Garden Designer’s Roundtable: Celebrating Regional Diversity – Silicon Valley style!
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This shiny Hershey's Kiss is actually a chunk of Silicon...the namesake for my region!
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I’ve been invited to join in a lively discussion among some of my fellow landscape designers around the country to talk about ’celebrating regional diversity’.
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I LOVE this topic – embracing that which makes each of our regions unique and how we celebrate it through garden design.
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My client base is in Northern California’s ‘Silicon Valley’ – an area typically defined as stretching from San Francisco down to San Jose.
With Silicon Valley’s top ethnic cultures now consisting of Hispanic, Indian and Asian, you can be certain you’re going see every conceivable garden style here – quite often all on one humble, residential street.
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In fact, my very first client was an older woman from a small provence in China who wanted me to create a garden for her that reminded her of ‘home’…complete with little white Christmas lights placed at the far end of her garden, so when looking out her kitchen window she would be reminded of the distant village lights of her past.
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Many of my clients are from the Middle East and India – where great importance is placed on planting fruit trees and edibles throughout both the front and back gardens (whereas in the past, typical American gardeners kept edibles strictly confined to a designated ‘out of the way’ spot in the back garden).
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One of my recent clients was from Jerusalem and wanted to create a very specific cactus garden within her main garden, in memory of her father’s gravesite ‘back home’ where many of his favorite cactus were planted.
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I think it’s wonderful when a client wants to create a garden which reminds them of ‘home’ – wherever their home may have been…be it India, China, Jerusalem or even when it’s one of our own Eastern States.
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However, it’s a fine balancing act creating a garden which respects both culture and climate. California’s Number One resource challenge is it’s limited water supply, as we’ve been in a drought for several years now with no end in sight. We receive very little (if any) Summer rainfall, so outside of Winter, our gardens rely solely on supplemental watering.
Over the years, I’ve noticed that people here (especially those from other countries) are becoming more and more aware of respecting our resources and of the importance of gardening within those confines.
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I’ve noticed that these ‘New Californians’ rarely come to me wanting to install huge water-guzzling lawns but are usually open to alternatives – such as smaller lawns, or a meadow consisting of drought-tolerant grasses.
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I always try and be as flexible as possible when a client tells me their ‘wish list’. It really goes against my nature to tell someone what they can and cannot have.
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You want a Mediterranean Garden? You got it.
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Is it a Succulent Garden you desire? You got it.
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You want only topiaries?
You got it.
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(No – I didn’t design this garden, but they’re prolific in this area – especially in San Francisco- and I really respect the people who create them. Many years ago when I lived in San Francisco, I loved watching the older Japanese men who took such pride in carefully manicuring their ‘babies’).
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Is it an English Garden you desire?
One that’s lush and green, complete with peonies, hostas and other non-stop flowering borders? Perhaps surrounded by a giant lawn?
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Record skip…….
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It’s here we begin to have a problem.
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As I stated earlier, I’m not one to say a person can’t have what they want, but instead I try and show them ways they can get a similar look while gardening within our state’s climate.
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For example, let’s not install that huge, sweeping wall-to-wall lawn but instead let’s put in a drought-tolerant meadow.
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"Miss Kim" Lilac...one of the few that does well in the Bay Area
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Do you love the beautiful lilacs that prolifically bloom back East? Well..our warmer temperatures make it a little difficult, so let’s consider a Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Tree) – a shrub that loves our hot and dry climate and it blooms for months at a time…
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And if you MUST have a lilac, then I’d recommend the variety ‘Miss Kim’, as it seems to do fairly well with our warmer weather and you can still get that wonderful lilac scent…
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Most everyone loves Hostas and wants them planted in their garden…but what they don’t realize is that due to our abundant ravenous snails and slugs, your Hosta will end up looking like it went through a paper shredder. Instead, if it’s the large, lime green leaves you love, consider a Bergenia ‘Lunar Glow’ (snails don’t seem to like Bergenia, they grow in the sun or shade and they’re not water-thirsty!)
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I once had a client from the Midwest who just had to have a ‘Pinxter Azalea’ (I had never even heard of this plant!) Unfortunately they don’t grow in our mild climate (plus they’re thirsty plants)…so I suggested a native Ribes sanguineum as a substitute (which the client loved just as much)…
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It’s the substitution of regionally-appropriate plants like these which can achieve a look that may be ‘regionally-inappropriate’. I use the term “California Fusion” when describing this garden design style.
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What is California-Fusion? It’s blending whatever style the client desires with regionally appropriate plants. It’s having a garden that’s appropriate for our climate – a garden which is drought tolerant and can withstand our long dry summers, but doesn’t necessarily end up looking ‘desert-y’ (a term I’ve heard from so many people who seem to think that’s what a drought-tolerant garden will resemble). I don’t think the photos below look ‘desert-y’ at all, do you?
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You see – you can achieve a lush, dense and layered garden by using a combination of grasses, native plants and those which look ’delicate’ but are actually tough as nails – with stunning results. Some of the plants above which are my standard ‘work-horses’ are: Manzanita ‘Howard McMinn’, Correa pulchella, Euonymous ‘Emerald Gaity’, Balotta, Euphorbia wulfenii, Foxtail Fern, Philadelphus ‘Belle Etoile’, Anigozanthos ‘Harmony’ and many types of succulents.
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When a combination of these types of plants are used, a garden can be absolutely beautiful – filled with color, texture, fragrance and year-round beauty. And with a little creativity the client gets exactly what they wanted…and at the end of the day, isn’t that what they’re hiring us to do?
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A whopping “Thanks” to Scott Hokunson of Blue Heron Landscapes, the brainchild for this Nation-Wide Garden Designer’s Roundtable, and also to Susan Cohan of Susan Cohan Gardens who originally brought this topic to Scott’s attention. Please make sure you read their own perspectives on this topic, as well as some of my other fellow designer’s blogs. And if you have your own perspective on celebrating regional design in YOUR area, please join in – it’d be great to hear from folks everywhere!
California designers:
Susan Morrison (East Bay) – Blue Plant Garden
Ivette Stohler (Los Angeles) – The Germinatrix
Laura Schaub (San Jose) – Schaub Designs Fine Gardens
Michelle Dervis (Novato) – Michelle Derviss Landscape Design
Genevieve Schmidt (Arcata) – North Coast Gardening
Idaho designer: Dan Eskelson- Clearwater Landscapes
Texas designer: Pam Penick – Penick Landscape Design
Georgia designer: Tara Dillard – Landscape Design Decorating Styling
Colorado designer: Jocelyn Chilver – The Art Garden
Virginia designer: Susan Schlenger -Susan Schlenger Landscape Design
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January 6th, 2010 saat: 10:57 am
What a great post! I love the idea of ‘California Fusion’ and that many styles can be interpreted through skillful and thoughtful planting design. Remarkable that your photo of the ‘skipped record’ garden looks similar to one in my post 3000 miles away where water isn’t as much of an issue.
January 6th, 2010 saat: 10:58 am
Great post, Rebecca. I cracked up when the record skipped at that big, lush English garden. We have similar issues with rainfall here, and substituting hardy plants that give the look someone wants can be a great way to get around that.
January 6th, 2010 saat: 11:20 am
Rebecca, I just love the specific examples of what to substitute, and I’m really excited to hear your input on Miss Kim Lilac, since we have a climate that is similarly warm for lilacs. We get good performance for the most part but they seem to die sooner and suffer more than they should.
Beautiful photos, too.
January 6th, 2010 saat: 11:30 am
Wonderful post, Rebecca. You captured the California “Designer’s Dilemma” in a nutshell – respecting a client’s culture and wishes while also reminding them of the realities of living in California.
Plus as always, I learned some new things. Much check out your bergenia recommendation!
January 6th, 2010 saat: 11:41 am
Hahahaha! We are brain twins! We both mention English gardens and peonies as stumbling blocks … of course!!!
I loved this post – and I always ADORE seeing pictures of your fabulous work – that Mediterranean garden is one of my all-time favorite plantings!
You are such a hot designer, Sweet One!
Spectacular post! XO!
January 6th, 2010 saat: 12:16 pm
Rebecca, Great post, and I can see the applications way up here in the upper right end of the map, too. The lookalikes are a particularly clever idea.
January 6th, 2010 saat: 12:16 pm
(*are* a particularly clever idea? — well, you know what I mean)
January 6th, 2010 saat: 12:18 pm
Rebecca,
It was enjoyable reading about how you gently glide your clients away from using environmentally inappropriate plants by suggesting those that are site suitable and just as visually rewarding.
And that photo of the pom pom topiary from San Francisco was fantastic. When driving down 19th Avenue in the City I am always amazed at the many homes that have these and they make me giggle.
It wouldn’t be S.F. without them !
You captured our area perfectly.
Michelle
January 6th, 2010 saat: 12:42 pm
Rebecca, you are so fortunate to be able to work with clients of varied ethnic background. What a wonderful education!
Your photos are outstanding…esp. the first one, Mediterranean garden – I want to be there! Now.
Keep up the excellent work.
Dan
January 6th, 2010 saat: 12:43 pm
Great post, girl! I loved how you talked about creating ‘back home’ gardens for ‘new’ Californians, especially the twinkle lights representing a distant village! And boy, that Mediterranean garden with the Santa Cruz mountains in the background is just breathtaking.
Terrific suggestions for substitutions too; I’ve actually had some luck using Chinese lilac (Syringa chinensis) around here, but alas they will never hold a candle to my grandmother’s lush bushes in Illinois.
Since we’re neighbors, this was all especially helpful information, thanks so much for sharing!
January 6th, 2010 saat: 12:57 pm
Great post! Don’t I wish all designers were as skillful in blending beautiful with sustainable as you are…
January 6th, 2010 saat: 1:46 pm
Ha-ha, we seem to have a very similar view of our gardening worlds. Right on, Rebecca!
January 6th, 2010 saat: 1:54 pm
As a shade gardener at heart, I find the Mediterranean Garden irresistible. You truly described the most diverse region yet, and your suggestions to your clients are wonderful. I hope they realize the service you provide them, and the talents you display. Well done!
January 6th, 2010 saat: 4:15 pm
Great article! No, the photos do not look ‘desert-y’ at all. They are gorgeous! Love your substitutions and ideas.
January 6th, 2010 saat: 6:03 pm
“California Fusion?” Great name for the eclectic, yet regionally appropriate gardens you create!
Love your substitution plants too. Look forward to visiting your blog again.
Shirley Bovshow
Garden World Report
January 6th, 2010 saat: 7:09 pm
Your gardening is regional yet I’m in Atlanta, GA with the same client pool. Homeowners from other parts of USA, France, India, Croatia, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, South Africa, England, Holland, & more. Interesting.
One thing everyone has in common? Low maintenance. It’s the trump card. Turning lawn into meadow isn’t only about water it’s about lower maintenance too. And girl, you are good at a meadow!!
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
January 6th, 2010 saat: 8:44 pm
Fantastic post Rebecca. I’m learning volumes from reading all these great blogs and as always, you deliver a wonderful insight into your design process. Thanks again for sharing.
January 6th, 2010 saat: 10:18 pm
I enjoyed your post. Thanks!
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:08 am
Thanks, Matt! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this ‘event’ and we’re actually giving useful advice (instead of just making folks laugh!!)
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:09 am
Thanks, Tara – I agree with your point of ‘Low Maintenance being the trump card’! Very funny…I’ll have to remember that one! And thanks for the compliment re: the meadow….it’s something I’m getting more and more requests to install and am really enjoying this type of design! (all hail Greenlee’s new Meadow book!)
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:11 am
Thanks, Shirley! I like ‘California Fusion’, too as it represents what’s really going on here in our state!
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:12 am
Thanks Scott – I love a good, shady garden…..but put me in the middle of a Mediterranean one and I find myself in Heaven…..glad you appreciate it (and thanks for the compliments!
Hi Susan – I’m glad you don’t think the photos look desert’y either! It’s a constant misconception I have to deal with out here!
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:13 am
Thanks, Townie! We MUST meet one of these days – I know I’d learn so much from your native-garden expertise!
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:15 am
Thanks, Laura….I’m glad you appreciate the cultural diversity when gardening as much as I do! Yes, the lilacs can fare ‘okay’…but when someone is expecting the ‘Illinoise beauties’ they’re bound to be disappointed!
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:16 am
Thanks Dan..yes – it’s very rewarding and enriching to work with so many people from around the world. I’m always, always, always learning something new! Glad you love the Med. garden..with you could be there soaking up some of the sun (you guys need it right about now!)….
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:18 am
I’m so glad you like the topiary photo – they, too, always make me smile. Some designers tend to go on and on about how awful they are, calling them pruning disasters, etc…. I couldn’t agree less! To me, those topiaries represent someone’s love of their own garden….and I just hate it when people put other garden styles down! No…I don’t necessarily want one of those in the front of my home…but to each his own, right?? Thanks again
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:19 am
Thanks, Helen! Glad you liked the lookalikes! It’s a fun concept, isn’t it? Hmmm…maybe an idea brewing here….
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:21 am
Thanks Germi…..my brain twin! I adore English gardens and have tried throughout my entire life to figure out how I can ‘get me some of that’….but alas, those Peonies just elude me. The ones that do okay out here are the pale, pasty pink ones…not the vibrant, deep magenta ones that I crave. sigh….oh well…I’ll just have to settle on a big ‘ol Leucadendron instead!
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:21 am
Love the bergenia! It’s my new favorite plant (okay…not ‘favorite’, but on my list of top 20)…Thanks again!
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:22 am
Miss Kim has done really, really well here. It’s description is ‘icy blue’…which it is NOT. It’s flowers tend to be a pale lavender, but still…it’s a lilac, and it blooms here, and it has that addicting fragrance.
January 7th, 2010 saat: 9:24 am
Thanks Pam and Susan – glad you both got the ‘record skip’ concept! and glad you liked my definition of ‘California Fusion’ (it’s usually used with restaurants out here…but heck, I still think it works)!!
January 8th, 2010 saat: 4:25 pm
Love your post and the wonderful pictures you included to illustrate your points.
January 8th, 2010 saat: 4:34 pm
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it – hope you’ve had time to read the others’ as well…great perspectives from around the country!
January 9th, 2010 saat: 11:05 am
Splendid post! I love talking to clients and understanding what their vision is. An education exchange going both ways!
You’ve illustrated beautifully that “desert-y” can be lush. May I suggest another work horse for your list? Native blue penstemon. Love it!
January 10th, 2010 saat: 5:02 am
I really enjoyed this post and the photos in it!
I was thinking last night about Hosta analogs… Are you guys able to grow Brunnera? I planted B. ‘Jack Frost’ in my first ever professional installation last year, and it did amazingly. Different in ways from Hosta, but alike in key ways as well. Reputedly low-water once established, but I know we get more summer rain than you do, so I know plants that require no water once established here may require maintenance watering there…
January 11th, 2010 saat: 6:32 pm
You know…I haven’t seen many Brunneras out here – they look like they’d be a giant snail-snack. Thanks for the suggestion…I’ll definitely research that one a bit more!
January 11th, 2010 saat: 6:32 pm
thanks for the suggestion! I’ll definitely add that to my list!
February 3rd, 2010 saat: 5:46 am
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