WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE Bruce Wakefield (left) and Jerry Grossnickle impart a tropical look to their upper terrace with bold-foliage specimens such as a giant-leafed rice paper plant.

BUILDING BLOCKS Broad-leafed ornamental rhubarb and the budding heads of sedum (foreground) lend structure to billowing beds of summer blooms.

SUBMERGED TREASURE It’s an Oregon native, but the gardeners first saw the mounding Darmera peltatum (at center of pond) on an English garden tour.

FLORAL PARADE Mixed borders of dahlias, black-eyed Susans, and white and pink phlox march toward the edge of the "woodland garden."

INTO THE WOODS Shade-loving hostas and species rhododendrons (varieties that grow in the wild) create a soft transition between manicured beds and native forest.

SOUTHERN BELLES The brilliant blue flowers of a South African lily of the Nile pop against the pale, shimmering foliage of a Pittosporum, native to New Zealand.

WARDROBE CHANGE The spiky leaves of this pineapple lily, another South African native, start out burgundy in spring, then mellow to green.

HOT STUFF Reflected heat from the home’s west wall helps keep desert plants like agave (foreground) toasty all year, dry-climate trees such as eucalyptus and acacia (both upper left) also thrive here.

FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR A dwarf banana tree, which lives year-round in the green house, produces about 120 bananas a year.

SPLASHY COLOR Flame-hued canna lilies and red spears of Lobelia tupa form a fiery backdrop for a plunge pool that feeds a waterfall on the lower terrace.