“A succulent garden can look quite lush, not just drought tolerant,” insists Stephen J. Suzman, a landscape designer from South Africa who planted this remarkably organized rooftop containing $10,000 worth of seedum, aeonium and echeverria.
The resulting masterpiece is wowing visitors to the 2009 San Francisco Decorator Showcase, which runs from April 25-May 25 at a mansion in Pacific Heights (2830 Pacific Avenue).
The contemporary design Suzman conceived with associate Paula Erickson, of Suzman & Cole Design Associates, includes a deck and walkways of wood and stone that allow access to the garden’s nooks and crannies filled with low-maintenance succulent plants, Nomow Fescue grasses and seedum, as well as lightweight pots and outdoor sculptures.
The composition is so masterful that it easily holds its own with the breathtaking bay and city views on all sides.
When asked if these plants can hold up to wind, rain and frost, Suzman is quick to sing their praises, adding the only caveat to the low maintenance look is being sure to hydrate when necessary, but not over-water the rugged genera, or else they will turn yellow and might droop.
Otherwise, you can go to a nursery and buy the succulents, grasses and South Arican restio and make your own garden arrangement, selecting plants of different ages and sizes for an interesting composition.
“We’re not close to replacing the front lawn with these yet, but having seedum instead of lawn would be wonderful,” he tells me, adding you cannot walk on it or play on it, but it will save water and power.
Seedums can withstand a freeze, he points out, as evidenced with the rooftop gardens in Germany. “This garden is the tip of the iceberg of what succulents can do.”
Adding to the green scheme is the lighting by Lindsley Architectural Lighting, which installed recycled fixtures with an output of only one to ten watts.
Images: Luanne Bradley