Patios: Public yet private

Similar stories:

• Trogdon home in Nipomo: Water, pottery and dogs

  Trogdon home in Nipomo: Water, pottery and dogs

  After establishing his Nipomo-based tropical plant business, Pacific Sun Growers, in 1979, Ben Trogdon wanted to live near his workplace. The lot that he and his wife Robin purchased was part of a large eucalyptus grove. They lived in a trailer house on the property during the two years it took for them to clear an opening and build their house.

  They designed their home with environmental consideration. A south-facing sun room brings solar heat into the open living-kitchen-dining area, and a woodburning stove keeps the home cozy in winter. Solar panels on the roof provide most of their electricity; a photovoltaic system, recently added, supplies energy for the couple’s electric pottery kiln.

  Initially, a lawn surrounded the house. In the backyard, the grass was removed gradually and replaced by the Mexican blue palm, acacias, Catalina cherries, bottlebrush, timber bamboo and Ceanothus that now grow there.

• The Wagner-Mumper garden in Pismo Beach is a soft spot for succulents

  The Wagner-Mumper garden in Pismo Beach is a soft spot for succulents

  In 1998, when Maggie Wagner and Markus Mumper bought their house in Pismo Beach, their small lot had no recognizable garden. In the backyard, a rotting redwood deck was engulfed in weeds. And it was accessible only by walking around the house from the front.

  Both work full time: She’s a veterinarian, co-owner of Nipomo Dog and Cat Hospital; he’s employed by REC Solar. Their “leisure time” during their first year was spent clearing weeds, including masses of ice plant that dominated the steep slope on the uphill side of their lot. That’s one succulent plant they dislike.

  Wanting to learn more about growing the succulents that they do like, they attended a meeting of the American Cactus and Succulent Society in Phoenix.

• The Herring garden in Morro Bay: Tranquility by the sea

  The Herring garden in Morro Bay: Tranquility by the sea

  Jean and Peter Herring enjoy gardening together at their beachside Morro Bay home. Jean is an artist, and Peter has a talent for stacking rocks and training plants. Both admire traditional Japanese gardens.

  The garden reflects their mutual interests and abilities.

  Their home had been Jean’s vacation cottage with her first husband, who died. After making it her permanent home in 1993, Jean expanded the living area (sacrificing some beachside deck area to do so) and added another bedroom. Since their marriage, Peter has contributed his carpentry skills to several interior improvements.

• Philip Carey home: Turning dreams into reality

  Philip Carey home: Turning dreams into reality

  When Philip Carey studied Exhibit Design at Long Beach State College, he never dreamt that he’d become an artist. But since his retirement 2-1/2 years ago, he has produced three volumes of Dream Books, with cartoonlike drawings based on his “numerous, vivid and wacky dreams.”

  He draws while the images are fresh in his mind the next morning. Two exhibits of his art are scheduled during February, in Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo galleries.

  He began his career in exhibit design at the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles, continued at the Roberson Museum in Binghamton. New York, and concluded after 20 years as an exhibit designer for the California State Parks system.

• Varni garden in Oceano: A taste for succulents

  Varni garden in Oceano: A taste for succulents

  Charles Varni says he’s always been “a nature boy.” As a child, he sometimes went to work with his father, a gardener at Lotusland in Santa Barbara. He particularly recalls his fascination with the succulent gardens that the estate’s owner, Ganna Walska, was developing at the time.

  But Charles’ interest in succulents lay dormant during many of the 40 years that he taught Sociology and Human Services at Hancock College. It was rejuvenated only after he took some courses in handbuilt pottery at Hancock for his own enrichment. He soon became adept at pot-making, and his favorites were pots that were suitable for succulent plants.

  When Varni moved to his current half-acre location in Oceano in 2001, he created his pots in an unheated greenhouse. After retiring from teaching in 2003, he became a full-time potter, and began growing the succulent plants that seemed appropriate for his pots. He also installed a photovoltaic system that produces electricity for the kiln in which the pots are fired, as well as for