Winter gravel garden

21 years ago

For those you lucky enough to live in a mediterranean clime, gravel gardens with medit plants are the way to go. I installed a gravel garden last March (medit plants, CA natives, succulents) and vowed to only water it twice a month all summer. Things got established and bravely soldiered along but it has really come alive this winter.

Of course that is to be expected with Medit plants and CA natives, many that are summer dormant and rainy season active. My clematis cirrhosa, ceanothus and various euphorbias are blooming, the artichoke seems to be growing an inch a day. All the different salvias are full and lush. Even the caper bush looks happy, I guess I gave it adequate drainage. Come summer other things will take over: guara, sedum Autumn joy, cistus, grasses, agastache. But for now, the gravel garden looks the best of my whole yard.

Claire

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Comments (3)

Jillberto
21 years ago
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
Pookiesmom
Original Author
21 years ago
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
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Hi rmawhorter, I'm not super experienced or a landscape designer but your post got my eye because we are in a similar situation. My new house (ok, 2 years new) has a perfect spot for planting, in terms of sun and southern exposure, but it is an area that is all pea gravel, to a depth of 6 inches at least. We built raised beds - 18 inches high (I want to grow potatoes and carrots or I would have just made them 12 inches) by 3'X3' and I just dropped them on the gravel, with a layer of newspaper underneath. But first I hoed out the weeds; and weeds were a good thing really. I know that the soil under the gravel has *some* fertility because weeds were growing there all on their own! You suggest getting a load of manure, but you don't want manure if you hope to plant your vegetable garden this year; manure will burn your plants and if you are lucky enough to manage lots of leafy green growth from the nitrogen, you'll end up with almost no flowering. Instead call (or google) around to your local compost dealers and find a blend of compost and topsoil that is recommended for raised beds. Locally here in northern CA I bought enough for my 4 beds for $120 and then bought 4 bags of really rich compost to blend in just for good measure. I hope this is helpful, good luck!
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Jillberto
21 years ago
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

Winter gravel garden

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Jillberto

Pookiesmom
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Winter gravel garden

Comments (3)

Jillberto

PookiesmomOriginal Author

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Pookiesmom
Original Author