About a month ago, our garden team started preparing the planted beds near the main office, one of the first things visitors see when they walk into the MAGC grounds. Children may miss the expanse of smooth river stones, fondly known as the gift shop because they were so enticing to small hands, but the water feature remains and will now be surrounded by a new selection of plants chosen by landscape designer Silvina Blasen. This bed includes manzanita “St Helena,” a hardy bush that thrives in this climate, as well as autumn sage, raspwort, and ruby grass. One of the more eye-catching examples is the Muehlenbeckia, with its tiny leaves and delicate twisted branches. All these plants will create a interplay of various texture and colors, ranging through greens and browns, and are well adapted to our cool winters and dry summers. Silvina adds that the plants have been selected as unappealing to deer, but “we’ll have to see” whether our local herd will give them all a pass. We’ll all enjoy watching the bed fill in and mature.
