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Filoli, an early 1900s country place in Woodside, is now managed
by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is an example of
an historic designed landscape.
Photo
© Bill Grant, 2002
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This cactus orchard in the Salinas Valley is a cultural landscape
that is rural and vernacular.
Photo © Susan Chamberlin, 2000 |
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The California Garden and Landscape History Society (cglhs)
is a non-profit, 501-C-3 organization dedicated to celebrating
the
beauty and diversity of California’s gardens and cultural
landscapes. |
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Bill Grant, founder of the California
Garden & Landscape History Society, at Val Verde
in Montecito.
Photo © Susan Chamberlin, 2001 |
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History of cglhs |
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Founded by William A. (Bill) Grant in 1995 and
members who attended the first two organizational meetings
he convened, the society quickly grew and now includes representatives
from several states and continents. We are an interdisciplinary
group: landscape architects, scholars, garden directors, designers,
historians, preservationists, writers, librarians, educators,
government professionals, gardeners, and plant lovers make
up the membership. |
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Gardens and
Cultural Landscapes |
Art, nature, and culture intersect in gardens,
and they have been sources of inspiration and study for centuries.
But people are also inspired by natural environments, landscapes
that evolve as human activity shapes them, sites associated with
historic events, parks, and sacred places.
The term, cultural landscapes, is defined in various ways by
organizations such as the United States Department of the
Interior’s National
Park Service, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, and UNESCO, but
generally it encompasses gardens and many other kinds of built
environments that illuminate aspects of our history and relationship
with nature.
Vegetation and plant materials are character-defining features
of cultural landscapes, which often contribute to their spatial
qualities, historic significance, and integrity. |
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Cultural
Landscapes Defined |
UNESCO: “Cultural landscapes represent
the combined works of nature and of man and are illustrative
of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under
the influence of physical constraints and/or opportunities presented
by their natural environment of successive social, economic and
cultural forces, both external and internal.”
National Park Service (USA): “A geographic area, including
both cultural and natural resources and the wildlife or domestic
animals therein, associated with a historic event, activity, or
person or exhibiting other cultural or aesthetic values.” |
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Four Types of Cultural Landscapes |
There are four basic types of cultural
landscapes: |
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historic designed landscapes |
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historic sites |
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historic vernacular landscapes |
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ethnographic landscapes |
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These landscape types are not mutually
exclusive. For detailed, illustrated definitions of
the above terms, visit The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s
web site: www.tclf.org |
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The famous gardens at Mission San
Juan Capistrano were planted in the early 20th century.
Still evolving, they are a West Coast example of the
Colonial Revival Style, not a restoration of Spanish-era
gardens.
Photo © Susan Chamberlin, 2002 |
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Landscape Treatments—Restoration or Remodel |
People often speak of “restoring” a
building or garden when in fact they mean spruce it up or
remodel it to capture a feeling of the past. In the United
States, the Secretary of the Interior establishes professional
standards for cultural resources (including gardens and landscapes)
eligible for or listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
It is important to recognize which treatments are appropriate
for significant gardens and cultural landscapes, even if
they will not be listed. The four treatments recognized
by the Secretary
of the Interior are: |
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preservation—to sustain the existing
form, integrity, and materials |
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rehabilitation—making possible a
compatible use for a property through repair, alterations,
and additions while preserving those portions or features
which convey its historical or cultural values
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restoration—accurately depicting
the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared
at a particular period of time |
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reconstruction—depicting, by means of new construction,
the form, features, and detailing of a non-surviving site,
landscape, building, structure, or object for the purpose
of replicating its appearance at a specific period of time
and in its historic location |
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More detail can be found in: |
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Preservation Briefs 36: Protecting Cultural Landscapes |
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The Secretary of the Interior’s … Guidelines
for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes |
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The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for
the Treatment of Historic Properties |
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All are published by the U.S. Department
of the Interior and are available from the Superintendent
of Documents in Washington, DC. Online information is also
available. |
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California’s Natural Landscape |
California is isolated by the Sierra Nevada
mountain range, the Pacific Ocean, and several deserts. Known
by the Spanish colonizers as Alta California, its landmass and
southern most plant communities extend into Baja California,
Mexico (also colonized by the Spanish.)
Much of the coast and the islands have a Mediterranean climate
(winter wet-summer dry) and are subtropical (mild with only brief
periods of freezing temperatures.) Many of California’s native
plants are unique, and others have analogues in the Old World Mediterranean
region, such as quercus, salvia, and artemisia.
From the Spanish era to the present, grazing
livestock, agricultural patterns, buildings, fire suppression,
water systems, roads, and numerous plants
introduced from other regions (“exotics”) have
transformed the natural landscape into the cultural landscape
we see today.
It is not uncommon to find exotic plants that have naturalized
or invaded. In some cases (particularly grasses) these invasive
plants have completely altered the look of the landscape and
threatened native plant communities.
The native California poppy (Eschscholzia
californica) is the
state flower. |
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Outline of California Cultural Landscape
History |
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Native American/Indian & native plants (before
1542) |
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First European-Native American contact (1542)
Note: prior to this is considered “prehistoric” because
there is no written record |
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Spanish colonization & plant introductions (1769-c.1833) |
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Mexican/Californio ranchos (c.1833-1850) more plants
introduced |
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American period—numerous introduced plants
(1850-present) |
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