I spent two years in Southern California. Although popular movies lead us to think that Coastal California beachfront communities are lush and filled with greenery, quite the opposite is true. The plants that grow there are succulents and get their water from airborne moisture. There is very little actual rainfall.
While I was in SoCal, it became very obvious that the only greenery in the landscaping was the result of irrigation. There are tons of birds of paradise and other showy flowers, but all of them grow only if watered regularly.
The natural vegetation is the chaparral. It is generally succulents and plants that have pungent oily flesh. That's why the wildfires in California are so frightening...the vegetation is natural tinder.
There are a lot of things about the desert that I find lovely--the high desert in the spring is incomparable. The colors are stunning and compared to the dusty landscape, the desert is all about contrast. The plants that thrive in this hostile environment are tough, resilient and adapted.
What I never expected was to see this desert landscape reach right out to the sea. On the east coast, tall pine trees grow in the sandy soil and they extend almost to the shore. It's a landscape that offers less contrasts.
In the south, on the Gulf coast, the vegetation is much more tropical. The warm, moist air nurtures waxy leafed bushes and fragrant blossoms. This greenery is much more in line with the popular culture representation of shoreline plant life.
The coasts surrounding the US offer up extremely different landscapes. Unique, distinct and yet still based on sandy soil, temperate weather and lots of humidity.
I'm told that in the Mediterranean, the landscape near the sea is like SoCal. In most of North Africa and Southern Europe, the shore and shoreline plants are more desert based, and less tropical. I'm thinking of making the world's beaches my next study. I'll save my pennies and see for myself. It would be fun to compare the vegetation and see where the most unique plant life exists. No matter, if it's near a beach, I'm sure I'll love it.
--Sandee Wagner
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2 comments:
I've only been to the ocean twice, and that was the Gulf of Mexico, so I'm not sure it even counts.
I hated that salty water in my eyes. And I didn't see any plants that impressed me.
My brother takes a vacation to a beach somewhere every year, but given the choice, I'd take the mountains.
Susan, it just goes to show that there are different strokes for different folks. I don't like the mountains. Makes me feel claustrophobic... like they are all going to come down on my head. And I can't breathe up there!!
I love the beach. But I don't actually go in the water, ever. I just love the sound of the surf and the breeze off the ocean. Good times. spw
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