Drought-Tolerant Gardening Inspiration from the Los Angeles Arboretum

We're lucky enough to live less than a few miles from the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in Arcadia, California and I am proud to say it's one of the nicest botanical gardens I've ever seen! Divided into geographical and climatic reasons and handsomely interspersed with custom art,  this spot will attract nature lovers for ages to come (though they may be few and far in LA!). 

Sultry Summer Landscapes

These pictures were taken on 4th of July under a 90+ degree sun. As you can see many of the plants featured in the images above are relishing the heat. I was very excited to see the Grevillea hedge–a favorite and commonly used landscape design feature of mine–teaming with bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. These low-water almost year-round flowering plants are near miracles for Southern California gardens. They provide a sweet nectar that can be made into a honey-like drink or left for the birds. 

The Canary Islands garden was particularly fetching. A number of the most commonly used landscaping plants in Southern California hail from this tiny, biologically diverse haven. Plants like Canary island pine, sea lavender or statice, Echium (i.e. Star of Madeira), bougainvillea and many aloes climaxed in biodiversity on this unique African island habitat. Here in Southern California, they're right at home with the hot weather and dry conditions. 

One last striking drought-tolerant garden border worth mentioning: the walkway to the art garden lined with fire poker (kniphofia), Mexican sage and yucca.  The dramatic contrast of orange and purple flowers along with the complimentary lance-like foliage forms of the plants makes for a truly inspiring, incredibly low maintenance [and low-water] drought tolerant garden design.