Succulents and More™

Ken Blackford and I have been Facebook friends for a number of years and I had seen quite a few photos of the rock beds in his San Diego front yard. When Rick Bjorklund suggested we visit Ken prior to the recent Cactus and Succulent Society of America Convention , I immediately said yes. You’ll understand my excitement when you see the photos in this post. Coincidentally, rocks feature prominently in both Rick’s garden ( here ) and in Ken’s, but to very different effect. But before I even had a chance to look at the rocks at my feet, my eyes went up to take in these majestic specimens: Dracaena draco , variegated Euphorbia ammak , Aloidendron ‘Hercules’ These towering succulents are quintessential San Diego. Dracaena draco , variegated Euphorbia ammak Ken’s front yard; Furcraea macdougalli on the left Aloidendron ‘Hercules’ Aloidendron ‘Hercules’ and flowering Leucospermum Aloe speciosa and Aloe sabaea Aloe speciosa, Aloidendron ‘Hercules, and Aloe sabaea In the photo above and b...

When you hear the word “rock garden,” I’m sure you think of something like this: Rock garden as envisioned by Adobe Firefly But that’s not the kind of rock garden Rick Bjorklund and his partner have created in San Diego. As you’ll discover in a little bit, theirs is something else entirely – something I’ve never seen before. Rick was gracious enough to provide additional information about the making of their garden. I’m going to intersperse his insights throughout this post. To make them stand out, they’re in a different font . ┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅ Gerhard: When did you start your garden? Rick: I began renovating the yard and gardens shortly after renovating the interior of the house, 20 years ago. The front yard had ¾" white gravel, a few shrubs, a pine tree and small palm, and a very large olive tree. I dug in the gravel, removed many shrubs, and began adding aloes and agaves. The backyard had an un-terraced slope full of ivy (which I later discovered rats loved), several almost dead...