美国 夏季干燥植物和花园项目 – 为夏季干燥气候地区的园丁提供权威信息

项目缘起与两位创始人

夏季干燥植物和花园项目（Summer-Dry Plants and Gardens）由景观设计师 Nora Harlow 与摄影记者 Saxon Holt 共同发起，是一项针对地中海型夏季干燥气候地区的可持续园艺推广项目。Nora Harlow 曾在加州东湾市政供水区（East Bay Municipal Utility District）节水部门任职，主持编写了《Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of the Bay Area》；她也曾担任《Pacific Horticulture》编辑，并参与编著《The Pacific Horticulture Book of Western Gardening》和《Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses》。Saxon Holt 是 30 余本园艺图书的首席摄影师，包括获奖专著《Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates》《The American Meadow Garden》和《Hardy Succulents》，现担任 Summer-Dry Project 主任、美国园艺作家协会会员，并自营 PhotoBotanic Garden Library 图片库。

夏季干燥气候的世界分布

世界上有 5 个夏季干燥气候区：地中海沿岸、南非、智利西部、澳大利亚南部大部分地区以及美国西海岸。“地中海”作为这一气候类型的默认描述符其实并不公平——每个区域都有其本土特点，而植物探险家们正不断为这一气候类型补充更多令人惊叹的适生植物。夏季干燥花园与一般意义上的耐旱花园不同：耐旱植物（xeriscape）强调节水，夏季干燥花园则假定夏季干燥是该地区的正常气候，植物本身已经适应，因此不需要比自然降雨提供更多的水。美丽的可持续花园是园丁的艺术追求，也是夏季干燥气候地区的实践挑战。

核心使命与植物数据库

项目的核心使命是：为夏季干燥气候（地中海型）地区的园丁提供权威的植物信息和启发性的照片，鼓励可持续的园艺实践。在当前气候变化的背景下，园丁作为土地的管家，需要对当地环境保持敏感，每一项小行动都能为整体韧性添砖加瓦。网站提供了完整的植物清单和照片数据库，按属种编排，配以详细的栽培信息。所有照片由 Saxon Holt 在美国版权局注册登记，仅供个人非商业使用。

WUCOLS 数据库与加州水资源

项目的 Resource Page 列出大量参考资源，其中最核心的是加州州政府发布的 WUCOLS 数据库（Water Use Classification of Landscape Species，景观植物水分利用分级数据库）。WUCOLS 对苗圃业常见的几乎所有景观植物按水分利用进行分级，并按加州不同气候区域分别给出推荐；其权威性体现在它是加州《Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance》（MWELO，景观节水示范法令）配套的植物数据库，由加州法律强制要求新建和改造景观查询。资源页还列出加州水资源局、美国地质调查局加州水资源、UCANR（加州大学农业与自然资源）、加州节水大师、加州水务协会、加州原生植物学会、地中海园艺学会、加州园艺学会、太平洋园艺学会等机构，以及 30 余本参考书和加州本地苗圃网站。

教育演讲与照片档案

项目通过博客、RSS、邮件订阅持续更新。Saxon Holt 经常应邀做关于夏季干燥气候园艺的演讲和虚拟幻灯片放映，演讲内容根据西海岸不同地区量身定制。他还提供一日或两日的园林摄影工作坊，内容基于其获奖电子书系列《Good Garden Photography》；在可安排线下活动之前，可预约一小时虚拟演讲 Think Like A Camera 与 Think Like a Gardener。Saxon Holt 的个人联系方式可通过 PhotoBotanic 园艺摄影网站获取，项目本身的主要联系邮箱为 office@summer-dry.com。

Project Origins and the Two Founders

Summer-Dry Plants and Gardens is an ongoing sustainable gardening initiative aimed at gardeners in summer-dry, Mediterranean-type climates. It was founded by landscape architect Nora Harlow and photojournalist Saxon Holt. Nora previously worked in the Water Conservation Department of East Bay Municipal Utility District, where she oversaw and authored Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of the Bay Area; she has also served as an editor at Pacific Horticulture Magazine and co-edited The Pacific Horticulture Book of Western Gardening and Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses. Saxon Holt is the sole photographer of more than thirty garden books, including the award-winning Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates, The American Meadow Garden, and Hardy Succulents; he serves as Director of the Summer-Dry Project, is a Fellow of the Garden Writers Association, and runs the PhotoBotanic Garden Library.

Five Summer-Dry Climate Regions Worldwide

Five regions in the world share a summer-dry climate: the Mediterranean Basin, South Africa, central Chile, much of southern Australia, and the west coast of the United States. Using “Mediterranean” as the default descriptor for this climate type is arguably unfair, since each region carries its own character and plant explorers keep adding more stunning candidates that fit. A summer-dry garden is not the same as a xeriscape: xeric plantings are chosen to endure dry summers, while summer-dry plantings accept dry summers as the regional norm, with plants that evolved for these conditions and need no more water than nature supplies. Building a beautiful, sustainable garden is both an art and a challenge, and the site celebrates successful plantings that gardeners can replicate.

Core Mission and Plant Database

The project’s central mission is to provide gardeners in summer-dry, Mediterranean climates with authoritative plant information and inspiring photos that encourage sustainable garden practices. In the midst of climate change, gardeners increasingly serve as stewards of the land, attentive to the local environment on behalf of all creatures; every small act adds resilience. The website hosts a complete plant database with photos and cultivation notes organized by genus and species. All photographs on the site are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office under Certificate of Registration and are made available for personal, non-commercial use only; a personal license is available through PhotoBotanic.

WUCOLS Database and California Water Policy

The project’s Resource Page is a curated and growing list of references. The most authoritative among them is WUCOLS, the Water Use Classification of Landscape Species database created by California state agencies, which classifies every landscape plant typically available in the nursery trade by water needs across California’s climate regions. WUCOLS is the plant database that supports California’s Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), the state-mandated regulation raising water efficiency standards for new and retrofitted landscapes. Other resources listed include the California Department of Water Resources, USGS California Water Science, UC ANR, California Master Gardeners, the Association of California Water Agencies, the California Native Plant Society, the Mediterranean Garden Society, the California Horticultural Society, Pacific Horticulture, the Western Horticultural Society, the California Native Grasslands Association, and roughly thirty books along with selected California native-plant nurseries. Plant photos and descriptions from the Summer-Dry project are featured throughout the WUCOLS database.

Workshops, Talks, and Photo Archive

The project maintains ongoing communication through its blog, RSS feed, and newsletter. Saxon Holt regularly gives in-person and virtual talks on gardening in summer-dry climates, tailoring the material to specific regions of the West Coast. He also leads one- and two-day garden-photography workshops based on his award-winning e-book series Good Garden Photography; until in-person events can resume, one-hour virtual presentations are available for Think Like A Camera and Think Like a Gardener. Inquiries can be directed to PhotoBotanic for Saxon’s photography work, while the general project inbox is office@summer-dry.com.

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