Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Insomnia

Does blogging lead to insomnia? Or is it the other way around.....

Last week I had tea with David McCrory at a cafe a few towns away. David and Roger Raiche, aka Planet Horticulture, are the award-winning design team who created the Entry Borders at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. I've written about their lush planting style more than once. For Gardens Illustrated magazine I profiled their home and garden in Berkeley. 

But shortly after moving from Chicago to the Bay Area, when my first book, West Coast Gardenwalks was published, I began writing 'Dig This'; a gardening feature that appeared in the San Francisco Examiner. The borders provided the inspiration for an early column: An ode to the vast, and unusual plant palette Planet Horticulture created for a border situated in sun, and another in a shadier setting across the way. These compositions of exotic succulents, bamboos, and flowering species from Australia, New Zealand, and the Cloud Forest are anchored by the contrasting forms and textures of rare trees and shrubs.

And so, last Friday I accompanied David as he walked me through a private garden they designed in Larkspur; a home nestled on a street defined by towering Redwoods. I failed to bring my camera!  Missing the chance to photograph an unforgettable specimen of Lapageria rosea (Chilean Bellflower) in full glorious bloom.

It's 3:30am.... and I must return to bed.

p.s.

To view a portfolio of  Roger and David's projects, visit their web site,

1 comment:

  1. Could there be something in family DNA that pushes you out the door to toil in the soil. I believe I have never walked out the door without feeling the need to attend to something in the yard. There is no contest between the pool and dirt. The dirt wins hands down day after day. A pair of clippers and a shovel perhaps a pair of gloves sun or clouds the yard calls my name.
    Love Richard

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