The Huntington’s annual Cactus and Succulent Show is popular with desert plant lovers, and with good reason. For drought-conscious gardeners, the hundreds of exotic plants on display and for sale offer endless inspiration.
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Debe Loxton and Martha Clark’s yard in Pasadena features mostly California native plants. To see more photos of the garden, click here.
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
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(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Tracey Robinson walks down the walkway of her Westchester home located on a corner lot that features drought-resistant California native plants. More on the garden from 2010 here.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Cheviot Hills resident Randy Bergman ditched her turf in favor of an eclectic mix of low-water succulents and colorful perennials -- further proof that drought-tolerant doesn’t have to mean minimalist plantings of cactus in gravel. Full tour from 2009 here.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Jeffrey and Linda Glaser removed their 3,000 square foot lawn and replaced it with native plants, two raised vegetable beds, a small orchard and rain barrels. Full story here.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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An intriguing array of unusual grasses, shrubs and rocks often draws neighborhood children to the Sherman Oaks home of Susan Avallone and Carr DAngelo, where the kids are welcome to walk the gravel path and study the flora up close. More photos here.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Garden designer Mimi Kahn installed a low-mow festuca rubra (creeping red fescue), at right, in the Brecht House in Santa Monica because the family wanted to avoid unnecessary watering and noisy lawn mowers. “It is a little clumpy and fun,” Kahn says of the grass. “You really only need to mow it a few times a year.” Full story here.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
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Lisa Novick walks in the backyard of her La Canada Flintridge home which features native low-water plants and sustainable design. More photos from the 2011 story here.
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
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Landscape contractor and designer Shayne Naudi designed this Brentwood garden as a comfortable oasis for the homeowners and a habitat for birds and butterflies. Full story here.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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In Hollywood, Pat Marfisi creates a “no-dig” landscape to grow food: raised beds using lasagna-like layers of fodder, bone and blood meal and compost -- and remarkably little water. Full story from 2008 here. How-to steps here.
(Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)
The show has much to offer aficionados and curiosity-seekers alike as rare specimens from Mexico and Chile share the stage with plants from Argentina, Botswana, Madagascar, even the Middle East.
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But you don’t have to travel to another continent to experience unusual desert plants.
Following the sale, visitors can explore the Huntington’s awe-inspiring 10-acre Desert Garden, where some 4,000 different species of cactuses and succulents are on display year-round.
Insider tip: Serious shoppers may want to attend the “Early Bird Sale” on Friday as many of the rare show plants are gone by Sunday.
Lisa Boone is a features writer for the Los Angeles Times. Since 2003, she has covered home design, gardening, parenting, houseplants, even youth sports. She is a native of Los Angeles.
