Southwestern Philosophy in a Yorba Linda Garden

Working with Climate, Not Against It

Joann Clark fell in love with the desert's resource-respecting philosophy while gathering ideas for a client. Her Yorba Linda renovation embraces pueblo style: minimal turf, rock mulch, a rainfall-collecting dry creek bed that doubles as a design feature and solves drainage toward the house (8 ft below street grade). Tough, nondemanding plants—palo verde, mesquite, prickly pear, purple fountain grass, santolina, red bougainvillea—complete the Southwestern motif.