Late-afternoon sun lights up Mexican oregano in the front garden. On the right—‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave, narrowleaf zinnia, and miscanthus grass.

Check out the August/September 2007 issue of Garden Design for a 10-page spread on a dramatic Austin garden. Terraced with plates of Cor-Ten steel and planted with sculptural eye-catchers like agave, sotol, Italian cypress, and horsetail, the garden is a contemporary-design showcase. For all those native-plant doubters out there, this design illustrates how you can use them to create a striking garden that doesn’t look messy, boring, or even naturalistic, if that’s not to your taste.

I visited this garden on Gardens on Tour 2006, a spring tour sponsored by the Wildflower Center, which shows off gardens that use a lot of native plants. Unfortunately, the homeowner did not allow photos to be taken.

While few can afford to pay to install a garden like this one (and most of us wouldn’t want to anyway; we’d want to plant and tend it ourselves—it’s the process!), the planting style can be duplicated by do-it-yourselfers . . . or by other garden designers (like myself! Visit Penick Landscape Design) who appreciate the look. 🙂