Tucson Cottage Color: A Javelina‑Proof Garden Renovation

After repeated attacks by javelinas (peccaries), Cliff and Edna Osborne of Tucson hired designer Lisa Balcer to protect their front yard. What began as a pest solution became a full renovation: a colorful cottage garden terraced with low stone walls, filled with well‑amended soil and anchored by flowering perennials—blue plumbago, Cleveland sage, euryops, Japanese boxwood, lamium, lantana, lavender, marguerite, natal plum, rosemary, and roses. Cool‑season annuals fill gaps. An existing mesquite provides winter light and summer shade. A wrought‑iron fence keeps javelinas out while keeping the garden visually open.

Design: Lisa and Rich Balcer, Desert Bloom Nursery and Landscaping, Tucson (520/749‑0604)