Plants with Benefits by Helen Yoest

"Tell me what you do with the food you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are. Some turn their food into fat and manure, some into work and good humor, and others, I’m told, into God.”~ Zorba the Greek 
~ Nikos Kazantzakis

Displayed with matching seed packet, lace garter and cherries charm- this is a natural engagement or wedding party gift

 The  title, Plants with Benefits, is subtle.  The subtitle, An Uninhibited Guide to the Aphrodisiac Herbs, Fruits, Flowers and Veggies in Your Garden. is to the point. Our gardens are our Edens, the starter to more loving (and for the younger set) more fruitful lives. 

Side yard Orchard

Herbs and flowers offer aromatic foreplay. The birds in the garden, the cook singing in the kitchen, these are love songs. Produce is tactile to finger and tongue. When at last you taste the labor of love from the kitchen, you are entranced. Plants don't just come with nutritional benefits: Helen Yoest may not have set out to write a botanical Kama Sutra, but her  teasing text  lively waft and weave of lore and legend attached to why the plants in her recipes are so darn sensual. 

Offertory arrangement of fruit on display with Chinese Floral Arts Exhibit at Los Angeles County Arboretum and Garden 

Plants with Benefits intrigues with hints from history. Casanova ate celery before his legendary hookups. Alexander Dumas sipped on almond soup in prelude to satisfying his mistress.  This is a book in need of a matching naughty board game or crossword puzzle. How much fun would that be to develop?

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

Lydia 

Santa Barbara GWA Tour 5- Seaside Gardens~ Carpinteria ~What Love and Gardens have in common

Gardens and love have this in common. In the beginning, there is a basic concept of what is wanted, but only with patience (including trial and error) is there the possibility of creating something breathtaking. 

Because our wants evolve through experience- that something may not look anything like our original vision. 

We followed the direction the sheep pointed from the parking lot

Following  the curve of the ocean south towards Ventura lies  the incorporated town of Carpinteria. This would be our last stop before home. Rounding that last turn off the freeway, rain pounded the car's roof with jackhammer ferocity.

We were so thankful that on Super Bowl Sunday in the pouring rain, the gates were kept open for our merry band of writers. 

When the Spaniards explored this coastal town, they named it for the carpenter shop. The industrious Chumash tribe took advantage of local tar deposits, mixing with pine pitch to construct sea-worthy canoes. 

Gerry listens to Sam's accent- he was born not far from where she went to college in the UK

 Greeting us with cookies and hot beverages where an overhang gave us a shot of staying momentarily dry , Sam Mayberry explained how the retail area is surrounded by 12 demonstration gardens. Each vignette is designed to show what a little plant will look in maturity; how it will relate to the landscape as a whole. 

Umbrellas up, we fanned out across 3 walkable acres of shops, nooks and gardens. Ideas everywhere. 

A patchwork of succulents sleeping under lath. 

Books to educate and inspire (some of these authors I've met at GWA events- how cool is that!) 

A gift shop chock full of garden and garden-them accouterments.  A cricket for the hearth- stained glass stepping stones for outside- a carved stone own as at home with contemporary and craftsman settings. 

This is what Seaside Gardens is famous for. Breathtaking moments more commonly associated with arboretums and botanical gardens than retail nurseries.  The white blossom-laden bush in the foreground- meet Michelia doltstopa. An evergreen cousin to magnolias- to discover its fragrance alone was worth the trip. 

I loved this spot where visual texture in juxtaposed paving materials added interest to a simply planted pathway. 

If you have loved ones slow to understand the high-color potential of a low water landscape-  share these pictures- 

Hot pink dwarf euphorbia 

Cast metal salmon- time and temp artfully told.

Darkness was now descending faster than the rain. My notes and camera were tucked under my jacket for protection. We have a list- of wishes from Seaside and measurements from our garden.  We're planning to return north with an empty truck and full wallets.

I never knew my grandparents. My vision of  Eden was what I thought the garden of a grandmother I never knew  have been. The purpose of the vision- a grandmother's garden- this never changed, but how it is articulated is authentic to the people we grew to be, not of people only imagined. 

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

 Lydia E Plunk

Southern California Garden Show Season Opener - Part 1 of 2

The Speaker's Area entrance

April. How I wish you were two months, not one. So much to do. Including take in garden shows and tours. The season opener this year: the Southern California Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza. 

With all that needs to be done in my own garden and the pile of paper needing personal attention, why leave home? For the same reason God gave man the Sabbath and cultures celebrate. It is good to look up. To commune and to learn. 

It took 3 authors to compile the authoritative California Native Plants for the Garden- Carol Bornstein, David Fross and Bart O'Brien. Don't you just love the serape the Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens displayed it on? 

At home, my 'Ida Red' iris  from Greenwood Garden just finished its 5 month-long  extended blooming season. That performance earned it some shopping for companions. At the show, the horticulturist's wife and daughter  were wonderful about helping me choose garden- mates to pretty-up its stand in my garden.  The larger bold pink is a regal  geranium named 'Belinda'. The prom queen will need to be cut back 70% in the fall. Next spring , from her cuttings will spring joyous progeny ):- 

Aurelia from Greenwood garden 

These miniature Martha Washington geraniums - 'Aurelia' - these are simply brilliant defining the waist of a planter box or edging the garden path. 

Fern farmer  Jim Boehme expanded on what belongs in the garden designer's repertoire of California natives- hiking in our local hills and mountains, in the shade along stream beds are ferns. Among his collection sold to collectors and commercial aggregates are the indigenous 'Woodwardia  fimbriata' and the lovely immigrant  Korean Rock fern  'Polystichum tsus-simense'. Deep green and well behaved, it deserves to be in more landscapes. You can check out  the Fern Factory's  extensive collection of specialties  here .

Stay tuned. The handsome young man at the counter of the all soil solutions specialist  ENRECOS  expanded upon the wonders of worm composting- sharing that besides succulents and natives "This is the year of the dahlia." 

The next edition of the blog will tell you more about the  artists who sparked a  garden craze.

Next up-  you will be treated to some plant-envy inducing introductions, garden hints and highlights. Including introducing you to the Fullerton based mosaic artists whose work is shown above. Then it is on to the Fullerton Open Gardens Tour... 

Until then- Take time to do something to make the world more beautiful. 

The First Estate of Beverly Hills~ Home and Garden Tour

“Gardens are a form of autobiography.”

~Sydney Eddison,

 Growing Older with Your Garden: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older

In 1906, noted east coast landscape designer, Wilbur David Cook, Jr. drew plans to turn land  mostly barren ~ or hospitable mostly for unfussy lima bean crops~ into a garden-centric community named Beverly Hills. With prices beginning at $900 for lots measuring a minimum of 80 x 160' in "the flats", the lots largely languished until a pair of newlyweds got lost looking for the Los Angeles Country Club.

Virgina Robinson and her husband, Harry, fell in love with the unending views from a particularly barren  knoll  above Sunset Blvd. From the plateau, the dreamers and shakers  envisioned an Italian inspired home surrounded by terraced gardens, which once complete, exemplify the seamless indoor- outdoor California lifestyle. 

When the young couple returned from an extended vacation in 1911, it was to a formal home straddling the hillside. Built of reinforced concrete, their villa took full advantage of the spectacular views which stretched across the LA basin to the mountains , slinging back all the way to Catalina Island, twenty miles offshore in the opposite direction.

This view is near where Mrs. Robinson started her mornings. From her room, she  would have picked her outfit for the day from a notebook filled with illustrations and  fabric samples of her impressive wardrobe.  A decision made, an assistant was dispatched, fetching the dress from the tailor's area. 

The family library is special in the lady of the house is reputed to have actually read every book in it. Before there were megalithic bookstores, the place to purchase books was JW Robinson's Departments stores. Mrs. Robinson's book collection undoubtedly was built from the first offerings delivered from the warehouse stockroom.

When Alex Haley's Roots was released, I was an assistant buyer in the downtown LA headquarters. On the morning of the booksigning, a line of people wrapped more than completely  around the full city- block multi story department store and up the stairway to the second floor book department.  Such response to an author was unprecedented. Every clerical worker was pulled out of their office and into action. The pre-purchased books pulled from the employees for the customers. When my copy was replaced with the writer's autograph inscribed, my volume instantly and forever remains one of my most precious possessions.

Shortly before her death in 1977 , the first lady of Beverly Hills bequeathed her estate to Los Angeles County. The government entity, in concert with the non-profit Friends of the Robinson Gardens, preserve the estate for  public enjoyment. This extraordinary look into the inspired lifestyle of the irrepressible Virgina Robinson is is open for escorted tours via advance reservation. 

 I know. The restricted hours of the tours and LA Traffic make visiting the garden in real life difficult.  Which is why I will dedicate the next few posts to bringing you to the world that Harry and Virginia built.  Surviving her husband by 4 decades, her home and garden are the epitome of  how a physical space can survive to speak in silent autobiography. 

When we're finished, we will glide over to The Ivy Restaurant, on Robertson, for lunch. My daughter-in-law recommended it for my friend and I. Besides picking my son, recommending this divine spot for refreshment goes to Shannon's impeccable taste.

 Dear Readers- Thank you for your patience while I was off the grid. Its a bit of a hullabaloo catching up after a week exploring the wonder that is Colorado. Not helped one bit by Google eating 4 hours of work in the wee hours of this morning. The words were so delicious, we shouldn't  blame the Internet for swallowing whole):-  

Decide to Be Happy

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.

 ~James Openheim

A bed of "Ida Red' Iris growing at Argyle Acers, TX There is one blooming in my side yard- it is the 2012 inspiration for that section of the garden. When Gerry goes back to work I am planning a planting week to celebrate God's continued blessing.

The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy; I mean that if you are happy you will be good.

- Bertrand Russell

Happiness is a Serious Problem is the Dennis Prager book that changed my life. If the local Goodwill Store has sold out- Amazon carries.

 There are times when happiness will not be at hand. Life has those moments when she is so unfair, so cruel. Those are the times we need to be in prayer. At all other times, happiness is  a decision from which blessings flow.

My mother. Ethel Maria Sepulveda Lent as Navy WAVE occupational therapist

"What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful."

- Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Yesterday, Epiphany, 3 Kings Day, was the holiday celebration of her youth in Puerto Rico. In counting my blessings- having her as my mother is always on the list. Her life was not easy. She rarely complained. She never ranted. She just got on with it. With a smile. Eager to be back in her garden when her "work" was done.
It was my mother's decision that as long as she had a garden, she could be happy. When that was no longer possible, she passed the trowel, so to speak. It became my daughterly duty to coax from mother nature as many bouquets as the season allowed. Her happiness, despite circumstances that lesser women would have sunk in despair over, was a gift that continues past her time on earth.

The Outdoor Room featuring Jamie Durie



An audience of hundreds on a June-gloomy morning

 The world of gardening has a reputation for staid reserve. Enter Jamie Durie to kick the energy up several notches.  This man knows how to move and hold an audience's attention.  A GOOD attribute for a man with a mission: as humans we are intrinsically drawn to gardens: we should give in. With intent and intelligence.

Once upon a time, Jamie originally entertained crowds as a member of Australia's Manpower.  Think Australian Chippendale revue on a goodwill tour. The Australian of Sri Lankan descent also trained with the of the cast of Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas from 1994 to 1996, and mastered a specialised trapeze movement, the Russian flying act. Forget toastmasters, more speakers should learn to dance and fly through the air before standing in front of an audience.  Dressed this day in his signature plaid work shirt, denim and boots at where Roger's Gardens, featured him as a speaker, I can't say I remember a "talk" ever feeling so delightfully  choreographed. Drop in some music, and this event had the entertainment value of a Broadway production.

What Jamie learned as an entertainer, he now puts to use as is a serious horticulturist and landscape architect  with a TV show. The Outdoor Room is one of the few "G"( for garden) shows left on the HGTV Network.

Jamie admires the copper wire wrapped rain chains

The former scout and forever outdoor adventurist is on a mission to help people create gardens that will draw them outside. Gardens that are cohesive, sustainable, diverse and appropriate to the people and setting.

 Ron Vanderhoff, Roger's Gardens General Nursery Manager, explains the product mix of the Costa Mesa gardener's Mecca as  50% plant material and 50% life-style supporting products- making Roger's Gardens simply the best venue to hear the ideal Jamie preaches.   

The Outdoor Room is a book you can read- or even just look at the 200 pictures and absorb what Jamie has learned about what makes garden a memorable  draw.

Below are some of the images that morning that underscored Jamie's landscape design philosophy- to draw people outside and hold us there-

Gardens need destinations. Places to set and enjoy both company and the surroundings. The most romantic dining rooms I have ever encountered had candlelight and a fireplace. Here, a candle lit chandelier and propane tank dressed as a fire feature make for an absolutely seductive setting.

 

Seating should never be lined up against the wall. It should be arranged for conversation. Note: sheared shrubbery creates a soft curtain of privacy.  Within it, a micro climate is created that would allow you to expand your plant palette.

Above, a Great Room in the great outdoors. Note the focal points- the architecture  and amenities are both manufactured and grown -creating a more interesting balance than if only one or the other had been used to design the seductively functional space.

A simple urn shape covered in a highly geometric and textured finish

Alone, planted or as a fountain, a touch of time-worn elegance

The sculptural qualities of the seaside rain chains

locally crafted by Sunstones of  stone and glass to suit your personal color preference 

A group of 3 or more on the house have the effect of multiple strands of jewelry

Fired Scenic Tile provides nearly indestructible artwork



Imagine the tile surrounded with glowing red and green tropicals



Turned wood Mushrooms - wouldn't they make a wonderful statement standing up in a tray of moss?

 Be still my heart. A Typhoon Polished Green Jade Table, an organically shaped 36'" x48", with natural edges, is surrounded by 4 stump chairs. What a conversation piece this is. If it were for occasional use- I love the stumps appearance. However, if this was for frequent meals, for comfort's sake, I would pair the table with cushioned forged iron chairs. If the budget allowed- the stumps could be worked into the landscaping for party seating.

I am hoping the $4,999. combo finds a home in Diamond Bar and I can write more about it

Jamie looks terrific and I have a serious case of bed-head hair

My one question of the only man I've met who has had experience with both. Which is more interesting to garden with- deer or kangaroo? 

Debra Prinzing has a wonderful post with pictures of Jamie's own personal space.

Oh, yeah, before I forget. Kangaroos are more "interesting" than deer.

The Virtues of Laughter

Reno and Tahoe listen to "mom" reading

"Some determined advocates of the vegetable system maintain that the teeth and stomach of the monkey correspond, in structure, very closely with that of man, yet it lives on fruits- therefore, if man followed nature, he would live on fruits and vegetables. But though the anatomical likeness between man and monkeys is striking, yet it is not complete; the difference may be doubtless is precisely that which makes a difference of diet necessary to nourish and develop their dissimilar natures. Those who should live as the monkeys do would most closely resemble them."- Sarah Josepha Hale
"The Good Housekeeper" 1841

In Victorian America, the widowed Mrs Hale was something of a cross between Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey. Much of the little tome, picked up long ago on an adventure in Washington, D.C., is dry and practical. Then every so many pages, the "wisdom of the day" passed to modern sensibilities- makes giggles erupt like water welling over the top of the fountain.

In the spirit of Mrs. Hale who dispensed all sorts of advice on health and well-being : in Lydialand, laughter is good medicine. It doesn't require a prescription, but prevents all sorts of maladies of the stomach and spirit.

Laughter is an aphrodisiac of the first order. Never fall in love unless he can make you laugh.

Laughter is an asset. Keep some stored away for an emergency

Laughter is one indulgence that carries no calories, and unless it is at someone else's expense, no guilt.