This has stayed an important international trend for 2005. As well as utilizing native plants and southern hemisphere plants there has been a continuing trend of gravel gardens, utilization of the Mediterranean plants, sedums, succulents and other drought tolerant plants as well as adapting the Japanese concept of the Zen Garden and the Dry Stream Bed.
In the first picture at the horticulture center of the pacific hardy border a mosaic of hardy and tender sedums and succulents has been created. The jade blue of the echeverias and the purple/black of the aeoniums make them attractive houseplants for the winter in areas where they are not hardy.
At the drought tolerant gravel garden there is a wonderful planting of drought tolerant perennials including grasses. The Mediterranean feel of this garden is contributed to by the wonderful jade blue-green of the foliage of the donkey- tail euphorbia (euphorbia mysinites) and the echeverias, who also contribute their apricot blooms. The myriad of the yellow button blooms of the silver leafed santolina and the red-edged, yellow centered flat blooms of the Yarrow - Paprika Achillea millefolium.
The Horticulture Center of the Pacific Takata garden provides us with this serene walled Japanese Zen inspired gravel garden.