A landscape designer known for dramatic effects adapts to a different scale in his own California garden.

A sandstone walkway leading to landscape architect Joseph Marek's house is flanked on the left by Agave attenuata, 'Goodwin Creek' lavender, and Phormium tenax 'Variegatum' and on the right by Aloe arborescens 'Lutea' and Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Gold Star.'

Hens and chicks (Echeveria imbricata) and bromeliads line the entry court, kalanchoes and tillandsias fill the shelf, and staghorn ferns hang on a wall.

Joseph Marek, standing, with his partner, John Bernatz, who does most of the garden maintenance.

A king palm shelters a gathering of bromeliads, aloes, kalanchoes, agaves, and pittosporums in the entry court.

The studio, formerly a garage, is linked to the garden by French doors and a collection of staghorn ferns and tillandsias on its walls; a potted cycad and an epidendrum sit on the top step.

In the front courtyard, gravel gives border plants room to spill; sculptural Aloe thraskii and Agave attenuata define the rear.

A fountain in the entry court focuses the view past mounds of lavender, Helichrysum petiolare 'Limelight,' succulents, and strap-leafed aechmea.

A Tillandsia bulbosa hybrid.

King palm berries contrast with silvery-gray Tillandsia latifolia and Spanish moss.

The archway leading to the summer garden is set off by neoregelia on the left and angel's trumpet on the right; in the background, Ipomoea batatas 'Marguerite' grows between cycads.

The couple's dalmatian puppy, Rocco, relaxes by a cistern.

Bay laurel hedges the outdoor dining area.