There is at least one major difference between architecture and landscape design. Most all gardens are dependent on nature and natural systems and will change with time as plants grow and die. On the other hand, architecture is rather static; gardens are dynamic. Notably, successful gardens are much more dependent on the context of their surroundings. Buildings less so.
In my mind, the best garden design captures a sense of place rooted in the local geography and climate, and works with them to result in a style that fits that place. So what is the "look" of the Orange County garden?
Current gardens in Orange County are evolving at a faster pace than has ever been experienced before. Gardens are changing (however slowly) to better reflect our climate and the place we live. Unlike previous gardening fashions, these changes will not be brief — like color gardening trends of the '70s and '80s or cottage gardening during the '90s. These will be permanent changes. The resource pressures upon local gardeners, such as water, waste, air and time, will change how we design and use our outdoor spaces. As a response to these pressures, and the cost of land, gardens of this millennium will be rather permanently unique from those of the past.
This trend will manifest itself here in Orange County and coastal California in a few ways: an intensive concentration of plantings and a multiplicity of species, in ever smaller spaces. Non-plant elements, like empty pottery, objects de art, wall treatments and garden art will be commonplace.
These trends, however, will develop within a larger context, that of our garden's connection to a unique geography and climate. Gone the way of dinosaurs will be expansive lawns, large statements of bedding color and big specimen trees. A distinct California-style garden will emerge.
