Order Isn’t the Enemy – But a Little Disorder Delights!
April 2026. By Oscar Ortega: People who build container gardens recommend adding foliage that will “fill, thrill and spill.” As we maintain California native plants, we are often looking to create that same experience in the garden. The approach sparked so many questions at this year’s Native Plant Garden Tour!
The pre-existing structure of Garden 13 likely drew attention to the impact of strategic, structural pruning. The wall surrounding the front garden creates a container-like effect. We wanted to be sure it had plenty of “thrill and spill” to delight you. Here’s where tour goers noticed it – and how we achieve it.
Thrill
Generally, the foliage that thrills will have a vertical component. It asks us to look up or reaches up in a way that has our hearts and eyes do the same. In the front of Garden 13, a Palo Verde tree and two Indian Mallows bring the thrills.
Palo Verde
We add an average of two trees to each renovated garden, and our design team adores Palo Verde. Here they represent two of the five trees added to the space.
Some Palo Verde varieties fit in small places. Others will have more expansive canopies. Whatever their size, their green trunks and branches thrill onlookers – particularly those unfamiliar with the native tree. In spring, their delicate, sunny blooms ask us to look up. As with all trees, prunes occur outside of nesting season, leaving them to happily leaf and bloom out to their heart’s content in spring.
Indian Mallow
While Palo Verde’s sunshine sits higher, Indian Mallow’s dancing blooms drew hummingbirds and gasps of awe. Tour goers were particularly enchanted by the mallow that sat at the entrance to the garden. I’m not going to lie – we pruned that lacy structure to have just that impact!
Getting this natural look takes care and forethought and cannot be achieved with a chainsaw. It means looking at the space you want the plant to fill and selecting just those branches that take it beyond the boundaries. It requires taking enough for it to fill lacy, and leaving enough for it to fill full. We also take care to keep a balance of blooms (nectar for hummingbirds and bees) and seed heads (for songbirds).
Spill
Thrill requires intention. Spill requires even more. It means dialing back that little voice in us that wants clear pathways and clean lines. It means delegating spots for disorder – and finding delight in them. Here is where delightful disorder amplifies the curb appeal of the Eagle Rock Oasis.
Coyote Bush
Where Indian Mallow dances above the garden wall, true green Dwarf Coyote Bush spills over its edges. It softens the wall with color and its natural form.
The “dwarf” in its name may lead you to believe it will hold its prostrate form on its own. For the most part it behaves, but, from time to time, it gets jealous of the Indian Mallow and seeks to thrill you too. When it throws up an errant branch, we remind it of the important role it plays by spilling.
Monkey Flower
The Monkey Flower along the walkway complement the colorful Spanish tiles on the stairway risers. While other foliage matches the tile’s yellows, greens and blues, the Monkeys are the sole blooms that add a pop of contrast with their rust, orange and maroon elements.
They sit in an area where there will be a strong compulsion for order – the front walk. What do you feel as you witness prunes that ask for its constraint? Compare that with pre-tour prunes that allow Moneys to spill out of their barrel and onto the path?
Bees Bliss Salvia
Very similar to the Monkies, Bees Bliss Salvia complements tile risers. With order-focused prunes it disappears. When it is allowed a little disorder, it delights.
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