I had a great morning yesterday visiting a garden here in the Santa Cruz Mountains which demonstrates dramatically the sense of place Page Dickey writes about in her book
Gardens in the Spirit of Place. Dickey says she profiles 'gardeners who have responded to their surroundings with simplicity, daring, and originality.' Here in Bonny Doon, an area of the Santa Cruz mountains, many of us have fought the spirit of this place in an effort to have the roses, lawns, and lilies we dream of in other, often British, gardens. In fact we have a Mediterranean climate, and elevations from sea level to 2500'. Mostly very dry, with no rain from May to November. Our area supported logging and vineyards in its early years, the mid-1800's, and since then has been a haven for booleggers, rural hippies, and other escapees from civilization, until now when it is being settled by well-to-do folks who want closer contact with nature. Some old-timers remain, and some, like us, who have lived here 40+ years are interested spectators to this demographic change. Recently I've been visiting some of the local gardens, particularly those whose owners find a way to speak through their garden designs with a clear vision and voice. One I've visited, Karen's garden, celebrates the spirit of this place with ancient oaks,
drought-tolerant plants,
and gravel groundcover, all arranged very beautifully to highlight the glorious view.
The garden I visited yesterday, however, Sharon's garden, is quite different. Amazingly, it has water, and lots of it. Water! In springs! In rivulets! In ponds! What a concept! Sharon's task has been to channel the water that flows from springs on her property,
and to keep it from simply creating a swampy, mucky mess. She gets as little summer water as we do from the skies, but her ground provides her with more than she needs, and in fact almost more than she can handle. Her garden reflects this water abundance, with many little runs
and rills, small bridges, and one glorious pond.
Sharon has further honored her setting by using stone from the nearby quarry for much of the hardscaping she has had installed.
She has remodeled the small cabin and the barn
on her property so that they are good for another century while retaining their look of rural California.
Dickey says the gardens she profiles 'stem from an appreciation of where they live, rather than a yearning for somewhere else'. Both Karen's garden and Sharon's garden breathe the spirit of the Santa Cruz mountains, here in Bonny Doon. They capture the essence of the surrounding beauty of the mountain and the chaparrel, the creeks, the rocks, the towering trees. They inspire in me a dream of my own garden, hoping that one day my garden will also clearly reflect the spirit of its place in this world.
I had a great morning yesterday visiting a garden here in the Santa Cruz Mountains which demonstrates dramatically the sense of place Page Dickey writes about in her book Gardens in the Spirit of Place. Dickey says she profiles 'gardeners who have responded to their surroundings with simplicity, daring, and originality.' Here in Bonny Doon, an area of the Santa Cruz mountains, many of us have fought the spirit of this place in an effort to have the roses, lawns, and lilies we dream of in other, often British, gardens. In fact we have a Mediterranean climate, and elevations from sea level to 2500'. Mostly very dry, with no rain from May to November. Our area supported logging and vineyards in its early years, the mid-1800's, and since then has been a haven for booleggers, rural hippies, and other escapees from civilization, until now when it is being settled by well-to-do folks who want closer contact with nature. Some old-timers remain, and some, like us, who have lived here 40+ years are interested spectators to this demographic change. Recently I've been visiting some of the local gardens, particularly those whose owners find a way to speak through their garden designs with a clear vision and voice. One I've visited, Karen's garden, celebrates the spirit of this place with ancient oaks, 
drought-tolerant plants,
and gravel groundcover, all arranged very beautifully to highlight the glorious view.
The garden I visited yesterday, however, Sharon's garden, is quite different. Amazingly, it has water, and lots of it. Water! In springs! In rivulets! In ponds! What a concept! Sharon's task has been to channel the water that flows from springs on her property, 
and to keep it from simply creating a swampy, mucky mess. She gets as little summer water as we do from the skies, but her ground provides her with more than she needs, and in fact almost more than she can handle. Her garden reflects this water abundance, with many little runs
and rills, small bridges, and one glorious pond. 
Sharon has further honored her setting by using stone from the nearby quarry for much of the hardscaping she has had installed.
She has remodeled the small cabin and the barn 
on her property so that they are good for another century while retaining their look of rural California. 
Dickey says the gardens she profiles 'stem from an appreciation of where they live, rather than a yearning for somewhere else'. Both Karen's garden and Sharon's garden breathe the spirit of the Santa Cruz mountains, here in Bonny Doon. They capture the essence of the surrounding beauty of the mountain and the chaparrel, the creeks, the rocks, the towering trees. They inspire in me a dream of my own garden, hoping that one day my garden will also clearly reflect the spirit of its place in this world.
4 comments:
Great pics...LOVE those trees!
Your posts look very interesting. I cross fingers for your continuation!
Ooh, isn't that book wonderful? Such very different, lovely gardens, all linked by a clear concept and impeccable execution. Great writing and photography, too.
Oh, lovely. I would so like to visit your Mediterranean gardens sometime. I love California.~~Dee
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