GardenBook

  Last weeks visit to a couple of business parks turned out to be interesting in a way..here is a place that is virtually deserted on Sunday morning. No one lives there, the businesses are closed, no traffic, and the only human beings I saw were a couple of mow and blow guys who were hurriedly taking advantage of the rare rainless interlude this month. The older 80's and 90's era buildings had clearly the most dreadful landscaping, dotted with clusters of foundation shrubs tortured into submission. Bon-bons. Unfortunately, these are Leptospermums.  I'm thinking you could set up your laptop and lunch on one of these . Do you suppose the points are expected to grow back ?? Ai -yi-yi... Look there, it's a Penstemon ! Much better here..the shrubs were unmolested, mostly drought tolerant  and nicely placed. And here, a meadowesque scene has been installed on the perimeter of the parking lot.   Nandinas reverb  the paint..

  Is there an unwritten law that demands sameness, lack of  imagination, and heavy use of power hedge shears in the typical business 'park' ? My camera and I visited a nearby complex that features both  the abysmal and a step outside the box.  This building was health club back in the 90's which subsequently fell on hard times. A developer bought and remodeled it several years ago. The paint color was controversial -people either loved or loathed it. When the landscaping went in it was pretty clear that it was in fact a design, a real design that was symbiotic with the building and the hardscape. Dodonea never looked so good.     A fence of stainless steel cables between wooden posts is draped with Clematis armandii , flowering now above waves of Stipa . Believe it or not, this building is presently occupied by the Social Security Administration. There is a great deal of Lavender planted here too, and in summer when it blooms against the terra cot...