July 28, 2025
Meeting other gardeners and seeing their gardens is one of the joys of traveling for me. On a recent trip up to Colorado, I stopped in Castle Rock, 30 miles south of Denver, to meet Ryan Harter, aka @thexericgarden. A telecom engineer by profession, Ryan side hustles as a garden consultant and designer specializing in waterwise, fire-resistant designs that are gloriously flowery from early spring through fall.
Ryan and his wife, Alison, live in a suburban cul-de-sac on a steeply sloping lot. Ryan has transformed both the front and back yards in just a few short years. In fact, the front garden went in only last year. And just look at it now!
Ryan ripped out a water-guzzling Kentucky bluegrass lawn and nestled chunky boulders on the downhill side to make a crevice garden. This rocky garden, colorful with low-growing, waterwise perennials, arcs around a half-circle of drought-tolerant fine fescue.
The fescue provides a swath of green for negative space, surrounded by a garden of spiny agaves, a few dwarf pines, and lots of hummingbird- and bee-attracting flowers.
‘Coral Canyon’ twinspur, I think
Agave neomexicana. Check out those shark-tooth leaves tipped with long black spines — gorgeous! The mats of yellow flowers are ‘Goldhill’ golden-aster (Heterotheca jonesii x villosa ‘Goldhill’).
A few more agaves basking on the rocks
Ornamental oregano’s purple flowers cascade across rosy-hued rock.
A baby ‘Snow Leopard’ cholla in a nubby red pot echoes the rusty tones and rugged texture of the stone. ‘Moonshine’ yarrow glows all around.
Bordering the lawn, ‘Gold Nugget’ sempervivum creeps along a crack in the stone edging.
Ryan calls it the Ring of Fire, and it zings with color even in winter.
Cholla pot and flowering perennials
Reddish stones in the gravel topper add interest while the cholla grows bigger.
Overhead agave — a blue star
Or a bloomin’ onion
Catmint with two of Domenique Turnbull‘s distinctive ridged hypertufa pots
Ryan has turned them into containerized crevice gardens. Utah purple slate, layered like a stegosaurus’s bony plates, make mini mountain ranges.
Good from every angle
These containers honestly wouldn’t even need plants, the rocks are so pleasing. But there are tiny succulents tucked into its gravelly crevices, taking root.
Another small crevice container features stone as black as a broken chalkboard.
Purple coneflower and the front porch, where Alison’s spooky black-widow-spider porch lights dangle. I bet this couple does Halloween up right!
More sempervivum colonizing crevices in the stone
Red-flowering heuchera
Let’s step into the street for a wider view of the rock garden. Ryan planted all this just last year, using small 2-to-4-inch plants, as is his preference, and it’s already so colorful.
I mean — isn’t this gorgeous? So much better than boring lawn, and it feeds pollinators too. And requires less water in Colorado’s semi-arid climate. (Castle Rock averages 19 inches of annual precipitation.)
‘Moonshine’ yarrow
The steel pillar box hides a utility pylon while doubling as garden art — a clever solution. Ryan ordered a custom one from Etsy shop Maker Table.
Here’s a closeup. It lifts off for utility access.
New rock stairs replaced janky steppers through a narrow foundation bed — now replaced with an expansive, water-thrifty rock garden. Not just rocks, mind you, but planted with beautiful, climate-appropriate plants.
Bigger river rock on the right handles runoff pressure.
Oregano — so cute
Chocolate flower’s nodding heads
Ryan put a sign with QR codes near the street so that curious passersby can access his plant list and social links.
And that’s just the front garden! Let’s go through the agave gate into the backyard for Part 2, coming up soon.
I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!
__________________________
Digging Deeper
My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, comes out October 14! It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon and other online book sellers. If you think you’d like to read it or give it as a holiday gift, please consider pre-ordering. (I’m happy to sign pre-ordered copies at my book events!) Early orders make a big difference in helping new books get noticed. More info about Gardens of Texas here — and thank you for your support!
Come see me on tour! I’ll be speaking and hosting book events across Texas this fall and into next spring to celebrate the release of Gardens of Texas. Join me to learn, get inspired, and say hello!
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Read all about the Season 8 lineup here!
All material © 2025 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
