Created in the 1970s, the Ruth Bancroft Garden in California was ahead of its time in demonstrating the aesthetic possibilities of low-water planting
As designers in Britain contemplate the extent to which this country’s changing climate is likely to impact the future of its gardening traditions, the Ruth Bancroft Garden in California presents an inspiring example of the creative possibilities that can arise from embracing the limitations of low-water gardening. This three-and-a-half-acre garden sits in a conventional suburban neighbourhood, and its bold design and world-class collection of cacti, succulents, and drought-tolerant plants was highly unconventional when Ruth began work on it in 1971. By the time she died in 2017 (still gardening at the age of 109), it was renowned internationally as an example of climate-resilient gardening. Its Curator, Brian Kemble, continues to refine and enhance the garden after 45 years working on the site.
Fashioning the land
‘The original plot was a flat site with clay soil,’ he explains. ‘Since succulents need drainage to survive, we made mounds to improve the conditions, but that was also a key part of showcasing the plants in a naturalistic way, adding height, drama and interest.’ The original design set out a curving network of paths with a pool in the centre framed by raised beds. ‘We developed these into natural-looking mounds, digging into the clay and working in scoria for drainage, then building a supportive grouping of rocks and infill with soil. Any subsidence is an opportunity to remake.’
Colour and scale
The ornamental impact of the garden relies heavily on the sculptural, structural silhouettes of dry-adapted plants, most notably agaves, aloes, yuccas and aeoniums, but the palette is not restricted to succulents. ‘This is primarily a garden of foliage, but that still gives us a lot of dramatic contrasts to play with. The blue-grey hue of an agave looks terrific alongside the purple-black foliage and fiery red winter bracts of Leucadendron ‘Ebony’. A massed planting of aeoniums looks good in itself, but even better if you contrast it with the finer foliage of Xanthorrhoea glauca, which has needle-like leaves that dance in the breeze. And we also draw on a wide range of summer-dormant bulbs, primarily from South Africa, to extend the season of interest.’
Responding to changing conditions
‘This part of California has a Mediterranean climate, with zero precipitation from June to September,’ Brian points out, ‘but many of our plants need summer rainfall to thrive. Since we group plants according to their needs, we can run sprinklers once a week in summer. The prevailing conditions have changed markedly over the years. There used to be no shade at all here, but as the planting has developed, we enjoy dappled light to deep shade. These are all opportunities for us to refine the planting. If we don’t know a plant, we are happy to try it out and accept that it may well fail. That is the only way you can expand your knowledge.’
ruthbancroftgarden.org
Recommended further reading: Designing the Lush Dry Garden: Create a climate-resilient, low-water paradise, by Cricket Riley, Alice Kitajima and Kier Holmes, £35, Timber Press.
Words, Jodie Jones; photographs, Monica Avila/Ruth Bancroft Garden
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