Kaufman Cacti+Native Ranch, Sylmar

Avid Cacti Garden Curators Now Maintain Lush Native Space Too

This expansive, fire defensive ranch landscape wowed visitors during LA’s iconic 2023 Native Plant Garden Tour. It holds innovative bioswales, and California’s authentic beauty and abundant fragrance, traversed by high quality, low maintenance flagstone and decomposed granite paths and patios. The owner’s pre-existing cacti garden is every bit as awe-inspiring as LA’s most iconic desert gardens.

The Kaufmans traversing their native garden and bioswales.

It takes more effort to care for the bougainvillea along the fence than the
whole native plant garden! We maintain the full space year round.
Still, we don’t actually spend much time working on it.

Elaine Kaufman

Project Snapshot

The Kaufman’s back garden made its Native Plant Garden Tour debut in 2023. Tour goers enjoyed the extraordinary, pre-existing cacti garden as they found their way back to the lush, leafy, rain capturing native garden. Here are some of the spaces that sparked the most wows.

Kaufman Ranch | Summer 2012
Hummingbird Sage
Kaufman Ranch | Spring 2023
Deer Grass | Kaufman Ranch
Fragrant Seating | Kaufman Ranch
The Kaufmans | Desert Garden
Both gardens save water and surround the home with blooms and wildlife.

See more photos in the full project gallery in Houzz, where you can save your favorite ideas.

Plant Palettes

Wondering about the water and time-saving qualities of cacti and native landscapes? Check out the plant palette of the Kaufman Ranch, and save your favorite lawn-free garden ideas in Pinterest. For the Kaufman’s experience with garden maintenance, see our Client Insights section.