Helen Dillon’s magical garden outside of Dublin

Yikes! The trip I’ve been planning in my head for the last 10 years is coming up in a week..and I’m barely ready.. if I’ll ever be! I’m going to Ireland with my sister and her two grown daughters, then on to England with my sister; the girls have to get back to work. One aside I think is interesting: our Irish trip was purchased on the Living Social site. it is basically a coupon, a very good deal for 7 nights at 4 different castles, and includes a car. We bought 3 of these deals, and got the 4th one free. I’ll let everybody know how it goes…

As for the garden, I look forward to publishing more information after my visit. From the photos it appears to be exuberant in a restrained sort of way..this is the gardening of my dreams but it will never happen in Southern California. Helen has a lovely website: www.dillongarden.com.

On the web:

Hypertufa is a lightweight material that can be mixed and made into a container that resembles something made out of volcanic rock. Many botanical gardens offer classes in making hypertufa containers over the year, and they are easily made at home. There are 2 classes coming up soon:

Saturday, May 5 @ the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants (www.programs@theodorepayne.org)

Saturday, may 19 given by San Diego Master Gardeners (www.mastergardenerssandiego.com)

Ahhhhhhh.… the time of the garden tours has finally arrived! Here are some of the best, from North to South:

• The Ventura Botanical Garden 4th Annual Spring Garden Tour on May 5. (www.venturabotanicalgarden.com)
• The Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase features 80 drought resistant gardens on April 21. (www.marvistagreengardenshowcase.blogspot.com)
• Pacific Palisades Spring Garden Tour will be held on Sunday, April 29 from 12 — 4 pm rain or shine. (pacpalgardenclub.org)
• The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Tour, in Pasadena on April 29 and Los Angeles May 6. (www.gardenconservancy.org)
• The venerable Venice Garden and Home Tour is on May 5. (www.venicegardentour.org)
• Shipley Nature Center Spring Plant Sale and Open House on April 21. (www.shipleynature.org)
• Men at Work Garden Tour in San Clemente sounds intriguing on April 28. (www.sanjuanchurch.com)
• Another venerable venue, The Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour is May 5–6 and takes place from Long Beach to San Clemente. (www.heardsgardentour.com)
• The California Native Plant Garden Tour is a self-guided tour of Orange County native plant gardens on May 5. (www.occnps.org)
• And finally the San Diego Native Plant Tour in San Diego on April 28 — 29. (www.cnpssd.org)

There are many more tours than those I have listed, and all can be found on search engines. I just want to thank all the garden owners, clubs and organizations who work so hard giving us the opportunity to be inspired by these wonderful gardens!

A greeter at Lotusland

I am never disappointed by Lotusland. Set in the Montecito area south of Santa Barbara, these singular gardens were imagined and willed to life by the vivacious Polish opera singer Ganna Walska. Madame Walska purchased the estate in 1941 and spent the next 43 years of her life designing unusual display gardens with exotic plants. Among her collections are rare cacti, palms, euphorbias and some of the oldest and most valuable cycads in existence.

Is it real?

Madame Walska was larger than life and lived life to the fullest.  Part of her pink Mediterranean mansion has been recently opened as a very special small museum with her gowns, jewels and photos on display. There is so much to see at Lotusland that I could never cover it on this one paltry page. Their website is www.lotusland.org and tour reservations are taken at this number: 805–969-9990.

An idea to copy…

In reviewing the gardens of Lotusland for this post, I realized how high maintenance my small garden is, and how I need to find a way to simplify it. Thank you, Madam Walska —  without a staff like yours, simple is best!

On the web:

The fol­low­ing botan­i­cal gar­dens offer lots of classes and events; they are get­ting very active now that Spring is here. You can find their links under “Find a nursery/​Botanical Gar­dens” in the left col­umn of this page.

• Los Ange­les Arboretum
• The Theodore Payne Foun­da­tion for Wild­flow­ers and Native Plants
• Des­canso Gardens
• Hunt­ing­ton Botan­i­cal Gardens
• San Diego Botan­i­cal Gardens

Starfish

My friend Joan took these 2 photos, at the beach near her home. I love to snorkel because I always find an undersea garden when I do. She didn’t have to put on a batting suit or brave Great Whites to get these shots.

Anemone or urchin?

And then there is the succulent garden as underwater theatre! The award winning design below is from Solano Succulents of San Diego County, a choice nursery devoted to succulents and cactus (www.solanosucculents.com). Why is it that underwater plants and succulents look so much alike? Or do they?

Solano Succulents goes underwater

On the web:

The following botanical gardens offer lots of classes and events; they are getting very active now that Spring is approaching. You can find their links under “Find a nursery/Botanical Gardens” in the left column of this page.

• Los Angeles Arboretum
• The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants
• Descanso Gardens
• Huntington Botanical Gardens
• San Diego Botanical Gardens