A new container garden in coastal northern California

One coastal garden I have just designed and planted is
in ideal coastal conditions right at the edge of a
lagoon, with a 6 foot tall wall of glass protecting
the plants from the stronger gusts of wind.  This
location has never gotten much below 40F in winter,
and during this recent past 4 days of 90F temps
inland, it remained a balmy 75F here.  The location is
a poolside deck about 25 foot wide by 40 foot long,
and is towered over by several  50 foot tall Canary
Island Date Palms, and views of 80 foot tall
Washingtonia robustas in the
distance, across the adjacent lagoon.  The distant
view includes abit of San Francisco across the bay,
but the original shoreline views were lost when the
bay was filled in to create this system of closed
lagoons and newer houses(circa 1960's) along the Gold
Coast of Alameda.  The one acre grounds also include a
100 year old Aracaria heterophylla and equally old
Pinus radiata; which unfortunately need to be removed
due to old age and disease.  

The planter boxes at the deck overlooking the pool and
lagoon include lots of long blooming perennials and
succulents, chosen for ease of growth in the daily
cool afternoon winds, and for long bloom along the
coast.  The pots are left in plastic nursery cans and
hidden inside the wood planters to reduce the weight
of the soil over the existing deck, and allow for easy
switching out of plants over time.   

My plant choices may have been unduly influenced by
what was blooming in nurseries at the time, (as they
often are).  Lampranthus spectabilis is in full
blinding magenta bloom, alternating with deep true
blue bloomingScaevola aemula with trailing 3 foot
stems covered in flowers, and drapes over the wood
planters. Another planter contains Asparagus
densiflorus 'Sprengeri' combined with  Verbena hybrida
'Tapien Blue', which is really more of a purple along
the lines of Sea Lavender/Limonium perezii.  Erigeron
x 'Moorheimerii' also weaves in amongst the other
trailers, with the deep purple trailer Plectranthus
neochilus below the Metrosideros collina.   All were
selected for fast growth. extra long bloom season and
ability to drape well over planters, giving a lush
look quickly.

The Asparagus was chosen to rim the base of the Date
Palms, for its ability to absorb the 100's of small
dates/nuts rained down upon them by the squirrels. 
Temporary Osteospermum fruiticosum 'Pinwheel' and
Arcototis hybrid 'Purple Torch' are planted along side
the Asparagus for immediate filler, before the
Asparagus completely fill the 15 gallon containers.

Long flowering perennials include several Lavenders
such as the everblooming Spike Lavender/Lavandula
pinnata,(not frost tolerant away from the coast), L.
stoechas 'Quastii', Verbena 'Tapien Blue' and Limonium
perezii in full bloom.  Another succulent from Chile,
Calandrinia grandiflora has shocking magenta poppy
like flowers on tall 3 foot stems, along with
succulent trailing stems and glaucus foliage, and will
remain in bloom nearly all year, with hundreds of
flower spikes on mature plants.  The saturated pure
reds and blues and magentas are cooled down by the
bolder leafed succulents such as Agave attenuata
'Nova',( a named cultivar with even bluer foliage than
normal),  luminous trailing Pachyveria 'Opalina' and
Lampranthus spectabilis planted in jade green/streaked
aquamarine blue large Malaysian urns 3 foot tall and
set against a textural grapestake wood fence overhung
by Jasminum polyanthum in full bloom. (I am tempted to
add some royal purple notes to the fence with the
addition of Distictis 'Rivers', or Petrea volubis).  

The other plantings are all in large 15 gallon
containers set within a  formal arrangement of large(5
foot square and 10 foot by 2.5 foot) freestanding
redwood planters on top of the existing deck, and set
against the 6 foot glass wind fence overlooking the
lagoon.  At each corner planter, amongst all the
lavenders, sit 3 individual Metrosideros collina
'Springfire', with softly grey pubescent leaves on
arching stems and continual sprays of red stameny
flowers more reminescent of Callistemon than other
Metrosideros.  It is surprisingly happy here in
California given its native tropical Tahiti habitat. 
The other succulents chosen include the soft powdery
white Cotyledon orbiculata with its  round succulent
leaves and lovely nodding turbular soft orange
flowers, the similar Cotyledon macrantha with red
tipped green leaves.  A blue leaved Aloe hybrid called
Aloe 'Blue Elf' picks up the orange/coral flowers of
the Cotyledons, but comes a month earlier.  Aeonium
undulatum was chosen to be a huge sculptural accent,
similar to the Foxtail Agave in the urns, with its 2
foot diameter  undulate apple green rosettes  on 3
foot stalks.  

At the center point of the long glass windscreen sit a
matched pair of 4 foot diameter large rustic Thai
ceramic water bowls on raised metal supports.  These
are another focal point along the wind screen,
repeating the large urns with the Agaves as a contrast
to the built in wood planters.  These bowls are filled
with floating water hyacinth, Oenanthe javanica
'Flamingo' and Equisetum hyemale, and some goldfish. 
The Oenanthe will provide a frothy pink and white
variegated mass of ferny foliage completely obscuring
the water if not pruned back, and remains evergreen in
our climate.   The plantings should look very much the
same regardless of the season, with perhaps the spring
blooming Lampranthus and Cotyledons being the only
seasonal giveaway.  The plantings should also be
fairly low water use, and will be given 5 minutes a
day automatic drip irrigation in the warmer months.

The garden planters could have just as easily featured
a mix of South African/Australian proteaceae plants,
or perhaps restios, but I thought the mix chosen would
be easier to maintain long term, and more colorful
over a longer season.  Perhaps I will add some
epiphytes such as Tillandsias to the trunks of the
Date Palms, but am uncertain as to whether it will
appear too unnatural given the scale of the palms.  I
also consider it somewhat ironic that this deck and
garden will be so little used, with the clients almost
never home to enjoy it except on Sunday afternoons. 
Such is often the case with high end clients such as
these two physicians.

Its fun to install gardens like this, that look mature
instantly, and will look like it was always there
within just a couple of months...  As well, not having
to worry about frost or heat makes it so much easier
to create a garden with year round flowers.  This is
also such a complete contrast to another recent garden
installation overlooking the bay high up in the
Oakland Hills, also in another one of a kind setting
that makes me appreciative of being a garden designer
and getting to spend so much of my time out in
beautiful mediteranean climate gardens.





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