Bhg
  • Shop
  • News
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Garden
  • Renovating
  • Decorating
  • Property
  • Health
  • TV
Bhg
  • Shop
  • News
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Garden
  • Renovating
  • Decorating
  • Property
  • Health
  • TV
Subscribe
YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

Charlie visits Dale Frank Botanical Gardens

Charlie visits Dale Frank Botanical Gardens

Topiary for beginners with Charlie Albone

Topiary for beginners with Charlie Albone

Charlie updates a shady corner of his garden

Charlie updates a shady corner of his garden

Charlie Albone’s top tips for planting in summer

Charlie Albone’s top tips for planting in summer

{headline}

{headline}

Johanna and Charlie visit the Oye Mi Canto House

Johanna and Charlie visit the Oye Mi Canto House

Johanna and Charlie give a backyard a resort-style makeover

Johanna and Charlie give a backyard a resort-style makeover

Charlie Albone visits Mountainview Farm

Charlie Albone visits Mountainview Farm

{headline}

{headline}

Before & After: Charlie Albone's front garden makeover on a budget

Before & After: Charlie Albone's front garden makeover on a budget

How to create a native verge garden

How to create a native verge garden

How to grow chillies

How to grow chillies

Charlie makes his own weed killer

Charlie makes his own weed killer

Charlie Albone visits Wild Play Garden

Charlie Albone visits Wild Play Garden

How to make rhipsalis wall pockets

How to make rhipsalis wall pockets

The easy way to get a designer-style garden

The easy way to get a designer-style garden

  1. Home
  2. Garden

Johanna and Charlie visit a Palm Springs-inspired home and garden

Get the full plant list! - by Charlie Albone
  • 23 Oct 2020

What do Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and the architects behind a home on the far north coast of NSW have in common? A love of Palm Springs, that’s what!

In the sleepy surfing town of Kingscliff, you’ll find a beautiful beach retreat that takes its cues from 1960s modernism and the desert-resort-glam look made famous in Palm Springs. And it’s not just the architecture – the landscaping is a huge part of the design, too. 

WATCH: Johanna Griggs and Charlie Albone take tour of the Palm Springs-inspired home and garden

Want to get a designer-style Palm Springs garden that also looks after itself? All of the plants are from the most arid countries and can thrive in Australian conditions without any further maintenance. 

Here's a list of plants used in the Kingscliff garden so you can recreate the look yourself. 

1. Golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii)

Golden Barrel Cactus

Golden barrel cactus

A hardy plant, Echinocactus grusoni is also known as golden barrel cactus, golden ball or mother-in-law's cushion and is a popular choice in modernist-inspired gardens. It requires good drainage and less watering in winter, as excess water can lead to rot.  

2. Mexican giant cardon (Pachycereus pringlei)

Mexican giant cardon

Mexican giant cardon

Getty

The tallest living cactus in the world, Pachycereus pringlei, also known as Mexican giant cardon, can grow on bare rock even where there is no soil is available.

3. Blue barrel cactus (Ferocactus glaucescens)          

Blue barrel cactus

Blue barrel cactus

Getty

A species of flowering cactus endemic to Mexico, this spherical or cylindrical plant can grow to 60cm in diameter, with yellow spines and yellow flowers in summer. 

4. Artichoke agave (Agave parryi var. truncate)

Artichoke agave

Artichoke agave

Getty

This hardy flowering plant is a slow-growing succulent featuring pointed tips that are typically darker than the leaves. With low water requirements and easy maintenance, this plant requires full sun and is a popular choice for modernist landscaping.

5. Desert spoon (Dasylirion)

Dasylirion

Dasylirion wheeleri

Getty

Dasylirion wheeleri, also known as desert spoon and flowering plant belonging to the asparagus family. It's a moderate to slow-growing plant with slender gray-green leaf blades 35–100 cm long that radiate in a spherical shape from the center of the plant's apex.

6. Madagascar palm (Pachypodium rutenbergianum)

Madagascar palm

Madagascar palm

Getty

Pachypodium is a succulent spine-bearing tree native to Madagascar and Africa, and is the spiky cousion of frangipani. The plants rely on the food and water stored in its trunks and branches.

7. Thornless crown of thorns (Euphorbia gerodlii)

Thornless crown of thorns

Thornless crown of thorns

Getty

Endemic to Madagascar, the thornless crown of thorns is a semi-succulent shrub that naturally grows in subtropical or tropical dry forests. Almost constantly in bloom, it will add a pop of colour to the grey-green tones of a Palm-Springs style cacti garden.

8. Mexican fencepost (Pachycereus marginatus)   

Mexican fencepost

Mexican fencepost

Getty

Pachycereus marginatus, also known as Mexican fencepost cactus, has columnar trunks that grow to 3.7m and may reach 6.1m in height. With 9-10cm diameter stems, its cuttings are sometimes used to create fences as its spines are not as large and spiky as some cacti.

9. Ocotillo (Fouqeria splendens)                                  

Ocotillo

Ocotillo

Getty

Fouquieria splendens, also known as ocotillo, is indigenous to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its bright red flowers bloom after rainfall in spring and summer.

10. European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis)

European fan palm

European fan palm

Getty

The drought-tolerant Chamaerops humilis, also known as European fan pan, is a hardy plant that thrives in hot weather. It is one of the northernmost naturally-occurring palms in the world. 

11. Morrocan mounds (Euphorbia resinifera)

Euphorbia resinifera, also known as Moroccan mounds, is a shrub growing to 61cm wide and forms multi-stemmed cushion-shaped clumps up to 2 metres wide. It naturally grows on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

12. Blue yucca (Yucca rostrata)

Yucca rostrata

Blue Yucca

Getty

Yucca rostrata, also called beaked or blue yucca, is a tree-like plant that is native to Texas, Chihuahua and Coahuila. Its trunk grows to 4.5 meters with a crown of thin, stiff leaves at the top.

The garden also features:

  • Huge limestone boulders were used to create the dramatic look of a mountain-scape meets rolling arid hills look. Boulders of any size can create further interest in gardens and can also create shadows, micro-climates and even influence sunlight and water and drainage.
  • Artificial lawn is from Urban Turf Solutions.

  • Garden
  • Property
  • TV
  • Backyard Ideas
  • Front Garden Ideas
  • Landscape Design Ideas
Charlie Albone
Charlie Albone
Charlie has worked internationally and in Australia for the past 17 years, designing and building gardens that are timeless, inspiring and enjoyable to spend time in. In 2015 and 2016, he was awarded two Silver gilt medals for his own gardens at the world’s most prestigious flower show The Chelsea Flower Show.

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Subscribe for $4.95 per issue

Subscribe Now
Get your mag delivered!

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Subscribe for $4.95 per issue

Subscribe Now
Get your mag delivered!

Recommended to you

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

Charlie visits Dale Frank Botanical Gardens

Charlie visits Dale Frank Botanical Gardens

Topiary for beginners with Charlie Albone

Topiary for beginners with Charlie Albone

Charlie updates a shady corner of his garden

Charlie updates a shady corner of his garden

Charlie Albone’s top tips for planting in summer

Charlie Albone’s top tips for planting in summer

{headline}

{headline}

Johanna and Charlie visit the Oye Mi Canto House

Johanna and Charlie visit the Oye Mi Canto House

Johanna and Charlie give a backyard a resort-style makeover

Johanna and Charlie give a backyard a resort-style makeover

Charlie Albone visits Mountainview Farm

Charlie Albone visits Mountainview Farm

{headline}

{headline}

Before & After: Charlie Albone's front garden makeover on a budget

Before & After: Charlie Albone's front garden makeover on a budget

How to create a native verge garden

How to create a native verge garden

How to grow chillies

How to grow chillies

Charlie makes his own weed killer

Charlie makes his own weed killer

Charlie Albone visits Wild Play Garden

Charlie Albone visits Wild Play Garden

How to make rhipsalis wall pockets

How to make rhipsalis wall pockets

The easy way to get a designer-style garden

The easy way to get a designer-style garden

Bhg
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Bhg Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • All Recipes
  • BHG Shop
  • Girlfriend
  • Home Beautiful
  • New Idea
  • New Idea Food
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • Who
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • That’s Life
  • Perth Now
  • The West Australian
  • 7Plus
  • Airtasker
  • 7NEWS
  • SocietyOne
  • Health Engine
  • Starts at 60
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Better Homes and Gardens

Magazine Subscription Offer

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Shop This Offer
Get your mag delivered!