garden

fresh
Sculpture
STEEL CACTUS
We've all heard of drought-tolerant plants,
but Eric Carroll and Richard Turner of
Desert Steel Co. have done nature one
better. They've created stunning steel
succulents that require no water or maintenance
and are impervious to bugs, birds
and disease. "We wanted our pieces to
be stylized interpretations, but to have
enough detail to convey the complexity of
the real thing," Carroll says. After cutting
out patterns using a computerized plasma
metal-cutting machine, the Kansas artisans
hand-fold, hand-roll and weld the
works of art — towering saguaros, squat
barrel cactuses, paddle-shaped prickly
pears, serpentine agaves — which now
"grow" in 36 states and 11 countries. The
surprisingly lifelike pieces are available
in verdigris, rust and stainless finishes,
and may be customized with extra arms
and/or blooms. They also can be rigged
with lights that shine long into the night
or be equipped with misters for withering
summer days. Prices range from $250
to $5,900. desertsteel.net — EMILY YOUNG
I Love This Plant
DRIMIOPSIS
It is an electric moment to be shaken from
musing over the usual offerings at a local
garden center by a plant I've never heard
of before. It's like hiking in familiar woods
and having the compass needle go haywire.
In this case, the plant tag combined the words
"succulent," "African" and "hosta" — I had
to have it.
Though neither a succulent nor a hosta
but a scilla relative from South Africa,
Drimiopsis maculata has become one of the
treasures of my little plant collection. Its subtle
charm, quirky schedule and simple needs
have endeared it to me over that past few
years, tucked in a low pot by the front porch.
Forming a clump about a foot wide and tall,
the spoon-shaped, fleshy leaves are speckled
with brown spots when new, changing
to green in summer, and a little forest of 6- to
12-inch-tall, white-flowered spikes appear in
late winter/early spring (one common name
is little white soldiers).
Hardy to Zone 9, it's a nice size for a container,
so it can be grown as a houseplant or
greenhouse plant farther north. It has proved
Just In
RAIN DANCE
In 1981, Fred Hayward and his family worked in
every corner of their Southern California home
cutting swatches from skifFsails and hammering
out brass fittings. He was trying to replicate
the eye-catching umbrellas he'd seen at the openair
markets along the Mediterranean. Nearly
30 years later, after founding Santa Barbara
Designs, Hayward hasn't ran out of ideas. His
colorful, multilayered and weather-resistant creations
resemble everything from dragon scales
to wedding cakes. Hayward's latest is the Mirasol
Flamenco. While it is haute couture for the
courtyard, the Mirasol is high performance
and low maintenance. The cover employs
Regatta acrylic fabric, making it ideal for wet
and humid climates. $2,600 for the umbrella,
$425 for the base, sbumbrella.com — SCB
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quite durable in my Florida garden, helped by
its natural winter dormancy, though I move it
indoors if the weather gets close to freezing,
just to be safe. Partial to light shade, it can tolerate
a range of light situations, and laughs
at heat, humidity and drought.
My first thought when I brought it home
was "fussy collector's plant, maybe it will be a
good learning experience." But it has proved
itself a risk worth taking. — JHNNY ANDRPI'S
*.qJ^s. w^>
20 GARDEN DESIGN APRIL 09 GARDEN DESIGN
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