Recently I photographed at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, about an hour from my home, and needed to arrive before dawn. The Bancroft Garden is one of the most iconic gardens in America, full of mature cactus and succulents in a summer-dry climate, a testimonial to Ruth’s plant choices 50 years ago and successful gardening [...]
In the early 1960’s, ten miles of California’s Sonoma Coast was designated for development, in an era before there was any regulatory agency overseeing coastal development. The Sea Ranch became legendary in the annals of California Coastal development, and as a result, the California Coastal Commission has clamped down on every permit. Yet, despite the hundreds of [...]
I am on the road, photographing California native plants, and just too dang busy to think about anything else. My post will just be a “best of” selection from a presentation I gave at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. So here is a portfolio selection of great gardens using California natives. For those of you in [...]
It is a great joy to be hunting for photographs in a garden. Having a camera in hand (or on a tripod) is an excuse to look carefully, to find a photo that will do justice to the beauty of plants. Finding a photo is a deliberate process and I frequently find myself looking for color [...]
Here in California, there have been some rumblings about gardens wasting water. Can we afford water for gardens in an era of limited resources? Isn’t our native habitat beautiful enough? Do we want to have gardens here? Well of course, I am biased. I am a gardener. And yes, we certainly do want to have [...]