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my garden on 1/1/98
To: m*@ucdavis.edu
Subject: my garden on 1/1/98
From: "* D* B* <o*@dsp.net>
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 20:16:55 -0800
Dear Planters, i/1/98
I've never really introduced myself so this seemed as good a time as ever.
I garden on 1/5 acre in the Berkeley Hills in an area called Kensington. I've
gardened this same 1.5 lots for 28 years. As it is a corner property with no
parking permitted anywhere on its perimeter it does cause much attention.
I use it both as my botanical zoo and a showroom for my company, Really
Special Plants & Gardens, a garden design and contracting company. Sean O'Hara
is an old friend I found in my garden 7 or 8 years ago.
I've found many friends in my garden, but thank God no Oxalis pes caprae .
My garden is divided into several rooms:
1) East - a patio made of cement rubble with more than 60 kinds of fillers
between the pavers. A large 5 person spa surrounded by tropicals and roses.
A 68 year garden shed which has been converted into a pseudo Japanese tea
house and which doubles as an entertainment area, wet bar etc. potting shed and
cool green house for my vireya collection.
2) South - a vaguely English garden with a stone pation, formal bench, two
wonderfully comfortable wooden benches and far too many trees. The entire
garden is the most overplanted in the Bay Area, e.g. trees to the south:
Acer palmatum 'Azuma murisaki'; A. pseudosieboldianum; five palmatum seedlings;
2 Sang kakus; aka shigitatsu sawa; everred; crimson queen; dissectum 'Viridis'
Rhododendron : Loderi "king George', Beauty of Littleworth, Dame Nelly Melba,
'Scott's Valentine'-what a scent; 'Else Frye', 'Prairie Gold', 'ciliicalyx
allaiance', sutchuenense, 'Sir Chas. Lemon'. 'Super Scent', 'Ivory Coast'
bureaui. taronense, 'Virginia Richards [pink form], 'Heaven Scent', 'Mi Amor',
and a 20 or so more. Trees, other than maples: Pittosp[orum tenuifolium
'Sterling Gold', Acacia riceana, Tolleson's Weeping Blue Juniper, Cupressus
kashmiriana, Buddleja x 'Lochinch' 18' x 12' grown as a tree, Luma appiculata,
Azara microphylla, 3 Cornus florida cultivars, 3 tree rhodies from section
grandia-magnificum, grande, ?; Cornus controversa; C.c. variegata, 3 Acer
japonica 'Maiky Yaku', huge berberises, viburnums, on the periphery, perennials
and shrubs including a large collection of hydrangeas and old roses and a few palms.
3) West-a huge drought hill with more than 200 spp. of drought resistant
plants fromaround the world that gets watered 3 x year including major
collections of Australians, aloes, acacias, succulents, shrubs, cistaceae,
a vine fence with 9 kinds of honey succles, 3 clematis, solanums. More
tomorrow!
Michael D. Barclay [opga1@dsp.net]
Berkeley, California Sunset zones 16-17
plants from all over the world-empasis on Aloes, acacias, ceanothus,