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A gardener’s wish list of styles, all in one Portland garden

Last month’s Garden Bloggers Fling in Portland offered something for everyone. There were many different gardens, ranging from cottage style to tropical.

The Old Germantown Gardens found its way onto my favorites list because it was one-stop shopping. (Well, not literally shopping, though we did a lot of that on the Fling, too. ) Winding paths, perennial beds, a rock garden, ponds, a dry hillside garden, tropical plants and a collection of seating areas were scattered about the 2-acre property. A mere 23 years in the making, the gardeners brought the design and their plant collections together beautifully.

The vista from the front of the house beckons you into the garden.

Winding paths entice you into the diverse gardens and vignettes.

In spite of the broad swaths of color and texture and form, stunning individual blooms reached out to me in many places throughout this garden.

Something new and unique waited around every corner and down each path.

Ah, a lovely place to rest and enjoy the garden.

But I didn’t dally here – too much more to see!

The woodland garden was a treat for me – the cool, shady path provided a welcome relief from the hot sun and in Austin, Texas, a garden like this is rare.

I’m always delighted by the conifers in the Pacific Northwest.

Another path leading to more garden goodies.

I saw these plants in the nursery in Portland and on someone’s blog post. The color combination absolutely wowed me.

And there were daylilies everywhere. Tall daylilies, short daylilies, bright daylilies, pale daylilies.

Then there was a drier garden, fille with plants that I recognized.

And some tropical colors started appearing in the garden.

Doesn’t everyone need a waterfountain in the middle of the garden for a refreshing drink while you are weeding?!

Ah – Eucomis – I have one at home and bought one at the nursery the previous night. Love them.

And another familiar sight – cacti with beautiful blooms.

And then there were the real tropicals – love these hot, popping colors.

And a greenhouse full of special plants.

It was a delightful garden with so much to see and enjoy. The best kind of garden for a tour – one in which every path leads to a new garden adventure.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:06-06:00July 23rd, 2014|2014 garden bloggers fling, Blog, day lilies, focal point, garden bloggers fling, paths, Portland, seating, Sharing Nature's Garden, tropical color, tropicals|0 Comments

Old-world patina of New Orleans style captured in inviting Houston tour garden…

Last weekend, my friend and fellow blogger, Pam Penick, traveled to Houston for the Garden Conservancy’s Open Day’s Tour. This was probably my favorite house on the tour.

Located in the posh River Oaks, the New Orleans-style theme of the home was carried throughout the multi-layered gardens surrounding it. The old brick, wrought iron and garden charm of plants typically found in old gardens really appealed to me.

Not only was the wisteria cascading down the front balcony beautiful, its heady scent helped to set the mood for the tour visitors.

This garden incorporated many different garden elements of style. There were several areas with cottage-style layering like this front bed.

Houston gets much more rain than we do here in Austin. While tour volunteers told us that they’d had temperatures down to 20* this winter, the gardens sure didn’t show it. Most of them were filled with stunning azaleas, one of the hallmarks of the tour, but we also saw gorgeous delphiniums in many of the gardens. Tall and majestic, and blue — they stood tall and proud — like exclamation points.

As ubiquitous as the azaleas, the sweet smell of citrus greeted us in almost every garden. Lush with blooms or fruit, they made me long for a more tropical climate — and an orange or a lime or a kumquat!

An amazing pool was the centerpiece of the back yard. With its palms, negative edge and geometric shape, it provided a different aesthetic in this part of the garden.

Several interesting statues and works of art were nestled around the grounds, like this camel carrying an obelisk.

This rhino was tucked into a far corner of the garden, down a long, winding path. He seemed oddly out of place to me, but perhaps he represents something special to the owners. That’s one of the joys of gardening – creating a space that reflects your personality and style, but also creating a space that is intentional and has meaning. So, I decided to embrace the rhino.

And then across the grounds, another area with that French quarter feel – the foliage covered brick wall and the dark iron fountain as a focal point from afar.

There weren’t as many people on the tour when we started – we’re always tour-eager early birds. These two volunteers had finished their work at another tour site and sat down to chat when they arrived to see this garden. It certainly was the kind of peaceful garden that invited you to sit and admire it.

On the side lawn, another vine-laden fence — this one serving as the backdrop for a piece of sculpture. The garden was so inviting, even the sculpture felt welcome to lounge on the grass.

Another view of the fountain – beautifully crafted space with layers of color, texture and contrast.

This is the view from the sculpture side of the garden across the pool – looking into an enclosed pavillion-like space for entertaining.

The garden was also filled with several lush, plant-lined paths, leading mysteriously to another garden nook.

Behind the wall and fountain is another treat — a more elaborately-designed space.

This aged king of the jungle was guarding the area – his mossy patina as inviting and interesting as the walls he was protecting.

A closer look at the fountain on the other side and its little orange occupants, who all seemed to be very happy with their home in this beautiful garden.

Back through another secret pathway, lined again with a mix of plants — including this striking and sculptural agave. It seemed to lure visitors in, while at the same time warning them not to get too close.

This bucking horse seemed to be ready to romp around the garden.

I love the look for old New Orleans gardens, with their old, mossy brick courtyards, fountains and wrought iron. Although this estate was huge, it was designed with inviting spaces and elements that gave it a more personal and intimate feel.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:11-06:00April 1st, 2014|Agave, agaves, Blog, fountain, garden art, Garden Conservancy 2014, garden tour, garden tour 2014, goldfish, Houston, New Orleans, paths, pool, sculpture, Sharing Nature's Garden, wisteria|0 Comments

Stunning San Francisco Fling garden tour of my dream garden…

The San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling was an amazing adventure into a myriad of unique and beautiful gardens and micro climates. I expected the weather in San Francisco to be cool and comfortable. Not so. As is often the case when I’ve traveled to the annual garden flings, they were having an uncharacteristic heat wave. (The Texas bloggers have a theory that we bring the beat with us – a tradition we’d love to put an end to!)

San Francisco was tolerable, though as we ventured further out from the city, it was hotter (103 one day walking through the gardens) and drier. Of course the beauty of the micro climates is that it enabled us to tour a wonderful variety of gardens, all within driving distance.

On the last day, we visited the Ann Nichols Garden in Oakland. This was my favorite garden by far, filled with mysterious paths, babbling water features, unique artwork and an intricate garden of tropical plants and desert plants mixed with traditional plants. (I have a soft spot for tropicals and I garden in the scorching heat of the southwest in Austin, Texas.)

As you arrive, the garden rises from the street in a succulent-lovers hillside of hot with the tropical colors of agaves, yuccas, phormium and cannas.

Everyone ooohed and ahhhhed over this intricate spiral agave. It can’t take our arid heat, so I won’t be searching for one to plant in my garden.

I finally tore myself away from the hillside to follow a delicate, almost-hidden path up to the house. Lined with papyrus, aloes, ground cover and cannas, it led me to my ultimate destination — a stunning brugmansia, its bell-shaped blooms dripping over the path to envelop garden visitors in an apricot canopy.

Winding on the other side of the house is another path, filled with ground cover, succulents and grasses, that leads you up into the back garden.

Along the property line is a fence/trellis/jungle creation that hosts bromeliads, tillandsias ferns and other exotic

But unlike so many side gardens that are just an avenue for reaching another area, this was a mystical garden of its own. Flanked by layers upon layers of plants, the steps lead through a series of unique, artistic ponds that are part of a larger waterway system and all connected.

The water runs through channels from the upper lever water feature down to the other ponds.

Here’s a garden blogger capturing a photo in the garden…you’ll laugh at this one. I was trying to remember who this was and I remember that I was wearing a peach blouse that day, wondering who else did. Then I realize this is a mirror that was hanging on the fence and that’s ME in the picture! Working on a creative photo shot, I captured myself and then promptly forgot about it. In any case, the mirror, tucked behind a treasure trove of plants, was a delightful find for garden visitors.

Next to the gate at the top of the stone steps, a tile mural covers the wall as a backdrop for the pond. Notice the cat in the mural – you’ll see him again in more art in the back garden.

Now onto the back garden. There are 3 levels in the back garden. Through the gate and continuing up the stairs, you pass another water feature as you’re drawn to another gate.

But wait, that’s a door, or is it. No, it’s a gate… It’s a door to a building, painted to look like the gate, with our friend the cat perched on top and his friend waiting for him at the bottom. So clever and entertaining. (And there’s another brugmansia to the left…sigh…)

And then it’s off to the right and up another set of steps, flanked by glorious loropetalums in pots, and up onto the small patch of lawn. In this lush setting, the grass itself is a focal point.

It was also a perfect gathering spot for the garden bloggers to share their thoughts on this amazing garden. Ann Nichols even invited a few of us inside the house to view the back garden from upstairs, which is the perch from which I shot this photo.

Then it’s up the stairs once more, through this Dr. Seuss-like allee of weeping sequoia, tied together and leading you on to the last gate of the garden, a replica of the first gate and the painted gate.

There are several delightful seating areas in the upper garden, which is filled with fragrant roses, succulents and phormium.

And the look back down the hill, framed by the sequoias, to the back of the house and our friends enjoying refreshments and good company.

The back of the house is flanked by a lower-level patio area, filled with pots of suculents and a rock lined retaining wall filled with hot colors and wonderful textures.

You can see why I fell in love with this garden. I’m sure I could have spent the entire day there and still not seen everything it has to offer,

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:13-06:00September 1st, 2013|2013 fling, 2013 Garden Bloggers Fling, Agave, Blog, bromeliad, brugmansia, garden art, gate, loropetalum, mirror, paths, pathway, phormium, San Francisco fling, Sharing Nature's Garden, succulents, tropicals, water feature|2 Comments

Reducing your lawn with beautiful alternatives

Last year, almost all of my landscape clients were searching for ways to reduce their lawn, water use and carbon footprint. The cost of water here has risen dramatically and our water restrictions make it difficult to keep certain kinds of turf looking decent anyway.

So what to do? Paving it over isn’t a pretty alternative, but there are many other beautiful choices to incorporate other elements into your landscape.

Creating an attractive and inviting landscape usually includes an interesting mix of plants and paths, patios and other areas designed for outdoor entertaining and enjoyment. Of course, you can build a few big beds and fill them with drought-tolerant native and adapted plants.

You can replace lawn with sitting and entertaining space — using paths of mulch, decomposed granite or flagstone, patios of native stone or bricks, wooden decks and gazebos, creating an inviting garden space when combined with planting beds. Dry creeks can be added to meander through your landscape to address drainage issues or simply for aesthetic use as a textural contrast to plants and mulch.

You can create a patio area in the front yard so you can watch kids play or visit with your neighbors.

Water features from ponds to disappearing fountains in ceramic pots can add a focal point and invite wildlife into your garden. Play scapes, hammocks, washer pits and fire pits or chimenarias also can be placed on a variety of hard scape materials in lieu of grass.

You can even put in that greenhouse you’ve always dreamed about. What a great way to rationalize that purchase!

I found some of the best inspiration I’ve seen, along with great step-by-step DIY information, in my friend and fellow blogger, Pam Penick’s new book, Lawn Gone!, Low Maintenance, Sustainable Attractive Alternatives for your Yard.

You can read more about Pam’s book and available lawn alternatives in my Austin American Statesman story. Or, check out her Lawn Alternatives Facebook page.

For some great ideas and practical suggestions, look for a copy of Pam’s book at Austin bookstores and nurseries or at Amazon.

So, if you want to reduce your lawn, take heart. There are endless attractive and practical solutions that will enhance your landscape.

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-07-15T19:14:41-05:00February 24th, 2013|beds, Blog, dry creek, greenhouse, lawn alternatives, Lawn Gone, Pam Penick, paths, patio, play scapes, reduce grass, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

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paths

A gardener’s wish list of styles, all in one Portland garden

Old-world patina of New Orleans style captured in inviting Houston tour garden…

Stunning San Francisco Fling garden tour of my dream garden…

Reducing your lawn with beautiful alternatives

Escape in the garden