GardenBook

 In August I made my 3rd visit to the marvelous Coastal Maine Botanic Garden in Booth Bay , a charming harbor town on the coast of Maine.There is lobster there-it is fresh caught and plentiful.The garden itself is first rate; beautifully designed and maintained, it holds it's own with any public garden I have visited regardless of size or location. Clearly the maritime east is completely irrelevant to my climate zone and the more I visit gardens across the US , the more I realize that there are schemes I can never execute and plants I can (or should) never plant . I live where there is absolutely no rain in summer and by now in October the dryness of my garden- in spite of weekly irrigation -has taken  it's toll, and there are many commonly used plants in the east that just can't tolerate both the lack of rain and the lack of humidity. There is nothing like rainwater, and as much as I dislike that humid factor the plants seem to love it. Not ...

 I'm confident that most of us horti-philes have found ourselves smitten with one particular area of a garden we have visited, returning multiple times for just a few more shots (not a bar reference) or to bask in the presence of a design that has spoken to us ....  I can't really explain why this area at Coastal Maine Botanic Gardens was so compelling to me. Maybe because the combinations seemed slightly unusual, featuring a few plants I don't see out here in the west , and it seemed accessible..something I might actually be able to do , even if it has to be on a smaller scale with left coast friendly substitutions. . This is a distant view of 'my' section ..it sits at the base of this structure , not looking like much from this perspective.  As I moved closer, the grouping started to take form. the  ..and look at this ! Arundo donax 'Golden Chain' with one of those very bold Pennisetums that are seldom seen here, and all the hot pink Salv...