Winter Movies 2021: Monty Don's Western Gardens

We're back again for our last winter movie, where plants have the starring role! This winter we're watching the BBC series "American Gardens" to visit beautiful gardens in the United States. Britain's Monty Don hosts the show, and so far we have visited prairie gardens of the midwest and the eastern  part of the country, and the private and estate gardens of the south. In this episode, Monty visits gardens of the western part of the country, and experiences its awe-inspiring landscapes. So pop some corn and grab a cool drink, and let's join Monty as he tours the west in search of the typical American garden.

Monty starts his tour in Arizona at the Sonoran desert with its plants that are adapted for its extreme heat. He learns more about desert plants and their marvelous survival strategies at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, and visits landscape architect Steve Martino's private garden. Its design includes plantings inside the house as well as outside, and incorporates elements of shade, light, and shadow. His garden emphasizes sanctuary and privacy, in a break from attitudes in the east where lawns run into lawns.

Next stop is Palm Springs with its mid-century glamor and style (we know a little about Palm Springs here at Eden By The Bay)! He visits private gardens, where air conditioning has brought the garden inside, and Sunnylands, a private garden that is now used for diplomacy. Next he heads for Los Angeles in a red convertible, to visit several private gardens with tropical themes, and a school in Altadena where students grow and cook food as part of the curriculum. He visits Lotus Land in Santa Barbara, to experience Madame Ganna Walska's theatrical and eclectic collection of plants and art, and Henry Cowell State Park near San Jose to marvel at the forest of Sequoia sempervirens. 

Monty ends his tour in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. He visits Windcliff north of Seattle (Dan Hinkley's plant-hunter garden), and Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle (where plants and Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures are integrated). He spends time thinking at Amazon's The Spheres, and visits Bloedell Reserve where old- and new-growth trees are integrated. Monty concludes that there is no such thing as a definitive American garden. Instead, its gardens capture the frontier spirit - that you can do anything you believe you can.