Re: Philosophical question

What an interesting thread to find upon returning from a month-long 
vacation.  I have been reading some of the responses, and intend to read 
the rest.  I was truly touched by Helene Pizzi's reference to my own casual 
business name - Hortulus Aptus!

I have been a collector in my time, and perhaps still am to some 
degree.  There are many plant collectors in my area, far more avid than I 
have ever been.  They bring wonderful plants into our garden trade, which 
is very fortunate.  Fortunate because it provide more choices for creating 
wonderful garden designs.  Some gardens contain rare and unusual plants 
almost exclusively - exciting and enthralling, but not necessarily 
relaxing.  Most people prefer a more restful experience in the garden.

My own garden has never been without common plants, not has it ever housed 
to truly rare and exotic.  Since it is always available to the public (in 
front, unfenced), these would seldom last long (yes, I have had an 
occasional plant stolen from my garden).  I also work with public gardens 
so this can also be a problem there.  Some of the large public gardens in 
the Bay Area struggle with whether or not to put out plants labels, noting 
the when they do, many rare plants go missing soon after.  Collectors out 
of control, no doubt.

Being originally trained in the arts, and now using gardens as my mode of 
expression, I tend to thing in terms of space, feeling, and 
response.  Usually only collectors respond to the really rare - the average 
person does not.  I look to evoke a response to people in general when 
thinking of a garden.  I may use an unusual plant to create the effect I 
desire, but not because it is rare, but because it is 'right'.

While my wife and I were traveling through Italy and France in the month of 
October, I saw many interesting plants along roadsides, in the wild, and in 
gardens.  These were not necessarily rare or hard to find - just not common 
in California.  My interest was in the response they evoked, not their 
rarity.  I was also interested in their ease of cultivation - something 
which can make them available to me and other gardeners.  There are many 
VERY interesting plants out there, even if you restrict yourself to 
strictly mediterranean climate regions.  But not all of them are easy to 
grow in our gardens here at home, where soil or climate conditions are a 
bit different.  This is true to California native as well, which come from 
a state which has more specific habitats than most.

So, my interest in the new is similar to some - to learn about plants which 
may be useful and important to our local gardens.  Some types of plants 
interest me more than others, and some genus have been a rich hunting 
ground for species/cultivars that prove appropriate to our gardens.  These 
have been at times 'collections' of mine, but I have little interest in 
housing a comprehensive collections of a specific group of plants - this is 
for other people with that interest and dedication.

For me, to create something unique to my client, their property, their 
interest, their lifestyle, their needs, their passions - this is the 
challenge.  Each garden should look like itself, and should not look like 
'one of Sean's gardens' (that would be a disappointment).

(More on my vacation later).

Regards,
Sean O.

h o r t u l u s   a p t u s     -    'a garden suited to its purpose'
Sean A. O'Hara        fax (707) 667-1173     sean.ohara@groupmail.com
710 Jean Street, Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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