Re: The Evolution of a Gardener

Ah, Ben - love is a many splendoured thing - even love of gardening. I'm cooking Jalapeno's stuffed with ricotta, haloumi and corriander for our dinner. It is about 41 degrees Celsius. I will get back to you tomorrow - after the 'cool' change has arrived from the SW.

cheers

trevor n



On Sun 10/01/10 3:49 PM , Ben Wiswall benwiswall@pacbell.net sent:

Hi All,
I'd originally intended to call this "The Evolution of a Garden" but realized it was the gardener who was evolving more than the garden itself.

We have lived in southern California for ten years now.  This is still a short time to become attuned to the subtle nuances of a mediterranean climate, but I'm beginning to feel at home here as a gardener.

I've had a slowly growing awareness of three themes in gardening here:
1.  The importance of using native plants in gardens;
2.  The scarcity of water and its wise use; and
3.  The environmental impact of our gardening practices in the world at large.

When we first arrived in Los Angeles I was struck by the dizzying array of exotic plants and the many garden styles.  I was also struck by how artificial the landscape was: hardly any plants grown in gardens were growing here when Columbus landed, and the cultivated landscape looked nothing like the adjacent wild lands.

I didn't much like the most popular garden style, Tropical:  California doesn't feel tropical, and so tropic-themed gardens felt like stage sets.

Nor did I much like the Birch-and-Azalea gardens reminiscent of leafy East Coast suburbs.

The garden style I most admired was Old World Mediterranean, where Olive, Laurel, and Arbutus were planted around patio, pergola and parterre.  These gardens seemed to fit both the arid climate and the stucco-and-tile architecture.

I've slowly learned how important native flora are to native fauna.  It's not obvious at first: a squirrel will eat the acorns of imported Quercus ilex as easily as those of native Quercus agrifolia, so what's the difference?
The difference is that most insects are very plant host-specific, and those which feed on Q. agrifolia probably will not feed on Q. ilex, Q. suber, or Q. virginiana.  And those insects form the foundation for the food web which supports all the reptiles, birds and mammals.
So, for the health of the entire ecosystem, it's important to plant at least a few native plants in our gardens.

The second issue is water conservation: there's not that much water, and there's likely to be less in the future.  I have slowly been replacing conventional sprinklers with more efficient MPRs, but still my irrigation system probably loses a lot of water.

Recent research suggests well-managed sprinkler irrigation systems operate at about 55% efficiency, losing 45% of applied water to wind and run-off.
Drip irrigation, using the latest in-line emitters in a grid pattern to uniformly wet a planting bed, operate at 90-95% efficiency.

There is a lot of controversy around drip irrigation.  It's a fiercely partisan topic, with some people swearing by it and some people swearing against it, and each side with its share of highly knowledgeable horticulturists.  
This controversy has kept me from using drip in the past, but I can't ignore current research findings.  Even with the potential problems with drip, from emitters clogging and lines breaking, using 40% less water for the same plants is saving too much not to try it out.

This efficiency is important for preventing pollution as well.  Most of the irrigation water that is not used by the plants becomes run-off, which gathers pollutants on its way to the sea.  Not only is this a waste of precious water, it ends up polluting the ocean as well.

We are called upon to preserve the health and beauty of our environment, our earth.  Although this can't happen overnight, the gradual introduction of native plants, and the gradual replacement of sprinklers with drip, could both do much to improve the health of our environment.

Anyone having similar thoughts and experiences?  What is the view like from Europe or Australia?
Thanks!

-Ben Armentrout-Wiswall
Simi Valley, Ventura County
inland southern California
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