It’s dry out there
A tall, spiky euphorbia, nicknamed “Cactus Man” by homeowners Susan Avallone and Carr D’Angelo, stands sentry near a spreading acacia on the side of their Sherman Oaks Western-style house. The couple have gone grass-less, abandoning the wide, park-like swath of green that once encircled the house in favor of more interesting and ecologically sound drought-tolerant plants. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
An intriguing array of unusual grasses, shrubs and rocks often draws neighborhood children to the Sherman Oaks home of Susan Avallone and Carr DÂ’Angelo, where the kids are welcome to walk the gravel path and study the flora up close. This is one of few houses in the area without a traditional, manicured front lawn. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
Thyme is plumped among the flagstones in Gail Silverton and Joel GutmanÂ’s Studio City home, which was landscaped by Renee Gunter (in photo). This area, at the side of the house, is part of the overall plan that turned the entire garden area into one large outdoor room where the family often dines, entertains and relaxes. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
A vast array of drought-tolerant plants and multiple ground covers mingles with an equally eclectic mix of vegetables and herbs in Gail Silverton and Joel GutmanÂ’s front garden in Studio City, landscaped by Renee Gunter of Urbanscapes in L.A. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
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Landscape designer Renee Gunter surveys her work in the garden she designed for Gail Silverton and Joel Gutman in Studio City - where cabbages, beans, celery, tomatoes and herbs share space with an array of non-edible succulents. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
The small, elegantly shaped leaves on an acacia in the drought-tolerant Sherman Oaks garden of Susan Avallone and Carr DÂ’Angelo. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
A butterfly rests on echinacea in the drought-tolerant garden of Gail Silverton and Joel Gutman in Studio City. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
