Would love to see pictures!

OK, Here come all my questions:
How much annual rainfall do you get where you live?

Where do you recommend getting plant material for such a garden?

Did you put in a drip system?

How big is your gravel garden?
Thanks for any answers,
Jill

Hi Jill,

It is one of my new year's resolutions to figure out my digitial camera and how to post photos.

I live in Sonoma County just north of San Francisco. I believe we get about 25-30 inches each year but it is between Nov to April/May. There is absolutely no rain from Memorial Day until after Halloween.

We do have some coastal fog however (Although I am about 45 miles inland) and gravel is great for trapping moisture.

I did not install a drip system at this garden. My intent with this garden was to receate a Mediterranean gravel garden for a medit climate and let it fend for itself after a first summer of hand watering to get it established. I 5/8" main drips runs along one edge that takes water to the side yard (A white garden) and I did tap into that for spaghetti tubing to three plants: the rose, the clematis cirrhosa, and a dwarf pear tree.

I planted it out last MArch, let April and May rains get it going and then I watered once or twice a month during the summer and fall. Things grew but I would not say they flourished or acted like they were on steroids. However, come the winter rains and everythign looked like it was on happy drugs. That is the nature of CA natives and other plants from Medit climes....they go into a summer dormancy to survive drought and perk up and grow during the winter moisture.

What looked great in the summer is absent in the winter: rosa multifidia nana, sedums (Although they are several inches high now), perovskia, CA penstemon, agastache, guara, verbena bonariensis.

What somewhat limped thru summer is looking dynamite now: hebes and parahebe perfoliata, several euphorbia culitvars, salvia dolomitica, salvia leucantha, ceonothus, artichoke, cistus cvs.

The grasses: CArex flagellifera and testica sp?, Heliotricton, blue gamma look great all year.

Many things were transplants/volunteers from other parts of my yard...the euphorbias, sedum, guara, grasses. Most of those things are pretty widely available.

I am also lucky enough to live near great nurseries that specialize in Mediterranean climate plants. I did mail order a few things from Joy Creek Nursery in Oregon but later found out I could have bought them locally had I driven a little farther.

I would guess this area is roughtly 30 by 40. I have a small central seating area with room for several chairs and a very small table

I just order seed from Thompson and Morgan for some annuals that love gravel that are Medit types: digitalis ferruginea, Echium vulgare, cerithe. I also just picked up some sweet South African bulbs that like our climate that blooom in winter ....dainty white flowers and are summer dormant....from the UC Berkely Botancial Gardens.

Hope this helps.

Happy Gardening, Claire

Claire,

Thanks for so much information!

I don't feel at ease with putting in that type of garden just yet. Not that I like to water! But....
man, would it be hard to buy plants and not water them when they needed it. Ugh!

Down here in my part of So. Calif we only get about 9 inches of rain a year. And like you that happens late fall to early spring. And unfortunately we have no fog.

Well, I think I will take a look at some pictures of the plants you are using by doing some web surfing. While I like Mediterranean plants and Calif natives, I still like them best in other people yards!

Thanks for opening up some options!
Jill