Re: Re. smaller Lavenders

Hi Barry

Mediterranean style gardens are rapidly gaining in popularity, especially as our water situation gets worse and worse.  

The Mediterranean plant palette (and that includes California natives) is the most appropriate plant palette for our state.  That's the premise of my book, California Gardener's Guide V. II which was published last fall.  Mine is but one of many voices working hard to promote the Mediterranean plant palette across the state.  And of course, that's why we all joined this listserv!

Nan


On Jul 2, 2008, at 1:34 PM, B. Garcia wrote:

On 6/30/08, Ben Wiswall <b*@pacbell.net wrote:

I don't know why Mediterranean style gardens aren't more popular in
California.  The climate is mediterranean, and Spanish architecture is
ubiquitous, but a garden arranged around linear axes, defined by hedge,
pergola, and parterre, is very rare.

However, if you look at paintings fo gardens during the colonial era
of California, these were gardens for utility, rather than decoration.
Even the great ranches didn't have huge formal gardens. Mediterranean
gardens of course span everything from formal Italianate gardens to
kitchen gardens full of Mediterranean herbs. I think these formal
gardens with hedge, pergola and parterre are rare simply because
they're a lot of work to keep it all neat, and from what I see, most
people simply don't want to spend the time to keep their gardens that
neatly manicured. Of course, our neighbors across the street have a
hedge with sculpted "uprights" and half dome finials on top. I on the
other hand have included a few natives, our neighbors' rosemary has
crept into our garden, and I've also planted common sage in our rather
naturalistic looking garden.


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