They've got the cottage thing going strong:

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Wonder how they keep that narrow strip of grass so perfect? (below) It's artificial turf.

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A super simple landscape for the window box lovers:

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Another pretty picket fence:

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Let's peek through the gate:

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I covet this front door. Anyone know the name of the flowering tree to the right? It appears all over town:

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A rare bromeliad display:

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Herons in the tree above:

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Yes, I like the palms. Lots of palms, but nothing especially unusual.

Washingtonia robusta:

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Blooming Brahea armata:

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Looks like Hollywood:

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Massive Dypsis decaryi:

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Cottage with Caryota obtusa:

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Water restrictions in effect: check!

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Vermilion gate:

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Water garden?

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Sunset at the Boat House:

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Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Wow: sheared horsetails. Something I never expected to see.

Could the lilac-flowering tree in the 16th picture be some sort of paulownia?
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=paulownia&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g6
They're considered weeds in the Carolinas.

Lovely pics. I spent the first 14 years of my life in California, but never got to San Diego. 8-(

The tree in question sure looks like a crape myrtle to me.

Very much enjoyed the tour; thank you Cat!

Many of the plants are so foreign to my eye yet the same principles govern the designs - a funny juxtaposition.

And I wondered if those were horsetails. They look VERY contained - as they always should be!

KarinL

Wow what a wide variety of styles on Coronado.

I especially liked the post modern zen design, and how the landscaping and architecture work so well together. That could be right out of Garden Design magazine.

The tree in question sure looks like a crape myrtle to me.

Consider the leaf size.

Fairly certain the trees are not Paulownia -- these never get very tall, probably not more than 20 -25 ft, and the branching looks different. I hope the photo has not misled you as to leaf size -- there is a Fatsia japonica in front of it, which has much larger leaves.

I really like the modern garden with the sheared horsetail, although it wouldn't hurt to let it get just slightly fringy on top. : ) And I could never be so restrained with plant selection, I'd mess it up eventually. Here's another urban garden using Equisetum in a more relaxed fashion:
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Beautiful place! Thanks for the tour... :-)

The horsetails were certainly eye-catching but there's no way I'd ever consider planting them anywhere! That post-modern picture did remind me of a house near here that is very restrained and attractive in front with a white stucco wall at the roadside that is about 4' tall with ~1' opaque glass panels every 5-6'. There is some moderately tall narrow deciduous trees behind it, spaced well apart with white paniculata type hydrangeas between the trees; the flowers are just visible across the top of the wall. So it's a green and white picture that is somewhat stark and geometric but very calm. The house is right on the shore of Lake Ontario and right beside a major road so the wall provides privacy and screening but also doesn't present an unfriendly blank face to the world. It's very well done - much nicer than the house itself! (The house has been much renovated at several times and somehow still doesn't quite look like it has reached its potential yet:-)

Great tour for gardeners! Did you see the spider in its web in your coveted front door photo? Did you mean the tree to our left or the tree in the R background just next to the porch post?

Frankie - The unfamiliar tree is in the right of the photo, with the clusters of pinkish flowers on the branch tips, behind the shingled fence. The tree just next to the porch post looks like a Fatsia japonica to me, and the tree in the upper foreground is Jacaranda. (I really should learn more about trees.) I didn't notice the spider web until I uploaded the photo here -- sometimes I get lucky with the camera. : )

If you all enjoy garden photo tours, I have a few more up my sleeve. I know some people don't like all the photos, too slow to download, but for me they are eye candy.

Catkim, more eye candy, please! The only time I was in San Diego I was fascinated, wanted to know the names of so many things. Young cousin had no idea, and none of the lawn people I tried to talk with had English. Nor do I have Spanish. You live in a totally marvelous place!

Rosie, Sugar Hill, GA

Simply beautiful. Thanks, catkim!

My reaction to the thouroughly modern landscaping was ohmygood the weeding and the sweeping/blowing maintenance and then it was love at second sight.

Thanks for the tour. And thanks for letting us see so many different styles. Something for everyone here. Would love to see more inspiration photos. :)

Thank you so much, Cat! I was raised in Southern Calif -- had my Senior Prom at Hotel Del Coronado, in fact. I haven't been back there for a lot of years. I really enjoyed seeing your beautiful photos!

That was an amazing tour. I really enjoyed it and I have save some of the designs because we are planning to renovate our house and our garden as well. Thanks.