it into SketchUp, we’d make adjustments, and then he’d build it,” say Jasmine. The couple started with the outdoor dining table. Then they worked on building potting benches, wiring the outdoor lighting, and making a cover for the firepit. “We didn’t know we had it in us until we just started designing and building.” Now, the Fitzwilliams (Including Tilly the dog) love gathering in the backyard around their large firepit.

Uncovering new skills made their cactus garden a rewarding project, connecting the Fitzwilliams not only to each other but also to the neighborhood around them. Passersby stop to ask about plants or chat about the color of the house; others drive by and give the garden a shout-out. “It’s great when someone just hollers out their car window, ‘nice garden,’ ‘those are great plants,’ or ‘love the color of the house’ as they drive by,” says Jasmine. “I guess because we’re from Canada we have a special appreciation for the desert look and the unique flora. I love that our garden reflects our desert adventures and shares them with others.”