Field Trip
It’s May and its warming here on the hilltop. Yesterday we had a gathering of the Hidden Meadows Garden Club as organized by Kim and Melisa, its co-presidents. Kim carried most of the load since Melisa was recuperating from her prior day’s Emergency Room trauma. She had aspirated half of a Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc supplement and had spent seven hours at the Palomar Hospital ER (chauffeured there by yours truly) working through the dissolution of that pill with the help of an X-ray, CAT scan, EKG, IV drip, three drawn blood tests, a dose of antibiotics and a steroid injection (Prednisone). Moral of that story is only ingest things that you absolutely must and do it down the right pipe. So, while Melisa attended the Garden Club tour, she was busy telling her tale of her lost day. We spent the morning touring three members’ properties.
It is always interesting to see how other people choose to live. We all accept the reality that we have different styles and different needs when it comes to our homes. These were not so much house tours (though all three opened their homes to anyone that wanted a peek) as they were garden tours. It is a Garden Club after all. But even in the way in which different people choose to set up their properties is an interesting peek into their souls. The first property was very remote on a gated tract of land where everyone had lots of acreage. It was a hilltop setting where the owners chose to establish a desert landscape by laying down small diameter desert-colored gravel rather than mulch. That landscaping approach, which I too have used for a small portion of my gardens, is slightly more costly to establish, but keeps maintenance to a minimum since it does such a good job of quelling weeds. It creates a somewhat sterile and severe look that is handsome, but not so inviting for languishing. These owners made up for that by laying out a pathway through a grove of hillside manzanita trees just below their main house pad.
The second property was quite different. This one was on our hilltop, but is tucked away in a quiet corner where views are not part of the attraction. Not everyone feels the need for long vistas and opt instead for nice close-up views and surroundings. That is very much the case with this second garden. We have owned our property on this hilltop for over twelve years and have lived here full-time for almost five years and this was the first time we got past the gate of this property even though we are quite friendly with the owners. It is one of the reasons I am not a fan of gates and walls. In any case, these members are Scottish transplants and you could see the influence in their gardens. There are lovely shaded walkways beneath the trees that lead to an open lawn area with shady seating areas and a bocci ball court and a classic red British phone booth. The owner is an engineer who enjoys rebuilding motorcycles (he has a completed 1975 Norton Commando, a favorite of mine and has a 1969 BSA in process of being rebuilt) and antique tractors. One comes away thinking that this garden would be a very comfortable place to spend time and be introspective rather than far reaching.
The last of the three properties is the largest one on our hilltop. This house is well down the hillside from the road and has not one, but two gates that keep one from knowing what lies beyond. The property is covered with a combination of avocado trees and lofty palms. With its fifteen acres, it is formally an avocado ranch that sells its produce commercially. The owner is a fan of heavy equipment. His machinery is not antique, but fully functional and housed in a large metal outbuilding that looks like it suits the serious commercial reality. The lady of the house is a sculptor who does everything from delicate little glazed pots to large outdoor ceramic sculptures, the most notable of which are just outside the main gate and look like a series of large Christmas candles. In fact, I used to think they were part of the holiday decorations only to be told that they were general statues and that I was being rude suggesting they were anything as mundane as holiday decorations.
While I drove my truck over to the first venue and gave four other members a ride, for the second and third I parked back at the house and took one of my motorcycles over since I knew the third house in particular had a long downhill driveway. I also knew I would be leaving early and would need a speedy form of exit. The third property was less of a garden tour and more of a review of the ways and means of growing avocados followed by a moment of refreshment near the pool. I suspect that the owners rarely use the pool and even more rarely turn on the stone waterfall. The patio had a new sod lawn and overlooked the expanse to the south and west toward the Ocean. You don’t see much real lawn in these parts since while everything like succulents grows easily in this sub-tropical environment, lawns struggle from the heat and lack of regular water. Most people who want a lawn end up with artificial turf just as we have down in our play area. In fact, the second home with the bocci ball court had an artificial lawn next to the court. I wonder why someone who likely rarely uses their pool patio would bother with a real turf lawn, but then why do any of us bother with anything? Again, it is interesting to see how various people choose to organize their properties and live their lives.
These property tours prompted me to suggest to Kim that we take another field trip on Saturday morning up to Temecula. Temecula is the next town to our north and for some reason we really haven’t done more than drive through it on the highway. I heard from the neighbor with the motorcycle projects that there was a winery in Temecula that also had an array of antique Italian motorcycles. For some strange reason, I wanted to go see it since we had no other agenda for Saturday. So, Kim and I took a ride 25 miles north through Temecula to the Doffo Winery. We went on Rancho California Road, which we had never been on and were surprised by the number of wineries along the way. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought we were in Napa or Sonoma. Temecula valley really is wine country and it was surprising to see how many cars were parked at the wineries for tastings and tours. When we got to Moto Doffo Winery, we walked through and looked at the antique motorcycles. There were lots of Ducatis, Bennelli’s, a few Moto Guzzis and Vespas galore. I was less impressed with the array than I expected to be. There were no Lambrettas and, disappointingly, no Gileras, both of which I owned in my youth. I did spy one Laverda, but then gave up and realized that this was less about a true collection of Italian motorcycles and more about having some different wall art to amuse the wine tasters who come to while away a sunny afternoon.
We drove into the old town area of Temecula and had a pub lunch at an outdoor restaurant on Main Street, where the muscle cars and loud Harleys roamed back and forth. Our field trip to Temecula and our exploration of the other properties on our hillside made for a low key weekend and served to reinforce our feeling that we are Southern Californians who just enjoy being in this part of the world.