My daughter planted Arbutus ‘Marina' in her Mediterranean-style courtyard, because it reminds her of madrone trees at summer camp. Every time I see her tree, I think of carving a seventh-grade girl’s initials on a madrone trunk while on a Boy Scout camping trip in another time and place. Madrone (or madrona) trees, native to the Pacific Coast from Southern California to British Columbia, have a wild beauty that appeals to the sentimental, romantic side of some of us, at least.

Arbutus 'Marina' is an evergreen hybrid of unknown origin, closely related to the native madrone. They share the family good looks: twisted, glossy reddish trunks with peeling bark, perky little flowers, even pretty fruit. But unlike the notoriously temperamental native madrone, which seems to die at the thought of garden-style watering or at the sight of a patio, 'Marina' fits nicely into garden situations and conditions.