Re: philosophical question

Dear Medit-planters & Steve,

This is a great question for it brings us all to think about why we are
doing what we are doing. I think many would share my experience of trying
other ideas before concluding that gardening in tune with the Mediterranean
climate (where-ever we live) is just plain common sense. It is just as well
that many of us are collectors because that is the first step to developing
a catalogue of plants best adapted to that climatic regime (cool wet
winters; long hot, dry summers). We have no choice but to raise seed, grow
and experiment with many kinds of plants otherwise we wouldn't have much
hope of being able to get anything suitable. Nurseries being as they are
(mostly) retail outlets for products from all over the place have developed
sales strategies that are of no use to emerging ideas about Medit-gardens -
they focus on no-name plants 'Blue Skies'(aristea), 'Party Dress'(pansy
mix), 'Mystic Moon'(osteospermum), 'Ginger Meggs' (streptosolen?), 'Happy
Wanderer' (hardenbergia) etc. and instant colour, and potted colour,
landscape sizes, red hot cut-price specials, point of sale 'attractions'
etc etc. As a business decision I guess those concepts are all valid but
they don't help us learn about, or acquire plants suited to our climate.
The difficulty is moving on from the collecting phase once a reasonable
palette of suitable and liked plants has been identified. With
determination, insight and an ideas bank a collector can move on into
making a landscape that satisfies both the plantsmanship of gardening and
the pleasures of creating gardens as living spaces. Of course, many are
happy to stay 'stuck' in collecting mode but even so the concept of a
Mediterranean palette of plants and the growth of design ideas is
happening. And even the original Medit-planters, the Romans, didn't develop
their palette or style in the space of just a few years; it took a thousand
years at least. So far as I know their plant collecting was restricted to
collecting topiaries - the more expensive (and outlandish) the better.

I count myself fortunate to have moved through the collecting phase and to
have an understanding of what plants are likely to do well where I live;
that focuses my collecting on gathering plants suited for constructing the
garden as a living space that is in tune with the climate. I am also able
to consider how best to use those plants (and those I am still looking for)
in making our outdoor living spaces beautiful, attractive, easy to care for
and sometimes colourful. If the collecting is seens as a way to an end,
rather than as an end in itself it has a valuable role to play in
developing a rich Medit-garden style. Aesthetically we may need time to
adjust to some 'strange' new plants, to get a new take on them, their
appearance and how to combine them with pother plants just as we may also
need time to get used to the age old ideas about Medit garden design: how
many I wonder have given away all lawns, even in children's play areas
realising at last that children raised without lawns (in Spain, southern
Italy, Greece, Algeria, Morocco etc.) end up normal their development not
stunted for the lack of the water-hungry green stuff.

I think we are all at different levels on the same learning path (educator
speaking) and through the Medit-plant site are sharing our learning as we
go. But it would be good of more people would describe how they are
developing the ideas about creating a Medit landscape.

trevor n
Trevor Nottle
Manager-Education
Torrens Valley Institute of TAFE
School of Horticluture
505 Fullarton Road
Netherby
South Australia  5062
AUSTRALIA

Tel. +61 +8 +8372 6801
Fax. +61 +8 +8372 6888
e-mail <trevorn@torrens.tafe.sa.edu.au>
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