A group of west coast fellows from the Garden Conservancy traveled far and wide on Wednesday to visit the garden of Bay Area landscape designer Jim Dixon, who is credited with having worked on as many as 1000 gardens in the Bay Area.
The day was an adventure – for sure, beginning with our trek to the Sonoma County destination. Waze got us as far as Occidental and then we were off the grid – literally no more wifi. We reverted to our back-up written instructions and depending upon whether we followed the written instructions from the beginning or created our own path following Waze’s recommendation, finding the Dixon property from wherever we were was a real adventure for the last 5 or 6 miles. By mid-morning, all participants arrived safely with smiles of real accomplishment and a sense of adventure on their faces.
What we discovered was a landscape designer’s paradise and it was clear he has poured his heart and soul into this garden he has been creating since 2003. Jim is a plantsman – he loves all plants and has filled his garden with all of the plants he loves. All of us were astounded by the sheer variety of plant material he had in his garden, as well as the size of the material growing in his 5 acre + garden. 18′ camelias, massive swaths of Matilija poppies (also known as California Tree Poppies or Fried Egg plants) and large patches of every conceivable type of sage you’ve ever seen. The soil is obviously very rich on his property.
Ben Dhong, Trish Turner and myself
Over time, he moved a massive amount of soil to create several layers of terracing down the hillside, complete with meandering pathways, sitting areas and large rock steps that took you ever downwards into the garden below. I cannot even imagine the amount of work that went into this feat.
Water is always an issue in these hilltop properties and Jim’s property is no different. He has constructed 4 ponds to catch water throughout the winter, which then serves his garden throughout the year.
Two of us asking the most popular question of the day: “What is this?!?”
I would characterize this garden as “wild and unedited”, which is not my favorite kind of garden. I personally like a little more structure because I need to feel some sense of order in my life – and my garden provides that feeling for me. However, it was really interesting to see – and the vistas were incredible. I did love all of the seating moments he had throughout the garden. I loved that there was an intention in what he planted – from all directions. Jim would say, “Now look backwards” and we would always discover an unexpected view. So I would say I loosened up a little by the end of our tour, which is probably good for me :).
The fun part about being in a wonderful gardening community is learning about each person’s likes and dislikes in gardens – and this garden ignited that conversation. Everyone had a point of view and/or a comment and, at the same time, everyone took something away from our time with Jim in his garden. Thank you Jim for igniting that conversation for all of us!
