This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

some plant for the SFLG Show

>From: nharlow@juno.com (Nora Harlow)
>Subject: Re: California's Mediterranean climate
>Date: Thu, 03 Apr 1997 21:03:00 EST
>
> Sean, you're right.  But, you know what?   To me, Mediterranean climate
> means summer-dry.  Frost occasional, but not a huge issue.  I thought
> when I joined this group that we would be talking about plants
> appropriate for areas where summer irrigation is relatively undesirable
> because water is scarce.  I have learned a great deal from this forum,
> but I'm really looking for a talk group in which the focus is
> drought-tolerant plants.  Have I joined the wrong group?  Does anyone out
> there know of a forum for summer-dry landscape folks?  I love plants,
> period.  But I need practical information on propagation, cultivation,
> and selection of plants appropriate for areas where water is scarce and
> worth conserving.  Can anyone refer me to such a forum?
>
> P.S.  The response to my initial salvia question was invaluable, and I am
> grateful to all who responded.  (I realize not all salvias are drought
> tolerant.)
>
> Nora Harlow
> Orinda, California

Nora -

Yes, summer dry is one of the main 'symptoms' of a Mediterranean
climates.  In my mention of the variances of Mediterranean climates,
I did not mean to dilute such distinctions.

Well, in my opinion, this is the correct forum for discussing plants
adapted to our summer dry, relatively frost-free climates.  Right
now 'we' seem to be coming off of a tangent from an April fool's
joke.  I'll try and help get us back onto plants.

Recently, I've been very busy getting ready for the SF Landscape and
Garden Show, having been asked to participate in a display just a
few weeks ago (this is why I haven't been responding to some e-mail
or participating in this group - sorry).  I'm designing a corner of
Terracotta's "A Hollywood Postcard" (this years theme is 'Gardens of
the Silver Screen' - see Carol Moholt's Bay Area Gardener page for
info about the show - http://www.gardens.com/saleshow/sfshow.htm).

Specifically, I'm creating a succulent planting in the front of the
display, just under the 'Hollywood letters' (the famous landmark of
this Southern California town!).  At this time I'm trying to pull
together the various plant material I'll use to create this garden.
Succulents are great plants for Mediterranean gardens, though I'm
finding that very few people in the Bay Area use them with any
proficiency or comfort, likely due to lack of information about
species and culture.  They are typical 'over the fence' type plants,
easily grown from unnamed cuttings given or 'snipped' from one
gardener to another.

In planning this display, I'm considering whatever impressive
specimens I can find that will fit into the scheme.  In my own
garden, a mature Agave angustifolia 'Marginata' is being considered,
its stiff, striaght, muted green leaves distinctly margined with a
creamy-yellow, which sets off the tiny, black-red thorns along the
leave edge and the large, wicked thorn at the tips.  This creates a
rounded dome of leaves approximately 3-4ft across - very dramatic.
I'm also considering A. filifera, whose incurved ball of green
leaves are subtly marked with whitish lines, curly white 'threads'
and russet-red edges and margins on the newest growth.  A. striata
has very narrow, cylindical leaves that are also incurved, which are
held on short, clustered trunks - very nice.

The above are all rather 'prickly' - not to everyone's liking, but
handsome in their special ways.  A. attentuata, another possible for
this design, has no thorns at all.  In fact, if you fell on this
one, you'd certainly be the one doing the damage, not the other way
'round.  The greyish-green leaves are soft and pliable, relatively
wide at the midpoint, and tapering to a delicate tip (unspined).
I've been considering this one, but most of the specimens I've found
were somewhat damaged in our recent frost (some whithered leaves,
some little round 'pock-marks'.  This is a wonderful plant when
back-light by the setting sun (the leaves are somewhat translucent).
There is also a cultivar, called 'Nova', which is a pronounced
bluish color.

The above planting needs to be mostly low or ground covering, so
I'll be throwing in some Aloe brevifolia (small, 'chunky',
grey-green rosettes with a scattering of benign pale teeth),
Echeveria x gilva (pale, ice-green, 'rose' rosettes), Sedum
dendroideum (yellow green, semi-upright stems and leaves, bright
yellow flowers), a Senecio species with bluish foliage, openly
incurved, and possible the related S. mandraliscae, which is very
blue, dense, and prostrate.  There will definitely be a large clump
of Bulbine frutescens - the yellow form, whose spikes of flowers
bloom for long periods regardless of irrigation.

There are endless other choices, but I'll of course, be limited by
what I can find in peak form for this show.  I treat succulents as I
do any plant I'm evaluating in a design - if they are interesting
and work well into the scheme of color, form, texture, then they go
onto my list to consider.  Normally, I do not create a garden with
mainly succulents, but this will be a good opportunity to show many
beautiful forms.

Been talking long enough - bye for now . . .

 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    http://www.dla.ucop.edu/sao
 Oakland, California  94610-1459    h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 (510) 987-0577                     'a garden suited to its purpose'
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index