Part 2- GWA Santa Barbara Tour~2 Rancho La Huerta~ The Old Mission Santa Barbara Garden

"It is not easy to convey a sense of wonder, let alone resurrection wonder, to another. It's the very nature of wonder to catch us off guard, to circumvent expectations and assumptions. Wonder can't be packaged, and it can't be worked up. It requires some sense of being there and some sense of engagement."

~ Eugene H. Peterson 

To experience a historic garden, to learn how people engaged land and life in the context of time longer than what a generation walks, a garden is more compelling  than a walled up study hall.

The beauty of Santa Barbara is far more complex than what we learned from our 4th grade text books when when we arrive at the chapter on California missions. Santa Barbara is the central belly button of in the string of missions run up the coast. Its location was set by need, its scenic beauty shaped by disaster as well as by man. 

Photo from SantaBarbara.com 

In 1769, the Spanish Crown authorized 21 missions to be built from San Diego northward. Each was a day's ride by donkey. The missions were not only an exercise in spreading Catholicism: the national interest included the political motive to forestall Russian colonization of coveted territory. 

Huerta (pronounced Where-tah) is Spanish for a kitchen garden.  Even in hostile territory, man cannot live by bullets alone. Every settlement required a fertile space, with access to water and reasonable protection from marauders be dedicated to food crops.   Seeds from the new and old worlds were tended with prayerful reverence. 

While the actual Mission Era was bracketed within 65 years- its effects are the foundation of modern California commerce and culture.

             

Distinguished educator Jerry Sortomme channels reams of knowledge to GWA group

Fast forward a couple centuries

As dawn was breaking on June 29, 1925, a 6.8 earthquake violently shook beneath the Santa Barbara Channel. The nearby earthen Sheffield dam; the ground beneath it liquefied. The dam collapsed; a knee-high wave of water shoved cattle and all which lay in its path to the sea. Downtown Santa Barbara's buildings trembled until most of what remained was rubble. The mission was slightly spared, its facade significantly damaged, the collection of statues- destroyed.  

Three men were singled out as civic heroes for turning off the city gas and electricity on that day, preventing full-scale destruction and carnage. The civic fathers and citizens used the opportunity to re-brand the city's architecture from mostly Moorish to Spanish Colonial.  

                              

The land near the mission was not a priority.  For some decades, where The Huerta now flourishes, it would have fairly been described as a dumping ground. However, you can't keep a good garden down. As a family's culture is expressed in the meals we serve, California's civic history is most authentically expressed in horticulture.  

When the time was ripe,rubble was reclaimed from the neighborhood, re-purposed into walks and walls. The terrain tamed into usable terraces. In 2003, the La Huerta Historic Gardens project officially kicked off.  Jerry Sortomme,  Professor Emeritus of Environmental Horticulture at Santa Barbara City College was named La Huerta Manager.

Bananas and Citrus 

Citrus were grow from seed

Artichoke allowed to set seed shows its thistle ethnicity

Not all produce was consumed.  A portion must be saved to parent future crops. 

 Dr. Ein Sheimer in Israel

 Apples are not a crop associated with low-chill California coastal communities, but the Anna Apple, developed by Dr. Ein Sheimer in Israel, thrives at La Huerta.

The use of spare Spanish roof tiles to mark plant names is a practical take-away  from the garden.

Not just for plants which are showing,

But for dormant plants. Or to hold a spot in the garden. Here, the common name of seasonal aster marks the spot of what will follow is written in English

On the tile reverse, the Latin designation is neatly printed.

*Note -  When turning tiles over, be careful of what might be hiding underneath. Spiders like dark spaces.

Image of Erigon 'Sea Breeze' by San Marcos Growers

( l-r) Betsy Green compares notes with Nan Sterman  

We were honored to have Betsy J Green, a well-regarded local  history and garden writer who volunteers at La Huerta. She joined Jerry to assure the dozen and a half gardener communicators that our bushels of questions would be addressed as quick as we could think of them- or e-mail later. 

Archaeological sites are treated far differently than back when I was a child. In the 1960's, it was no big deal to take souvenir gleanings. At that time,  a construction worker at Santa Barbara City College took part of this assemblage home. It moved with him to another state. And back. Realizing, a couple decades later, that the fashioned rock was best kept in public hands, he returned the item to the professor. 

The rock was stored at the Environmental Horticulture Department for years. 

OMSB Director Tina Foss determined the rock was  Chumash era- or earlier- it

was approved for viewing at Old Mission Santa Barbara. It became part of a history-scape presentation. Which is like old school dioramas- only way cooler. These displays are life-sized, contain authentic material and you can walk right up.

Likely, the rock was used to grind acorns and native grains- corn came to this part of the world after a pestle ground the rock's concave indentation. What was the stump used for is not known, but certainly sparks conjecture. The state of our sense of wonder was now reborn. 

When the Professor asked the premier begonia expert of the time, Rudy Ziezenhenne if any American indigenous begonias were used in Alta California missions, he was presented with the species 'Blood of Christ' or in Spanish 'Sangre de Cristo'.

The common name denotes the resemblance of unopened red flowers to drops of blood. The symbolism of stems gathered in church vases needs not explanation. 

Until we meet again, Thank YOU for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.


La Huerta is located in a restricted zone. Tours are limited and by advance registration only. Please link to the contact page.

Rose Society of Saddleback Valley Elegant and Enchanting- Part IV

Forever Young: The gardens of Patricia and Steve Buice enchant with stories abounding with what a life well-lived looks like. 

If you spent 4th grade in the California classroom you studied missions. Remember building a model of sugar cube "adobe". This rustic representation of our heritage in a rusted wheelbarrow rates an A++. 

Why should the inside dining room have all the decorative fun? The blessing of the Southern California region is how much time we can spend out-doors. Objects of art do not have to be expensive to be full of memories.  See them and dream. 

When my soul departs,  I would not mind if my remains were set in a ginger jar and positioned to watch over the garden. 

What makes Steve and Patricia's recessed entry so delightfully restful? Soft layers of design elements executed with the care of a traditional inside room. Colorful tile outlines the point of entry to the home. 

  

The expanse of a bare wall is tamed with a trio of art. A soft pad on the seat offers a place to put your feet up or a package beneath. Ferns. Fountain. A tracery of vines. 

Not just the portal for entry to their home- this is a place for private contemplation.  

Guests to the garden on the day of the tour were side yard guests, passing plump plantings of  sunshine  yellow iris then under the metal arch covered with roses set to shower their petals. 

Just past the gate, pet chickens welcome visitors. In a serious world it is important to find  triggers to childlike joy. To keep little farm animals makes one feel like living in a storybook farm. 

Nearby, a tea set is at ready for a party for two.  This is just one of many ideas I am saving up for when my granddaughter toddles under her own power):-  

Patricia shared that the late Bea Grow was a mentor to the couple. The doyenne of Orange County gardeners taught that when making a choice- "Go for the wow." In this case, with splashes of deepest blue. 

Little mice scampering between chunks of slag glass add just the right sense of humor. 

Ripe strawberries hanging off a a classic cement potted up  offer delicious contrast. 

Design note: the ancient appearance of the pot bridges the modernity of  the furniture to the many vintage elements of the garden. This is much more inviting than if an end table matching the set defined the furniture arrangement's outer edge.

If this garden had just this fountain, it would be enough. Lucky for us- there is still more. 

The lawn was as it should be, lush and large enough to play in. To lay on staring up at the stars then rollover to pick between all the shades of green; hunting for snails and other crawly and flying things. 

Fairies live in this garden. This one proudly showing off his fresh lilliputian harvest. 

Just to the side of the fairy's post is this lounge chair Patricia rescued from a garage sale. Steve reinforced it with rebar, stretching landscape fabric over the horizontal frame- forming the cushion on which his wife quilted a coverlet of moss and ivy. 

Shade is from above. At night- can you imagine the romance these vintage hanging lamps sourced from e-Bay have seen? Hubba. Hubba):- 

Steve explains to my friend, Marilyn Bowery, how he built the platform to the tree house from used lumber he was given in 1986. He is pointing up to where the little ice-cream soda style chair his daughter sat in when she was a sapling and the tree was not much taller than the railed platform. As the tree grew, they let the branches carry the chair to where it marks how far upwards the journey in life has carried them. 

Nature and art. This magic little scene is just below the bridge leading to the tree house. It seems a good spot to rest. Something a garden should have lots of are places to rest the eye. To contemplate that the real world is not just work and trouble. The real world is ripe with love and goodness. If we only care enough to look. To create. To enjoy. To give thanks for. 

Until we meet again, thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.

Rose Society of Saddleback Valley Elegant and Enchanting- Part III

"Begin with the end in mind." 

~Stephen R Covey

One of the differences between humans and God's other creatures is we can have an emotional reaction to a photograph. This gift is a sign of our significance to Him.  I look at this picture and feel the ocean cooled breeze as it was that day; smile at the thought of seagulls floating across invisible currents. I feel the warmth of the open hospitality of the homeowners. 

 This view is certainly where Rick and Julie Borgens began as they planned their home and garden. Every wall. Every stone. Every decorative object. 

Sea shells and succulents  inset into a recessed hallway are just the right note.  Usual items displayed unusually catapults the sum of artistic value above any individual component. 

 Blue walls. White wainscoting. Whale motifs.  The art sparks conversation that for whale-watching, 2013 was a stellar year. 

Two rooms. Two fireplaces. Both in sync stylistically with the one we passed on the way in (see the previous post). Rough- hewn surfaces hearken back to a day when hand craftsmanship was valued. 

A solid vintage cabinet holds down the bold shiny newness of the stainless steel barbecue  to a visual level comfortable with the classic New England influenced architecture.  

Note the stone backsplash.  Not only does it protect the flame from ocean breezes complicating the cooking process- it completely cocoons this living space from neighbors. The arch prevents its visual weight from being too heavy handed a design feature. 

 The back garden is casual- with little houses set about for feathered friends.  

A classic lantern serves as a terrarium on the sideboard.  For textile interest- a bit of fisherman's net  drops in just the right amount of rugged.  

This is a very hard home to leave. Don't you love the humor of a mermaid doorstop holding the door open for visitors to come- and when we must, leave? 

Design note- there is nothing wrong with changing up the hardscape. The trick is to have the materials relate in some fashion. The higher the traffic, the sturdier the footing should be. Hence the mortared-solid main walkway; with larger stones set casually within  a miniature creeping ground cover- a softer look of a  less traversed side path.  

And so we close this chapter, leaving as we came, happy to have been invited. 

Until we meet again- thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful. 

Happy Thanksgiving ~ What We Love About America

"Best of all is it to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song." 

-Konrad von Gesner

Plaque celebrating America on display in Jackson, Wyoming 

When I was fortunate enough to meet my husband on his International travels, my favorite question of people who visited the United States, was what impressions did they take back? 

The vastness of our land, the diversity of our people ~

Our friendliness. Our natural aversion to class distinctions. 

The changing of the seasons in Wyoming. The coldness of autumn's breath turns the leaves bright  while the angels  flocked the pine trees up higher in the mountains.

The greatness of this nation I shall always believe is inscribed in the coinage of the realm 

"In God We Trust"

What was the answer here when a child asked, "Are we there yet?"

 Before it was planes, trains and automobiles- immigrants crossed this continent-wide nation by  horseback and wagon.  When those failed, it was a very, very long walk. 

Sunshine breaking through in Idaho 

Modern transportation makes it easy to take for granted how fortunate we are to live at this very moment. 

Just traveling through my native Los Angeles County is equivalent to driving through a land  equal in acreage to the combined are of the states of Rhode Island and Delaware. The county's population is greater than 42 states in the Union. If it stood alone as a nation, our economy is the world's 8th largest.  

In addition, a normal year finds me mucking about gardens in nearby counties- San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.

The last quarter I was also blessed to travel the states of Colorado, Arizona ,Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. 

It is good to travel. It is even better to be back home in Diamond Bar, California.

God painted parts of Utah in Technicolor 

Folders are stuffed with stories to query editors for interest. Hoping to find my stocking filled with that most wonderful three letter word in a four letter sentence. 
"Yes- You are hired."

So much to do. But as Stephen R Covey wrote, "First things First. " 

It was about this time last year a medical professional in the  hospital room of a loved one shared his belief that "Life is a miracle." 

The beauty of the desert exemplifies of what he spoke. In nature's vastness, so much has to go right for the miracle of a butterfly to come across an oasis with food, water, nesting and shelter.  For God's grace, He deserves credit for the biggest backyard habitat ever. Our planet. 

It is tempting to give into being overwhelmed with so much stacked about me. Yet handling it all is as easy as the title to the Stephen R Covey book, putting "First things First. " 

And so I say goodbye. Not forever. Just long enough to express my gratitude to the Lord on high in the tradition of my faith, as a Christian. Spend quality time with family. Renovate the office. Re-write a mission statement. Then back to the race which is the writer's life. 

All images and words on this post are copyright protected by Lydia Plunk