Growing conditions in Davis - hot, dry summers, windy days, clay soil and alkaline water - can make gardening, especially for newcomers, difficult, said UC Davis Arboretum Collections Manager Ellen Zagory.
"It's a special challenge," she said. "Not all plants will tolerate (the conditions)."
But the flowers, shrubs, grasses and trees in the UC Davis Arboretum Terrace home demonstration garden flourish in the regional climate. The garden, which opened Saturday next to Borders Bookstore at Davis Commons, takes the worry out of choosing the appropriate plants for the Davis area.
Visitors won't see Midwest and Eastern backyard staples like lilacs and dogwoods struggling to survive in this garden, nor any other lovely yet unsuitable blossoms.
"It's intended to be very local. You won't see any rhododendrons or azaleas here," Zagory said. Those lushly flowered bushes also thrive in many areas of the country -- including Sacramento - but not in Davis, she said.
The garden at the Davis Commons shopping center displays dozens of plants like western redbud, columbine, yarrow, and deer grass that will not only thrive in a local garden but also require little maintenance and water.
"It's extremely multi-leveled," said Mark Bibbo, an arboretum laborer who helps tend the demonstration garden. "Someone who has never gardened can plant something that is basic and easy to grow, but we also have more unusual plants that you don't really see anywhere else."
The patio-style garden features meandering beds of hardy plants geared to new gardeners, California natives for those with greener thumbs and tall decorative grasses for those looking for the latest in garden design.
Benches and umbrella-topped tables at the terrace beckon a social or contemplative visit, but the garden also has a strong educational component, said UC Davis Arboretum Director Kathleen Socolofsky.
"It is the first garden in the arboretum to be designed completely with the visitor's learning in mind," she said.
Panels lining the garden's walkways offer tips on plant care and identification. Rather than organizing plants simply for display purposes, the Arboretum Terrace is designed to offer gardeners suggestions they can easily employ at home. A special section of the garden, for instance, is devoted to brightly-colored summer flowers like daisies, asters and coralbells that will attract butterflies, hummingbirds and bees.
"We're trying to connect the garden to wildlife and help people see that the garden is not an isolated thing," Zagory said. "It can help contribute to an organism's survival."
The demonstration garden was also designed as an inclusive project for the campus and the community, Socolofsky said. Arboretum Terrace was jointly developed by the campus arboretum and the UC Davis Grounds Division with funding support from several private donors and groups.
Hundreds of community and campus volunteers planted the garden's flowers and shrubs in preparation for opening.
Tucked into a corner at the end of the shopping center, the garden hasn't received too many casual visitors yet. But Zagory expects the garden to soon serve as a visible gateway for Davis visitors and residents to discover the resources of the main campus arboretum, which begins just south of Arboretum Terrace.
The relationship also works in reverse, said Capay Valley resident Mary Patterson, a regular garden volunteer. Visitors to the professionally maintained arboretum may not realize that they, too, can grow some of the plants found there, like the prolific native western redbud. Showing gardeners the same plants in a demonstration garden gives them confidence, she said.
"We tell them this is a great plant to have in your garden in Davis," Patterson said. "This is how high it gets, this is how it should grow, and you can buy it here locally."
The Arboretum Terrace garden is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily at the corner of First and E streets.