Re: Subtle Autumn

It's 10:30 at night, the kids are asleep and the house is put to bed and ready for the morning, and finally I can sit down and respond to everyone's emails.  Whew!

Thanks everyone for your input regarding paths.  
The vote seems to be favoring decomposed granite for a smooth yet casual path.  I like the idea of using an atypical color DG; here in southern California it's almost always a sandy beige color.  Not bad, but kind of arid looking in a woodsy garden.  

In northern California I think different colors of DG are more commonly used, and maybe a ginger or russet DG would be a better fit.

All in all, DG works as a secondary path material, but is not as good for primary paths.  
I put in a lot of DG paths when we first landscaped the garden, but have slowly been paving them over with interlocking concrete pavers.  The kids are much more inclined to wheel around the garden on hard paths: although they can ride on DG, they prefer not to.  
The interlocking pavers also allow rainy weather access.

Still, for a naturalistic woodland path I can see using DG.

Here are some shots of paths and their uses:

www.flickr.com/photos/27474976@N07/2887178735/in/set/7215607488131268/

www.flickr.com/photos/27474976@N07/4552996953/

www.flickr.com/photos/27474976@N07/4564317383/

www.flickr.com/photos/27474976@N07/4564320233/

Thanks, 
Ben Armentrout-Wiswall
Simi Valley, CA



From: Paul Reid <pkssreid@comcast.net>
To: Ben Wiswall <benwiswall@pacbell.net>
Sent: Tue, November 2, 2010 8:31:34 PM
Subject: RE: Subtle Autumn

Weâve used DG edged with native stone to keep the border.  Looks quite nice, still drains, and is easy to weed.

Karrie Reid

 

From: Ben Wiswall [mailto:benwiswall@pacbell.net]
Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2010 1:53 PM
To: medit plants forum
Subject: Subtle Autumn

 

Hi All.

In southern California we had a week of rain in October, much earlier than usual for us: December is typically the first month with any substantial rain.

 

The early rains have already begun to green the hills and usher in the quiet charm of a mediterranean autumn.  Our 'Roger's Red' grape vines are beginning to color nicely, the Toyon berries are reddening, and I'm still surprised by fall-flowering bulbs I myself planted: white narcissi, rose nerines, and lavender crocus are popping up here and there in the garden.

 

I've taken advantage of the mild weather and moist soil to do a lot of planting, mostly of California native shrubs replacing lavender and cistus that have begun to decline.  

 

Our garden is decidedly Old World Mediterranean in its style: strongly architectural lines of paths, patios, and pergola framed by rather controlled shrubbery. Now I'm interested in adding native plants, both for their wildlife value and for the sense of connection to this place.

 

It's an interesting experiment: can I create/sustain an Old World Mediterranean garden using New World California native plants?  We shall see!

 

On another subject, paths: I'm interested in creating a naturalistic path through a wooded section of garden.  the problem is, I'd like the path to be smooth enough for a wheelchair.  I like the look of broken concrete or uncut flagstone (I have some broken concrete on hand), but set in dirt or gravel, they're just not smooth enough for wheels.  Can anyone recommend a path surface smooth enough for wheels, yet informal-looking enough to feel like a woodland path?

Thanks for any help!

 

Enjoy the Fall!

-Ben Armentrout-Wiswall

Simi Valley, inland Ventura County

southern California

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