Lawnless Front Yard With Semi-Circle Driveway

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This yard fronts a completely remodeled, significantly enlarged contemporary style home in a neighborhood of traditional ranch styles with large lawns.  A half-circle drive takes up most of the space.  The planting area, a smaller half-circle, is divided in two by a pathway of rectangular concrete pavers set in riverstone. The little conical containers on either side of the path are too small, seems to me--even though the area is small, it is not that small.  A pair of decent sized oil jars or pots would have been more in scale.
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The right half of the area is anchored by a variegated Agave americana.  (The pot on the pillar needs some help!)
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...while the left half is anchored by a Palo Verde tree and two clumps of Euphorbia turucalli 'Sticks On Fire':
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Smaller succulent plants make up the rest of the vegetation.  Unfortunately our common and irksome weed, Oxalis pes-caprae, is invading the area.  I had an intense and powerful urge to knock on the door and ask for permission to weed. 
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Overall nice, if you can pardon a lot of concrete, and time for some maintenance, please!  Please!  
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Comments

  1. Love the delicious plant choices. We keep most of these in pots bringing them inside for protection from the wet and cold. Beautiful!

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  2. Nice selection of plants the other "99%" of the US can only dream of.There is payback for all of your traffic... I bet that palo verde is incredible with the yellow-edged succulents in the spring...hope you visit this garden then!

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    1. Good idea about the Palo Verde, I will make a point to go back and check on it.

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  3. These were such interesting plants. Don't see many of them here in the midwest. Had to chuckle when you thought about knocking on the door to volunteer to do some weeding. I think they would have said yes! I found your blog when I was looking for images of Petal Pushers roses. Yours are beautiful. I am thinking of buying one from Heirloom Roses. How are "Petal Pushers" as far as disease resistance, are they really continual bloomers; how bad are the thorns? They are listed as ground covers, but from your pics they look like they are really tall. I would appreciate any info you can tell me about them. Thanks.

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    1. Hi Susie, 'Petal Pusher' is about 2'-2 1/2' here, outstanding disease resistance (though our black spot pressure is near nil), zero fragrance, always at least a few flowers on it throughout the year. A low arching plant, rather open in habit. Prickles are pretty bad, yes.

      The whole concept of a ground cover rose, I've never gotten that. Perhaps it is the climate, but any rose described as a ground cover never seems to look good here, the plant full of prickles, the flowers always small, ratty, insignificant, and scentless. I go with Geranium 'Rozanne' for a ground cover. Superb, easy plant in many, many different climates.

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    2. Thanks for the information. That does not sound like the rose I am looking for. I don't mind some thorns with the roses, but I don't want them reaching out and grabbing me. I have plain old Knock Out roses in that area, and they do well, though are not scented. But they were hardy and colorful, even in the 108 degree temps we had last summer, when everything else cooked and croaked. Those geraniums you suggested were pretty, a refreshing color, but I kind of have my heart set on some kind of rose that will creep down the southern exposure hillside where I'll be planting. Don't want to make a mistake, roses are such a pain to dig out.
      Thank you for taking the time to clue me in!

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  4. I am planning something similar in my front garden, although the British climate and the fact it is in shade for a lot of the day will mean my plant choices are a lot more limited.

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    1. Limited or not, I'm sure your front garden will be beautiful. You have the eye for design and take such good care of your plants.

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  5. Your front garden look very nice and tidy, just as I like it. I actually did what you are joking about - I cleared up the neighbour’s garden as I was sick of watching a complete jungle of weeds, bramble, grass and muscari bulbs, all blowing leaves and seeds over to my garden. It was also harbouring 4 shopping bags full of snails!! I spent a week collecting them all, plus a family of foxes that eventually all reluctantly moved out. Ayah! - and never dug any more in my garden. Worth every hour I spent there. Sadly the new tenants have not taken care of all the plants I planted there, but it doesn't look too bad, yet. So if you can spare the time you might be saving yourself a lot of work in the future if your neighbours will let you. Or asking them might spur them on to get the work done themselves.

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