In this Catalina Foothills landscape, the biggest challenge was what to plant on top of a septic tank and field that dominated the front yard of a newly constructed home. Considering the septic tank, we decided to eschew large woody plants in favor of wildflowers mixed with succulents and a few desert shrubs. The resulting garden preserves views, creates a vivid spring flower display, compliments the contemporary architecture of the house and saves water. The floral display is due, at least in part, to my clients, who followed my penstemon germination instructions explicitly. So much so, that they created a mighty seed bank in the soil. Initially, we planted about a dozen parry’s, superb, and firecracker penstemon plants. Each May, my clients dutifully collected the seed from these plants, and waited to sow them until fall. The resulting garden is thick with penstemon, fairy duster, desert marigold, and brittlebush. In addition to the perennial wildflowers and shrubs, the garden is graced with fishhook barrels, ‘Durango Delight’ agave, and Mexican blue yucca.