The Coastal Gardener:

Gardening isn’t about celebrity. It isn’t about wealth either.

It isn’t about Wall Street, T-Bills, balance sheets or market share.

So what was I doing Oct. 2 walking through a garden, talking about cypress and dahlias and earthworms with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett?

Turns out, Gates and Buffett were meeting in Orange County with friends and colleagues from around the country.

Through some mutual contacts they were invited to visit the gardens of a coastal estate in San Clemente known as La Casa Pacifica.

La Casa Pacifica is a well-known 4.5-acre slice of precious seaside property known to most people as the former residence of President Richard M. Nixon and his wife, Pat. But at the time of the president’s tenure, the property was more often referred to as the Western White House. While Nixon was in office, La Casa Pacifica served as his personal retreat as well as the place he would host world leaders and work on critical national and international issues.

When Nixon eventually moved to New York in 1980, the historic 1927 home and property became the residence of the owner of Roger’s Gardens, who by then had already become a colleague of the Nixons and a caretaker of the gardens.

In the ensuing years, now in the hands of a passionate garden enthusiast, the grounds were dramatically improved, while carefully maintaining the original Spanish Colonial revival style and architecture.

Today, La Casa Pacifica represents one of the finest examples anywhere of casual California coastal living.

Two weeks ago, rather nonchalantly, I was asked if I was available to help lead a group of visitors through the gardens of La Casa Pacifica.

I’ve handled this duty several times before and know the gardens rather well, so I quickly agreed. Frankly, any reason to spend time in a great garden is usually sufficient to me. Let’s see; I’ll lead a small group of out-of-towners on a garden tour, talk a bit about the plants, relay a little history of the garden and field a few questions; maybe a joke or two tossed in. No problem; “love to,” I replied.

Half an hour later, “Oh, and the group includes Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren and Astrid Buffett.”

“Excuse me. I’m sorry; who?” I asked.

I suspect that horticulture, plants and gardening might be about the only three subjects I might possibly know more about than Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

As long as I don’t let the conversation drift away from my narrow bit of expertise, I’ll be fine.

Turns out, I was right. The Gateses and the Buffetts loved the gardens, but their floral understanding was pretty much limited to “what is that called,” which I could handle just fine.

I was happy to extol the many virtues of gardens and gardening to our visiting friends.

I’ve read before that as life becomes more problematic; as business pressures mount; and as complicated, complex and convoluted issues occupy ever greater portions of our time there is a need for humans to find balance. Albert Einstein played the violin. Gandhi enjoyed his spinning wheel. Vladimir Putin swims. Colin Powell restores old cars.

But for many, the enjoyment of nature, perhaps expressed in a great garden, such as La Casa Pacifica, is the “balance” that we need.

A few minutes or a few hours in a garden, where nature’s grand forces are not within our control can offer such a “balance.”

In a garden there are no shareholder meetings, corporate deadlines or balance sheets. A garden is a place where growth potential and high yield have different interpretations.

In a garden, everyone is equal, even Bill, Warren and myself.

Ask Ron

Question: What are the orange-flowered trees blooming in the center of Pacific Coast Highway in Corona del Mar? They are beautiful.

Dineen

Corona del Mar

Answer: They are called African tulip trees (Spathodea campanulata), and we have several inquiries every day about these trees at the garden center. It is a fairly easy tree to grow almost anywhere in coastal Orange County. The large orange-clustered flowers are cupped upward and, as you have seen, are quite showy during summer and fall. The trees in the center of Pacific Coast Highway have only been planted a few years, but are already drawing a lot of attention from passing motorists.

ASK RON

your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail

stumpthegardener@rogersgardens.com

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RON VANDERHOFF is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar.