Photography by Michael Woodall The owner of this Arizona home has a penchant for clean lines, which dictated how the exterior would be planted, says landscape designer Kenny Zelov. In the front yard, Yucca rostrata, saguaros and barrel cacti lend vertical appeal along a horizontal wall.

With a judicious choice of plants and a new tiered patio, an Arizona landscape goes from boring to beautiful

Pulling no punches, landscape designer Kenny Zelov shakes his head and describes the grounds of a Paradise Valley, Arizona, home as an untamed jungle of a place. “It was an overgrown mess.” To say that is no longer the case would be an understatement.

Zelov refurbished the home’s vegetation “wonderfully,” says homeowner Sharon Barnard, paying a special compliment to his plan for her made-over backyard. Once an area to be avoided, it became her favorite spot.

“The bulk of the work was in the backyard,” confirms Zelov. In addition to installing “good-looking” plantings, he and his crew from Landscaping by André created a highly usable outdoor venue.

An untidy lawn that dominated the long, narrow yard was removed and replaced with a patio composed of 2-foot-square cantera stone tiles. These are arranged in a tiered, step-down design, a concept that is attractive as well as practical, according to the homeowner, who is an interior designer.

“I planned to do a lot of entertaining out there, and I wanted to have two different levels on which to put tables and seating,” she relates.

To break up the monotony of a corridor-like side yard, Zelov created living walls of greenery with creeping fig vines, and added unusual cacti and succulents.

Incorporating Barnard’s own ideas into his plan for this expansive patio area, Zelov constructed a rear wall with a built-in raised gas fireplace that is the focal point of the yard. “I was determined to have it, and I wanted it to be Contemporary and clean-lined,” Barnard comments. “I am very minimalistic.”

Zelov says the designer’s Contemporary aesthetic also carried over to plant selection, which included numerous cacti and succulents, and to how they would be arranged. “She wanted a very simple look. She liked straight lines. And she was interested in creating massing,” he explains.

With that in mind, he added beds with clusters of tall totem pole and Mexican fence post cacti; they lend sculptural appeal on the rear patio. At the front of the house, Zelov built a low wall along which barrel cacti grow in a geometric-looking row.

His client also desired plants that bloomed in orange hues to be installed throughout the landscape. “There are orange jubilee, cape honeysuckle, lady’s slipper plants and others,” he points out.

The property’s entire mix of plantings—from yuccas and agaves to colorful annuals—is in neat arrangements, nothing like what was there previously, Barnard reflects. Of the former landscape, she remarks, “It had been neglected for years.”

One likely reason was inefficient watering, she indicates. Before Barnard and her husband bought the house, it had functioned as one of three residences in a family compound. “And all the houses were on the same watering system,” she notes. A major part of the landscape overhaul was the installation of a new irrigation system.

This, and Zelov’s ability to choose the right plants, made the property a place of beauty, says Barnard. “I love it. I love it!”