{"id":8381,"date":"2022-03-03T14:45:51","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T13:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=74689"},"modified":"2022-03-03T14:52:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T13:52:12","slug":"a-lush-but-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/a-lush-but-drought-tolerant-garden-in-california\/","title":{"rendered":"A lush but drought-tolerant garden in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Veronica Peerless\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 03 March 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

\u2018Un-thirsty\u2019 is a term we could all embrace in gardening: it is used by Flora Grubb\u00a0when she describes the vibrant plants for which she\u00a0<\/span><\/span>has a passion. Gardening with minimal water is what her nursery in San Francisco has become famous for, and the small city garden that wraps around Flora\u2019s own house in Berkeley, California, is a compelling example of her outlook. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t love the word \u2018dry\u2019; we aren\u2019t trying to make gardens that look dry,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to make gardens that look \u2018juicy\u2019 but don\u2019t need much water.\u201d <\/span>The philosophy of her nursery is perfectly reflected in her garden \u2013 the plants need little water but create a lush feel.<\/p>\n

\n

IN BRIEF <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

What <\/b>A small town garden, featuring plants that are adapted to drought.Where <\/b>Berkeley, northern California.Soil <\/b>Brought-in topsoil, improved with volcanic rock.Size <\/b>15m x 30m.Climate <\/b>Foggy, little rainfall, no hard frosts.Hardiness zone <\/b>USDA 10b.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div> <\/section>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some very traditional things about my garden, but what is not traditional is the amount of water it uses,\u201d she says. The fog of the Bay Area carries moisture in the air, but little rainfall; it doesn\u2019t rain for seven months in a year. The climate is \u201ccoastally influenced cool summer Mediterranean\u201d; in other words, says Flora, \u201cplants love it\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

Flora is drawn to plants that suit a dry climate<\/a>, wherever they come from. Her nursery, backed <\/span>by a 40-acre wholesale operation in Southern California, has been responsible for several introductions of climate-adapted plants sourced from around the globe.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\""Flora\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Caitlin Atkinson<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Palms are a speciality, and Flora is particularly fond of her own Brahea armata<\/em> \u2018Clara\u2019, from Sonora state in Mexico, which is better suited to cooler conditions than the straight species. Robinia pseudoacacia <\/i>\u2018Twisty Baby\u2019 will continue to distract the eye away from the street entrance, after the palm has grown taller.\u00a0<\/span>Pittosporum tenuifolium<\/em> \u2018Silver Sheen\u2019 creates a shimmering screen in front of the perimeter fence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\""Flora\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Caitlin Atkinson<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Around the edges of Acacia cognata <\/i>\u2018Mini Cog\u2019,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Aeonium <\/i>\u2018Mint Saucer\u2019 draws attention to smaller players, including silvery Leucophyta brownii<\/i>, Ceanothus griseus <\/i>var. horizontalis <\/i>\u2018Diamond Heights\u2019, Santolina rosmarinifolia <\/i>\u2018Lemon Fizz\u2019 and Peperomia ferreyrae<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\""Flora\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Caitlin Atkinson<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

One of the key structural plants Flora introduced when she began the garden six years ago was the weeping shrub Acacia cognata<\/em>, which she has used to frame the entrance. Other plants are grown in planters so Flora can move them around, although the tall white pot on the right is water feature with a gentle fountain. She happily plunges pots straight into larger ceramic vessels so that she can experiment with one of her main motivations: texture.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\""Flora\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Caitlin Atkinson<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

The covered seat to the side of the house is perfect for a mild winter day,\u201d says Flora. To her right is the palm Rhopalostylis baueri<\/em> and Kniphofia thomsonii<\/em> in a terracotta pot<\/a> that complements its flowers. On her right is a Beaucarnea recurvata<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\""Flora\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Caitlin Atkinson<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Non-natives anchor the garden, but natives are here too, such as gravel<\/a>-hugging Ceanothus griseus<\/em> var. horizontalis <\/i>\u2018Diamond Heights\u2019, is a drought-tolerant evergreen that is native to San Francisco specifically. It is a good mingler, shown here with Dymondia margaretae <\/i>from South Africa.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cNative plants should be part of all gardens of any size in California,\u201d says Flora, while maintaining that a multicultural tapestry brings life to a garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all the weird stuff going on in the world, it\u2019s actually a wonderful time to be a gardener,\u201d she says, while acknowledging that it is the nurseryman\u2019s responsibility to monitor exotics and prevent their sale if they are rampant, \u201cno matter how much customers ask for them\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\""Flora\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Caitlin Atkinson<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Flowers in this garden are fairly few and far between. \u201cI do like flowers, but when a garden is filled with them, it is often too much for me to find pleasurable,\u201d she says. \u201cWhereas you can have all the textures, and never think: \u2018Please, make it stop\u2019.\u201d When her exotics do flower, amid all the greenery, it can be a genuinely spectacular event.<\/p>\n

This year, her yellow-striped Beschorneria yuccoides<\/em> Flamingo Glow (=\u2018Besys\u2019) (shown above, to the right of the path) sent out an enormous, luminous pink bloom stalk. \u201cThe flowering process of that plant was outlandish,\u201d Flora recalls. \u201cIt was such a pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may also like:<\/p>\n