Mediterranean plants – Gardens For Goldens

Originally, it was a mountain of tangled blackberries – home to snakes, thorns and the occasional bunny.

The brambles were replaced with raised blueberry beds – that fried in the summer heat and invited Bermuda grass, morning glory weeds and few blueberries.

Last fall, the bed frames were demolished to begin anew.

The vision was an extension of the adjacent California-themed garden.

The challenge: that bed sits near the top of the garden. When we get big winter rains, the water passes through and collects where the raised planters were until our clay soil will finally absorb it.

The solution: Mounds. Hills. Berms. Whatever you want to call them. They are raised high enough that the soil drains well.

Last fall, I brought in fresh soil and compost, covered them with cardboard, another layer of soil on top, and a final layer of mulch to let them “cook” over the winter, planting only those things that truly required fall planting. Maria and I created paths between the bed sections for weeding and planting access without compressing the soil.

And this spring, I filled the new beds to the brim with California natives and the Mediterranean standouts that I have long coveted.

The result exceeds my expectations already.

I know that I have installed more than the bed can handle long-term. But crowded beds ensure cooler roots in our hot, dry summers. And things can always be divided and moved in coming seasons.

The new beds are already bountiful and thriving in the conditions created for them.

Native Ceanothus, Poppy, Erysimum capitatum (“Western Wallflower”), California Fuchsia, Penstemon eatonii “Firecracker Penstemon,” Delta Sunflower, and Salvia spathacea “Hummingbird Sage.”

Mediterranean garden favorites: Crape Myrtle, Cerinthe major, Verbascum, Lion’s Tail, Blue Fescue, Verbena, Gaura…

And a little happy Penstemon and Geum thrown in for good measure.

It’s not to say that the Bermuda grass and morning glory weeds have not attempted a comeback. But it is just so much more enjoyable to do battle with them when surrounded with this beauty.

Lesson: Never be afraid to start anew.

Like our friends Bodie, 14

and Summer, 15 –

both beginning new chapters in their glory years because kindhearted people believed that their best beauty was still within.

“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. Yet that will be the beginning.” ~ Louis L’Amour

I have taken so much inspiration from my fellow gardeners at the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. With a season under our collective boots, there is a garden closer to home that I now appreciate even more.

It is the WPA Rock Garden at William Land Park in Sacramento.

This three-quarter acre gem is tucked inside the park,

between the quaint Fairytale Town, Sacramento Zoo, the outdoor theatre in the round,

and the duck pond.

It was originally built in 1940 as part of the New Deal’s Work Projects Administration – thus WPA – and has been our city’s hidden treasure for generations.

But it wasn’t always the oasis it has become.

A well-known local horticulturist, Daisy Mah, took over care of the garden in 1988 after it had been overgrown by ivy. This sounds like a familiar tale to our Homeward Bound volunteer gardeners.

Instead of the typical water-thirsty and shade-loving plants you find in neighboring gardens, she planted drought-tolerant plants from the Mediterranean climates.

The paths are laid with decomposed granite; the beds raised with low rock walls.

The naturalized mixture of grasses and perennials, flower and foliage, light and shadow remind me of Ina’s Cottage Garden…

with little surprises tucked into every corner.

Beginning with a budget that would not even buy you a night at the movies – ingenuity, propagation expertise and, as rumor has it, fertilizer originally contributed by the zoo animals, has created this meandering maze of delights.

Daisy Mah has announced her retirement from the City Parks and Recreation department this year.

What will happen with to the garden remains to be seen, with the economy already severely testing city resources.

A great community volunteer effort has risen to the task of maintaining the park, and some have worked for years with Daisy to maintain this wonder. Hopefully, the WPA Rock Garden will continue with this dedicated group.