THE COASTAL GARDENER:Recalling the growth in ’06

For me, the past year has been a collection of great gardens, friendly gardeners and public and private landscapes.

Gardening triumphs, as always, were interspersed with a few failures, in my own garden as well as beyond. Here are few of my thoughts on the past gardening year.

In public spaces, several developments were encouraging. The beginning of what should be Orange County’s greatest gardening resource took its first steps on Oct. 25 at a luncheon in Irvine.

The Great Park Botanical Garden, a 21st century garden, led by Teddie Ray and Rick Hume, was introduced by the Great Park design team, including lead designer Ken Smith, landscape architect Mia Lehrer, environmental artist Mary Miss, and ecologist Stephen Handel.

Much work lies ahead, but the seed was planted, and our county will soon be home to a world-class botanical garden.

Orange County’s public spaces present a legacy of grassy parkways, unimaginative plantings and climate-unsuitable plants. Nonetheless, repetitive overuse of a handful of plants continued to give way slightly in 2006.

A few public parkways and streetscapes were planted that are inspiring and imaginative. These new and innovative public landscapes also show us how we can conserve our precious resources.

Specific examples of imaginative and appropriate plantings can be seen on Jeffrey Road between Trabuco Road and Irvine Boulevard in Irvine, or on Aliso Creek Road near Summerfield in Aliso Viejo. These street-side plantings give us a glimpse of what is possible with our public funds. Good job!

Unfortunately, the same opportunities were missed during the $32-million upgrade of El Toro Road — an odd yet routine mix of junipers, bird-of-paradise, crepe myrtle, daylilies and turfgrass.

The most progressive and forward-thinking landscapes in the county are taking place at the Shady Canyon development in the hills between Newport and Irvine.

The public areas, entrances, roads, clubhouse and community center are noteworthy. The remarkable landscapes at Shady Canyon connect nature, gardens and people.

On a scale never achieved before in Orange County, these landscapes actually seem to fit our climate and lifestyle. Bravo!

Three other public happenings during 2006 deserve mention.

Close to home, at Sherman Gardens in Corona del Mar, a stunning new succulent planting by college student Matthew Maggio was unveiled. It is a must-see.

The new $200 million Fullerton Arboretum Visitor Center opened in March as one of the first “green” buildings in Orange County.

Farther north, the internationally acclaimed Huntington Library and Gardens continued progress toward a fall 2008 opening of its 12-acre Chinese Garden. Six hundred tons of limestone boulders from China are an impressive sight, and the lakes are already filled with water.

Back at home, as with any gardener, the year offered success as well as failure. Additions during 2006 to my eclectic array of plants were 675 plants and 288 unique varieties.

At this point in my gardening life, the plants I crave are those that are likely of interest to only a handful of people.

My personal plant obsession has grown beyond sanity to border upon addiction. My current narcotic plant of choice is an obscure selection of tiny plants known as Oxalis, specifically those from a small area of South Africa. Much to my wife’s dismay, my Oxalis collection continued to expand in 2006, numbering over 150 varieties.

Plants will always fluctuate in popularity. This year we continued to see big gains in the popularity of low-chill blueberries, succulents and Mediterranean plants. Meanwhile, other trends declined; noticeably cottage gardening, water gardening and lawn care.

Gardeners generally enjoy seeing the efforts of others, and I was blessed in 2006 with visits to some incredible gardens along the West Coast and abroad.

The year began with gardens along the Mendocino Coast, then Berkeley and the Monterey Peninsula. Spring was spent in local gardens, especially in Laguna Beach, and some fabulous gardens in the hills above Tustin.

Summer was occupied with gardens in Oregon — Portland, Salem, Corvallis and Eugene. A July trip to six botanical gardens and nine private gardens from Seattle to Vancouver was spectacular (including Cistus Design, Van Dusen and Butchart).

But the highlight was standing with Linda Cochran in her famous garden on Bainbridge Island — wow!

September found me in England for return visits to the world-famous gardens at Kew and Wisley.

Professionally, dozens of garden centers were visited, but the year’s highlight was to Trentham Garden Centre, the brainchild of Alan Roper. Two hours north of London, this stands as the finest garden center I have ever seen.

Finally, two more notes.

First, was the long awaited publishing of my friend and mentor Dave Fross’ book, “Native Plants for California Gardens.”

Lastly, was the retirement of John Lenanten as a professor of horticulture at Orange Coast College. A horticulture instructor for 47 years, 36 at Orange Coast College, his enthusiasm, guidance and compassion for all things growing has influenced thousands, myself included.

RON VANDERHOFF is the nursery manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar.

ASK RON

All through my neighborhood there is a cactus-like plant in full bloom. What is it? The two-foot spikes are bright red and look almost like torches.

LEE

Corona del Mar

You are definitely referring to Aloe arborescens, sometimes called tree aloe, although it is a shrub in our area. The large, colorful flower spikes are profuse during the winter months and are also attractive to hummingbirds. It is especially noticeable right now in coastal gardens from Corona del Mar to Laguna Beach. This species, like aloe vera, can be used to treat burns and other skin ailments. In fact, Aloe arborescens was used extensively to treat irradiation burn victims at Hiroshima.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail stumpthegardener@ rogersgardens.com, or send to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.