First there is form, then limit

In his 1958 Creative Gardens, James Rose writes: "I have found it helpful to think of a garden as sculpture, not sculpture in the sense of an ordinary object to be viewed. But sculpture that is large enough and perforated enough to walk through. And open enough to present no barrier to movement, and broken enough to guide the experience, which is essentially a communion with the sky."

While they are certainly more than ordinary objects, as objects palms--with all their vivid structural presence and often unexpected asymmetry--certainly achieve the sculptural. In the built landscape, they also participate in and contribute to Rose's sense of sculptural space, defining permeable vertical limits with line but also texture. Some communion with the sky is by corrugation.

Palms for Southern California

Those interested in palms can find a wealth of published information that will help them better understand these remarkable plants. Focusing on plant identification can be a fun and useful way to start. Our staff has been enjoying Geoff Stein's Palms for Southern California: A Quick Reference Guide.

As the subtitle suggests, Stein's guide does not go into the detail that more exhaustive texts on palms explore. Instead it provides a quick overview of each plant, with information on common and botanical names; morphology of trunk, leaves and canopy spread; growing preferences like water needs, sun exposure, temperature and hardiness, and dry heat. It also characterizes availability, status in the wild, and native habitat, and rates each palm for ease of cultivation. Stein also provides a silhouette sketch of each palm that gives a good idea of basic form. Stein's intricate line drawings of several notable palms make an attractive cover design.

Palms for Southern California is available through the Palm Society of Southern California. At Ellis Farms it is one of our go-to reference books.