In honor of St. Patrick ‘s Day and my Irish heritage, I’ve decided to spend the month of March blogging about the contributions Irish immigrants have made to Santa Barbara landscapes. This week’s topic: Irish rock walls in Santa Barbara.
History of the Irish Rock Wall
The Irish rock wall, also called the dry stone wall, is an ancient landscaping form used across Europe and the Western Mediterranean region. Rock walls of this sort are found in any region where materials are plentiful. The word “dry” refers to the construction of a rock wall without the presence of mortar. This tradition employs a method of building a wall by fitting each piece of stone against the next until the wall resembles a perfectly constructed puzzle. These rock walls are particularly abundant in the West of Ireland, especially Connemara.
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Soil amendments and proper soil preparation are essential when installing a new landscape. As a matter of fact, it is arguably the most important component of a successful landscape. Clients often pay for a new landscape completely unaware that the installer doesn’t even have a clue what needs to go into the native soil for proper plant growth. Often enough, even the person doing the installing is unaware that THEY are unaware of it.
