Book Review – Reimagining the California Lawn: Water-conserving Plants, Practices, and Designs

Continuing on a road we have just begun to travel, this month’s book,  Reimagining the California Lawn: Water-conserving Plants, Practices and Designs gives us another look at drought tolerant plants from around the world and offers design ideas and practical solutions to complement our Mediterranean climate.

From greenswards and meadows to succulent and kitchen gardens, this book presents alternatives to the traditional lawn that can reduce water use, beautify the landscape, and attract birds and butterflies. The horticulturist authors of Reimagining the California Lawn, Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O Brien, wrote the award-winning book California Native Plants for the Garden.

“After considering the resources and maintenance that most California lawns demand – from heavy irrigation to regular applications of fertilizer to frequent mowing with power equipment – one conclusion becomes inescapable: we need to find alternatives to turf grass that are more environmentally sound.”

When you’re ready to remove or down-size your lawn, this inspiring book will be the perfect companion to help with the process. Reimagining the California Lawn is illustrated with more than 300 color photographs and offers a variety of plant palettes to choose from as you begin to create a more sustainable landscape.

The book’s publisher, Cachuma Press was founded by John Evarts and Marjorie Popper and has been a California corporation since 1991. Cachuma is a place name in the Santa Ynez Valley, where Cachuma Press is located. “Cachuma” comes from the name of a Chumash village on the Santa Ynez River which the Spanish spelled Aquitsumu. The Chumash word for the village, ‘Aqitsu’m, means “Constant Sign.”

For an interesting and cool plus, John and Marjorie were some of our first friends in the Santa Ynez Valley when our family moved there in 1991 and their daughter, Naomi went to school with, and was great friends with our daughter, Daisy.

Photo Credit: Image via Cachuma Press

I recently read that the official cocktail of the state of California is the Mai Tai, though who decided this, I do not know, but apparently it was invented in California at either Trader Vic’s or Don the Beachcomber. We would like to present, in our newsletter dedicated to California…

DAISY’S  MAITA’I

Makes one cocktail

1 oz Neisson Blanc (Rum Agricole)
1 oz El Dorado 8 (Aged amber rum)
1 oz Errand Curacao (Dry Curacao or substitute Triple Sec)
1 oz lime juice
3/4 oz Orgeat syrup
1/3 oz Hamilton 151 (Deep amber rum)

Add all ingredients except the Hamilton 151 to a cocktail shaker and fill with crushed ice.  Shake, shake, and shake until the shaker is frosty on the outside. Pour unstrained into a glass. Float the Hamilton 151 on top. Garnish with a lime wheel and a mint sprig.

NO PINEAPPLE JUICE OR MARASCHINO CHERRY, PLEASE.

Sit poolside and sip while you luxuriate with your Shrimp and Green Peach Salad

If you are so inclined, make your own Orgeat syrup:

Cover 2 1/4 cups of raw, sliced almonds with 3 1/2 cups of filtered water in a mixing bowl.  Let it sit for 30 minutes, then strain and discard the water.

Coarsely grind the almonds in a food processor then return to the bowl and cover with 3 1/2 cups filtered water and soak for 4 hours, stirring every once in a while.

Strain liquid through cheesecloth into a glass jar, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible.  Discard the almonds. Add 1/2 cup of cane sugar, close the jar tightly and shake vigorously for 15 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved.  Add 1 oz. vodka and 1/4 tsp orange blossom water and stir thoroughly.

Cover and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.  WORTH IT!

Photo Credit: Courtesy of MMH Austin

THE OUTLIER’S GARDEN

Outlier: something that lies outside the main body or group that it is a part of; “different” than the rest, not better, not trying to fit in, just different.

This is how I describe my garden when I’m asked.

Even when big-time designers visit Eye of the Day, their jaws drop. We often hear, “I’ve never seen anything like this.” We are proud of our store and business. Most people assume our home must be some magnificent park or arboretum. We just laugh and smile and say it more resembles a garden on LSD, it’s definitely a trip.

My garden is truly my sanctuary, my go-to place; it is where I want to be all of the time. It is my laboratory, my test kitchen and I love every recipe I try. I learn about the plants, I learn how they function in different pots and soils. I propagate, I mix, I simply play all day.  I’m fortunate to have access to so many beautiful containers; yes, most are broken and rescued from the dumpster but I don’t care. I get to experiment and when the results are spectacular, I bring them back to Eye of the Day to share them.

Take a look at this Greek Pithari I planted five years ago with a miniature rose, spectacular if I say so myself.  Even landscape designers comment on it and we know how critical they can be. They make winemakers look good.

My garden is an outlier when it comes to design but I think it is far more interesting and it is definitely more alive than most.

I will be posting pictures of my private garden here on the Blog ongoing for those who are interested to see just how unarboretum-like my wonderful garden really is.

Book Review: Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Planting  

We never seem to stop talking about gardening during the drought and are always looking for ideas to help maintain or introduce new plants and methods into our own personal Shangri-la.  An especially helpful book can be just what you need to get rolling to some new ways.

Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings: The Ultimate Guide to Low-Water Beds, Borders and Containers truly serves as encouragement to gardeners of all levels to rethink their gardens, especially their lawns.  The book emphasizes drought-tolerant ground covers, permeable paving, succulents, native grasses and containers, and has lots of images for inspiration.

It offers suggestions on combining plants in interesting ways to display color, pattern, texture and fragrance while illustrating how few plants are needed to create a beautiful outdoor environment.  There are chapters full of plant charts with photos, descriptions and care advice to help make your garden easy to care for and easy on the eyes.

Since it wasn’t in the cards for Southern and Central California to reap the water rewards of the much touted El Nino this year, gardeners are continuing to struggle with how to use our water as efficiently as possible.  This new Sunset Western Garden Book will help all of us to see possibilities of new ways to garden that will benefit our senses and our environment.

Image via Sunset Magazine 

And to continue in our floral spirit after enjoying the Nasturtium and Arugula salad, here’s a cocktail with spirit and a dash of rose water.

ROSE IN THE HAND

1 1/2 oz Junipero gin
Dash of rose water
3 oz Fever-Tree tonic water
Ice
Lemon wedge
Mint sprig
Straw

Add gin and rose water to a tall glass and stir.  Fill the glass with ice and stir well.  Top with Fever-Tree tonic and stir one more time. Garnish with the lemon wedge and mint and a straw.

Photo Credit: Pink Rose Petals by Catharina77 is licensed under CC0 Public Domain

GARDEN RECIPE FOR SPRING: EAT YOUR FLOWERS

April showers bring May flowers, right?  Though the selections of lovely spring blooms may be limited by a paucity of water and we didn’t really have April showers this year, the nasturtiums running wildly up and down my hill are plentiful and make a simple, peppery salad with bright red, yellow and orange  flowers and miniature lilypad-like leaves.  And from a favorite Flower Fairies book:

Nasturtium the jolly,
O ho, O ho!
He holds up his brolly
Just so, just so!
(A shelter from showers,
A shade from the sun;)
‘Mid flame-coloured flowers
He grins at the fun.
Up fences he scrambles,
Sing hey, sing hey!
All summer he rambles
So gay, go gay-
Till the night-frost strikes chilly,
And Autumn leaves fall,
And he’s gone, willy-nilly,
Umbrella and all.

NASTURTIUM AND ARUGULA SALAD

2 C nasturtium leaves
2 C arugula leaves
12 nasturtium blossoms
4 T really good olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 T cider vinegar
1 t honey
1 T finely chopped chives
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine nasturtium leaves, arugula and nasturtium blossoms.  Whisk remaining ingredients together and lightly toss with the leaves and flowers.  Swoon.

Photo Credit: Flowers, Creative Commons, Nasturtiums by Andy Wright is licensed under CC by 2.0