View from Meditation Mount in Ojai

I had the opportunity to go to Ojai recently with my friends Kate and Joan. What a great trip, and so easy from Los Angeles. It’s a beautiful drive, especially along Pacific Coast Highway; there’s also a nice stretch along the ocean in Ventura. The Ojai Inn and Spa is the nicest place I’ve ever stayed. but there are many other great choices, including The Emerald Iguana. We had a tasty meal at Suzannes, shopped at Barbara Bowman for unique clothing, and drove up to Meditation Mount — the high point (literally) of the trip; the outstanding garden there is full of California natives. Garden lovers can wrap up the weekend at Lotusland outside Santa Barbara…perfect!!

Interesting paving pattern at Ojai Inn and Spa.

Nurseries in or near Ojai:

• Australian Native Plants Nursery (www.australianplants.com)
• Ortiz Nursery (805–646-2546)
• Flora Gardens (www.Floragardens.net)

Ojai attractions

• Meditation Mount: www.ojaievents.com (go to “by venue” and then Meditation Mount for a map)
• www.Emeraldiguana.com
• Ojai Inn: www.ojairesort.com
• www.suzannescuisine.com
• www.lotusland.org
• Barbara Bowman (805–646-2970)

On the web:

If you were ever going  to go to a garden tour, this is the weekend:

Saturday, 4/30:

• Encinitas Garden Festival and Tour (www.info@encinitasgardenfest.org)
• Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase (www.marvistagreengardenshowcase.blogspot.com)
• Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour / Orange County (www.heardsgardentour.com)

Sunday, 5/1:

• Garden Conservancy Pasadena Open Days (www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays)
• 52nd  Annual Garden Tour of the Santa Monica Bay Childrens Hospital Auxiliary (www.santamonicabayauxiliary.vpweb.com)
• Santa Monica Conservancy tour of 11 Gardens (www.smconservancy.org)

Escapism at its finest! I can’t say this Hawaiian nursery is the most gorgeous in the world — as I haven’t experienced them all (alas) — but it has to be close. Has anyone seen a big box store nursery as nice as this one or most neighborhood/speciality nurseries? We need to support them as they are all relatively small businesses in a slow economy — what would we do without them?

On the web:

• Wednesday, April 20: Stephen Orr lecture about his new book Tomorrow’s Garden; www.gardenconservancy.org
• Thursday, April 21: Lecture and Field Trip on Landscaping as if the Watershed matters at the Los Angeles Arboretum; jill.berry@arboretum.org or (626) 821‑4623 –preregistration required.

Bottle tree @ RBG

I am visiting my brother Scott and his wife Kate in Northern California. They live in Walnut Creek, about 25 miles east of San Francisco and at the foot of Mount Diablo (site of a recent controversy concerning the name “Mt. Devil”, but that’s another story). There is a treasure right down the street from their house, the very first project of the revered Garden Conservancy.  That would be Ruth Bancroft Gardens, dedicated to the  preservation of as fine a collection of water conserving plants as you will find on the planet. Started by it’s eponymous founder in 1971, the 3 acre garden is located on a fruit farm owned by the Bancroft family since the 1880’s. I have always found succulents easy to love for their form, color, ease of propogation and most of all architectural good looks. The succulent and cacti collection @ RBG is thrilling for it’s contrasting textures, forms and colors, especially in the spring.

The bottle tree (Brachychiton Rupestris) shown above is literally a giant succulent. Using it’s trunk for water storage, the Australian native  is slow growing up to 40′ in height; it doesn’t display the bottle shape until 15 years along. The good news is that if you have more money than time the bottle tree can be transplanted very easily.

Ruthbancroftgarden.org