2023 Contest Winner

Homeowner	Catalina S.
Location	National City
Yard	Front

Project

When Catalina bought her house in 2011, the front yard was covered in thirsty turf that took a lot of effort and water to maintain. She decided to reinvent her yard, planning out a space that would be full of low water-use plants and whimsical decorations.

The transformed landscape now includes several flowering plants and shrubs like Sedum, Oleander and Aeonium. The yard also features a vast variety of cacti and succulents, including Elephant Bush, Ghost Euphorbia, Jade, Cholla Cactus and more.

Catalina now waters her yard once a month when needed. A passionate gardener, she prefers to water each plant individually by hand, using water collected from her rain barrel.

Plants Used

Aloe foxy tail, Pencil cactus, Totem cactus, Elephant bush (portulacaria afra), Elephant bush variegafa, Barrel cactus, Agave, Euphorbia trigona (good luck plant), Road kill cactus, Chocolate drop cactus, Oleander shrubs, Climbing aloe, Ghost euphorbia (African candelabara), Christmas aloe, Blue torch cactus, Cholla cactus, Mini cholla, Eve’s needle cactus, Peruvian old lady cactus, Kalanchoe, Cotyledon, Opuntia cactus, Pig face succulent plant, Chocolate soldier (Kalanchoe tormentosa), Jade, Euphorbia cactus tree, Crassula tetragona, Donkey tail, Jade, Sedum, Senecio blue chalk sticks, Old man hairy cactus, Crassula lycopodioides, a great variety of aeonum flowers and other succulents.