When Wendy and Tom bought their home in 2012, they became the third owners of a house that had once been a standout in the Southern Utah Parade of Homes. Wendy immediately felt the yard didn’t live up to the architecture. By the time she was finished, she had created a landscape as much an art piece as the home itself—seamlessly flowing from indoors to out.

Rocks as Art

Wendy began simply, replacing a patch of front lawn with rock and a single, dramatic Giant Argentine Cactus. But when the Washington Parkway was built across the open desert behind their home, she and Tom decided it was time to reimagine the entire yard.

Grass and cheap pavers were torn out. Massive rocks were mined from the back of the property and artfully placed as if they had tumbled naturally from the house itself, echoing the color of its stone. A new privacy wall was built, softened with desert willows planted just outside to filter noise and frame the horizon.

Wendy worked with a landscape designer whose re-routed steps and brilliant rock placements gave the garden structure and drama. She had only one firm request: let rock, not plants, be the star. Today, those boulders anchor the landscape with sculptural power, accented by unusual yucca cultivars, prolific ocotillo, and elegant crepe myrtles. Smaller stone fragments, tucked near stairways and plantings, extend the artistry.

Not every plant the designer chose thrived in the desert heat; Wendy replaced those that failed with hardy, unusual specimens better suited to their setting. The result is a garden that feels native, natural, and truly hers.

A Garden for Living

In summer, Wendy escapes the hottest months at a family home in the Columbia Gorge. But she delights in returning to Southern Utah, especially to her reading room balcony, where she spends long hours enjoying the view of her gardens—a living artwork outside her window.

And for visitors approaching the house, one feature stands above all: a single, perfectly placed Palo Verde tree. The designer originally recommended four, but Wendy insisted on one. Her instinct was right. Framing the home with grace and golden bloom, it stands as the pièce de résistance of her artistic desert garden.

Garden Wisdom from Wendy

• Edit boldly. Don’t hesitate to remove what doesn’t fit or thrive. Replacement is part of design.

• Rock is sculpture. Treat stone as living art, not just filler. Placement is everything.

• Sometimes less is more. One perfectly chosen tree can outshine four.