Steve, it would be easier to refer you to the photos of this same garden showing the entire area, to illustrate how a vignette relates to the larger garden. I was trying to use the analogy of the human body as a metaphor for how the similarities of the plants as a repeating element link the entire garden together when one steps back to see it as a whole. From a greater distance, it will be the massed repeating forms and color more so than the textural contrasts that unify the garden, which I think of as the "skin" that ties it all together. I also find it a natural linkage between plants when they are similar in their needs; in this case, all had to be both shade and root competition tolerant because they were being underplanted below existing mature Coast Live Oaks, and also tolerant of drier soils between irrigation cycles, as our native oaks are intolerant of continually wet soils in summer. I also switched out the irrigation system on this front slope from uniform spray to targeted drip so that I could keep the immediate areas adjacent the oak trunks completely dry. This wider view of the front garden is not really at a point where I would use it as a portfolio photo, as the limited irrigation for the oak's health has meant that the plantings have yet to really fill in. Typically, after a year's growth, almost any of my recent garden installations would be completely filled in; this section of the garden has been a tougher one for the new plants. I think you will be able to see that the vignettes of those two plant photos are just a subset of the entire garden, but repetition of plant forms, foliage colors, plant types(multiple layers of different succulents in this case), and repeating the monochromatic house colors with the choice of rock for retaining the slope by the sidewalk all reinforce a common experience. While the individual plants selected have nothing whatsoever to do with a native California Oak Woodland understory plant community, they are all quite well adapted to the conditions, and look "woodsy and shade tolerant" without screaming "exotic" in my opinion. Does the additional photo explain what I mean more so than the text? Browse the other photos in the various Drager Garden sets on my Flickr account if you want to see how much the garden really varies from area to area. The east side of the house with the most sun is the most radically colorful portion of the landscape,(lots of orange against the copper house siding), and the rear garden slope at the back of the house/patio is also less monochromatic in use of plant colors, but still uses a lot of the same plants as here in the front garden. Fire safety issues and deer browsing tolerance as well as gopher tolerance were also prime selection criteria for plantings in this garden. Here is a link that might be useful: Wider view of Drager Front Garden

You might be able to see for yourself in your own area. Look for an appealing "good neighbor" planting between two properties, visible also from the street and from the sides (each neighbor's perspective), and perhaps from the backyards or "behind" on both properties as well. Such plantings are classic dividers between abutting properties, both in backyards and in entry driveways, and - at their best - feature a balance of shrubs and/or small ornamental trees, perennials and grasses, depending on the conditions and climate. What might you see? Look for the highest-growing plants (the ornamental trees/shrubs at the center of the layout, surrounded by successively lower-growinig layers of plantings ranging from medium and lower shrubs to perennials and grasses, and then to the groundcover perennials. The plantings on one side of the planting don't even have to be the same species or variety as those on the other - they just should be comparable in size/spread, habit, texture and form as their mirror counterparts on the "other sides" of the design. No formal trig, just intuitive layering. If you circumambulate (okay, "walk around" lol) the planting, you should see an attractive view no matter where you are. I'll see if I can find any examples on the Web and post the links. Floral arrangements meant for a centerpiece are planned and laid out the same way, so that no flower gets blocked by a taller or fuller specimen. This is the basic formula. There are variations, and in fact, there are rule-breakings galore once you get used to the fundamentals. I've seen landscapes that successfully broke the rules, but there were very special circumstances that made it work.

Another clue is that the list of old threads at the bottom is out of order since their server crash and they lost some of the posts from the middle of what used to be the list in order. If you understand that sentence then we are on the same silly page.

Yes, the site has been down for a couple of weeks now. No word on when it might be back.