Re: What do gardeners think?

At 12:34 PM 9/9/2003, Jason D wrote:
With the wine country and food focus around here (San Francisco Bay Area), a lot of people think "mediterranean." Then again, the most-asked-for tree at our sales at Strybing Arboretum is the Japanese maple, so what does that say about gardeners' perceptions? That species is often prettier in Washington DC or Connecticut. There's a vague concept among some that our climate is sort of temperate, but I don't hear that term used much. It's the gardens of purple-leaf plum, rhododendron, camellia, Japanese maple, yew and cherry that express this idea, often quite beautifully, and thirstily.
Yes, I think people here often do think 'mediterranean', not because they really understand what the concept means, but because there is such envy of the Riviera or Tuscany (actually, its ALL Tuscan these days!!! ;-)

I can see that folks in Southern California might think 'desert' - your chaparral is drier and sparser than up here. 'Tropical' comes from the preponderance of palm trees and other lush and exotic plants that are routinely planted around, some not requiring the draining of the Colorado river to survive, but still looking like they might to the novice.

Having worked in a nursery in the past, and consulting routinely with clients trying to build their landscapes, your average gardener does not equate most of these concepts directly to plants - they are not familiar enough with plants to really know. They like a certain color, a texture, a form, a type of flower. They are drawn to what they know - what grew in their childhood home (in some other climate). They like what they think is pretty or colorful - flowering plants tend to sell 2-3 times as quickly as the same plant without flowers. Many growers and nurseries sell plants which tend to look good in a nursery gallon can (regardless of whether or not they perform the best in the ground).

Your average gardener also doesn't understand why EVERYTHING offered to them by nurseries is not completely appropriate to plant in this area. They assume nurserymen to be the men of integrity who would never offer a plant that was ill-suited to the local climate.

They also have been encouraged (often by nurseries wishing to make a sale) of plants as relatively interchangeable, and if they do not work out in the short-term, they can be replaced by something else. Even the current trend towards perennials often works out to be equivalent to annual bedding - poor choices and planting require regular renewal.

Planting too close together is somewhat understandable to the uninformed - proper spacing of small plant looks far too sparse to be 'correct' (or they might think the neighbors think they are 'cheap'). I've also heard a number of nurserymen suggest that plants can be 'thinned' as they grow in!!! (again, more of a sale for them).

Seán O.

h o r t u l u s a p t u s - 'a garden suited to its purpose'
Seán A. O'Hara sean@support.net
1034A Virginia Street, Berkeley, California 94710-1853, U.S.A.

Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index