Inspiration from Off-season visits to Botanical Gardens


Do other designers get new inspiration from seeing
unfamiliar plants out of season, and feel challenged
to change their typical plant pallette?  I know I am
feeling this way after two recent visits,(late January
and again in mid February), to the Arboretum at the
University of California Santa Cruz campus.  I have
always been intrigued by all the winter blooming
species in the Proteacea family from South Africa and
Australia, but at this time of year in the more
temperate coastal areas of California, these are
visual knockouts.  Even the wildlife has been
similarly influenced, as many of the hummingbirds have
sufficient nectar sources from all the Grevilleas to
avoid their usual southern migration, and the local
Monarch butterflies flock to the Eucalyptus tree
groves in the area.

Many of the less common Protea family members like
Isopogons, Banksias, Mimetes, Dryandras as well as the
more common Leucodendrons, Leucospermums, Proteas,
Grevilleas and Hakeas are in full bloom now, and the
birds and bees are just buzzing all around them.  It
makes me want to design a whole garden around these
winter blooming show stoppers.  I highly recommend the
experience of visiting your local botanic garden out
of season to be similarly inspired.  The problem then
becomes one of climbing the learning curve, as you
research the particular requirements of these plants,
their ultimate sizes, nursery availability, and their
longevity/need for special handling in a garden
setting.

I would say that some of the showier, easy growing
species of Leucadendron such as L. 'Red Gem', L.
'Safari Sunset', and L. 'Wilson's Wonder' ought to be
much more commonly used,(and much more interesting
than a hedge of Photinia fraseri!), and some of the
tree sized Banksias such as B. ericifolia, B. grandis,
B. integrifolia, and B. spinulosa are simply
spectacular flowering trees for sunny dry slopes with
good drainage.  The Isopogons are also pretty
spectacular in first bloom, looking like lavender sea
urchins as the flowers open up.

I realize that most of these species are impossible to
grow outdoors year round in the rest of the USA, which
ought to make them that much more popular here in
California where they can be grown so well, and demand
so little beyond full sun, good drainage, realtively
frost free winters and nutrient poor soils, (fertile
clay soils and normal fertilizing can kill them pretty
quickly).  For those visiting California, check out
the UCSC Arboretum in late winter, no lack of blooming
things here!


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