water feature Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

Puget Sound Gardeners Fling – People, Plants, and More

Last month 100 garden social media influencers met in Puget Sound WA to tour gardens, share meals, and make new friends. This was the 15th such annual gathering, called the Gardeners Fling. We meet in a different city each year (except for 2 Covid-fraught summers) and the host city gardeners plan a 4-5 day outstanding garden experience.

Our time in Puget Sound was magical. Each garden, private and public, wowed in so many different ways.

I’ll start my virtual tour with the garden of one of our hosts, Camille Paulsen, @tahomaflora .

She has crafted her space to frame and enhance the many gorgeous views of Mount Tahoma, also known as Mount Rainier. The mountain enjoys almost mystical status around Seattle and Tacoma. The days start with an assessment about the visibility of the mountain and end on the same note. How fortunate her family is to have this National Geographic-worthy sight from their deck, their paths, their hills, and so many other vantage points.

We were there on a clear day, and the mountain was glorious.

This little secret seating area on the edge of the hillside had a special view, too.

I can imagine sneaking away to to escape here.

Several paths wind through the property, all of them welcoming and interesting. And many of them with an eye to the view.

On the back deck, a bit of whimsy highlights the distance of treks to similar mountain hot spots.

The light was striking as it poured in between the leaves of a collection of Japanese maples and other wispy trees.

Camille’s artistic flair extends beyond the curating of plants to include an interesting assortment of art in the garden. Various carefully crafted vignettes were tucked throughout.

Sharing the adventure with so many long-time and new gardeners was as fun as discovering the garden itself.

So many unique details caught my eye.

Sweet spaces scattered everywhere.

The pool area was a lovely gathering spot filled with interesting pots and plants.

Tucked down the hill in the forest, koi languished in a beautiful pond, suprised by all their guests.

Enjoying some pats, Camille’s cat seemed unfazed by all the garden gawkers.

Thanks, Camille, for a great tour of your lovingly created garden.

Another post to come soon highlighting other beautiful sights from the 2024 Puget Sound Gardeners Fling.

By Diana C. Kirby|2024-08-18T09:27:49-05:00August 18th, 2024|2024 Garden Bloggers Fling, 2024 Gardeners Fling, 2024 Puget Sound Fling, Blog, bloggers, blogging, cedar tree, Crocosmia, cypress trees, decor, Fairy, ferns, Fling, focal point, foliage, Garden, garden bloggers, garden bloggers fling, garden decor, garden photography, garden statues, garden tour 2024, garden travel, garden visit, garden whimsy, hanging pots, Japanese garden, japanese maple, landscape design, leaves, Mount Ranier, Mount Tahoma, path, paths, pathway, patio, people, photography, plant, pond, pool, rock wall, Sharing Nature's Garden, statuary, statue, succulents, Tacoma, tour, travel, Uncategorized, water feature, water features|9 Comments

Tour of Austin Garden Bloggers Fling’s beautiful gardens

I’m not sure I could pick a garden favorite at last May’s Austin Garden Bloggers Fling. The itinerary included a taste of unique ecclectic, xeric, formal, contemporary, and cottage style gardens — a smorgasbord of landscaping styles to delight the senses.

My favorite shot, this picturesque view of the Austin skyline served as the backdrop of a bed running along the back of the Burrus garden.

This rustic stone water trough at the front of the house is surrounded by lush shade plantings.

A quaint cottage-style garden house was built using rock from the property, incorporating vintage windows, and serving as home to beautiful climbing roses.

This sweet dog quietly sat guard throughout our tour.

Flanked by a long driveway peppered with structural agaves and native trees, visitors get a glimpse into the xeric garden that awaits them above.

The Jamison garden, with its cottage ambiance, provided a winding path along the sides and the back of the garden. Filled with ephemera, water features, seating areas, and secret spaces, it’s charm was enchanting.

After running out of room in her own garden, Burrus began beautifying the land that divides her street that runs by an elementary school. With no means of irrigation, she filled it with xeric plants and provided seating areas for neighbors and school children to enjoy.

When we arrived at this garden, the torrential rain that drenched everyone at the Wildflower Center and at my garden had abated and slowed to a light sprinkling. Special thanks to Laura Wills , Austin Fling co-planner, for the insight to order colorful ponchos for this rainy day.

The weather didn’t slow the tour as bloggers walked toward the contemporary xeric garden filled with sculptural yuccas and agaves and Cor-ten steel elements.

Stay tuned for more Austin Garden Bloggers Fling garden tour highlights.

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-01-20T10:55:11-06:00January 20th, 2019|2018, 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling, Agave, animals, Austin gardens, bench, bloggers, Cor-ten steel, dog, garden tour 2018, GBF2018, seating, shade plants, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized, water feature, water features, whales tongue agave, Wildflowers, wildlflower|4 Comments

Garden paradise at the Austin Pond Tour 2018

This summer, Laura Wills of Wills Family Acres, and I went on the Austin Pond Tour. It was blazing hot, and being in gardens with water feature focal points was a little relief from the heat. (But not much!)

I’m not sure what I expected. The ponds we saw ranged from absolutely amazing to I’m-not-sure-why-this-is-on-the-pond-tour. This one was my absolute favorite. I would never leave the garden if I lived there.

We arrived at the garden and began the tour in the front of the house next to the entrance.

It was a lovely waterfall that spilled down the side of the walkway and passed underneath the puddle on the other side.

Set on a hill, the front of the house was up a fairly steep slope so the pond looked very natural cascading with a beautiful rock design.

In addition to a collection of native plants and wildflowers, water plants were scattered throughout the pond, making it feel like a lush oasis.

Well done and surrounded by plants, it was lovely. It was a little small, though, and not quite what I expected. I also thought that I’d prefer to have it in the back yard, where I could relax beside it.

And then, we ventured around to the back.

Wow. Just wow. No other words. In the many private gardens I’ve been lucky enough to see, I’ve never seen such a beautiful landscape with a half dozen waterfalls and ponds.

The back landscape started deep in a ravine-like depression. Stone and decomposed granite paths criss-crossed up the steep hill to the back of the property. Interwoven with the paths and ponds and waterfalls, an array of the native and adapted plants of a collector delight visitors at every turn.

Even in the heat of a scorching summer day, we wound our way up and up and up, toward the top.

More waterfalls and ponds covered the sides of the back yard as well.

Nestled on one side of the main waterfall, a structure designed to look like a boat peeks out from the cover of trees and plants.

With a lovely deck and a large inside room, this haven must have been designed as a playroom for children or a secluded retreat for reading, writing or respite.

The garden (and the house) were for sale when we visited.

While the landscape was stunning, it clearly required a dedicated owner and garden lover who would attend to it with care. I wished it were mine, and came with a large contingent of diligent helpers!

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-01-02T08:00:46-06:00January 2nd, 2019|hard scape, hardscape, hillside, monarda, pond, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized, water feature, water features|8 Comments

Lush hillside garden delights bloggers at Fling

Filled with a seemingly endless array of textures, colors, and forms, Barbara Katz’s garden provided a cool oasis on a hot summer day at the Garden Bloggers Fling in DC and Norther Virginia.

The back yard, filled with plants, stone and a babbling brook, evoked a Zen-like peacefulness.

The koi added a pop of color to the pond.

Japanese maples, decorative stone and conifers create a blend of beautiful textures.

This combo of bold colors is echoed in many different kinds of plants with similar hues.

The containers highlighted the same vibrant contrasts she wove into her garden.

Bloggers flocked up the steps into the upper lever of the garden.

At the top of the garden, a bench is tucked away waiting to provide a place to enjoy a contemplative moment.

This realistic iguana required a second look as we strolled through the garden.

Lush paths lead around the side of the house.

Bloggers spread out around the front yard, looking for the best shot of this cottage-style garden.

This unique and beautifully designed garden – cottage in the front and Zen in the back, was delightful.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:53-06:00September 20th, 2017|color, container gardening, containers, cottage garden, Fling, Fling 2017 DC, koi, pond, Sharing Nature's Garden, Stream, Uncategorized, water feature, water features, Zen garden|4 Comments

Take a step back in time at Hillwood Gardens…

It felt as if we stepped back in time when we toured the lovely grounds of Hillwood Gardens at the 2017 Garden Bloggers Fling in the Northern Virginia/D.C. area. The grounds of the estate offered something for everyone. From the formal areas to the cutting garden, Japanese garden and the pet cemetery, the patchwork of styles was delightful.

Filled with traditional and eclectic statuary, the grounds were dotted with whimsical touches. This pair of sphinxes, half woman, half lion, drew many stares from visitors.

Across the lush lawn from the mansion, a flagstone patio marks the edge of a balcony overlooking the hilly lawn below.

I did not venture down the hill; my dog took me down on the street in our neighborhool 9 weeks before the Fling and I spent the entire trip hobbling around with a broken foot in a boot!

It was very manageable almost everywhere. There were only 3 hilly gardens that I either couldn’t or chose not to navigate. And I brought baggies to make ice packs for my foot every night. The kindness of my fellow bloggers was astounding. I believe that every single person asked me at least once or twice about how I was doing and asked if there was anything they could do for me. It really touched me how kind and generous every one was. Thank you all for your help and support.

In the midst of many formal garden elements, I found this border dotted with tropical plants and bold color contrasts a delightful surprise.

The Japanese garden lies down the path to the right of the patio. The hillside garden winds through rocks and holds an extensive collection of Japanese style statuary. The stunning color combinations almost take your breath away and the varying textures and forms create fabulous contrasts.

What Japanese garden would be complete without a water feature, a pagoda and an arched wooden bridge.

The water feature brought an element of calm and cool to the garden, in spite of the heat of the day.

Down the path to the left of the patio a pet cemetery honors the furry family members of Marjorie Merriweather Post.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch and then I found my way to the cutting garden. Filled with beautiful blooms of every size and color, the flowers were also given a helping hand with stakes and a a full length grid. About a foot high, the grid allowed the flowers to grow straight up through it from early on, ensuring nice, straight stalks.

One of my favorite plants for its exotic look and structural shape, there was a big patch of Eryngium.

And, a few more whimsical statues to close out this blog tour.

Back to the work at hand, we shoot each other at the same time!

Another wonderful garden experience on our Capital Region Fling.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:53-06:00July 25th, 2017|2017 Garden Bloggers Fling, cut flowers, cutting garden, cuttings, dahlias, garden bloggers fling, garden decor, garden sculpture, garden whimsy, Japanese garden, layering, Pets, sculpture, Sharing Nature's Garden, tropical, tropicals, Uncategorized, water feature, water features|3 Comments

Frogs in the fountain…and some toads, too!

Since Jeff built this beautiful fountain for me a few months ago, I’ve spent a lot of time peering in behind the rocks to monitor the adventures of our resident frogs and toads. I feel like they’re pets (though I’m sure that THEY don’t feel that way).

It’s just perfect for this spot.

My favorite place to sit outside, the fountain bubbles and drips and makes beautiful music.

And it’s so inviting – a little cooling oasis in the middle of summer sun.

If you build it, they will come! Hello, Freddie Frog. Nice to meet you. A few days after Jeff built the fountain, it became the favorite summer water park of a couple of Rio Grande Leopard frogs. Even on 105 degree days and despite its being in the sun in the afternoon, the water in the fountain remained cool and inviting every day.

And thus began the saga of the slippery ones. I’d occasionally scare one hopping from plant to plant surrounding the fountain.

And as I was becoming more and more obsessed with them, I went on the hunt for them when they weren’t in the fountain.

There are two frogs enjoying our new water feature. Little Freddie, shown in the first two frog photos, and Frieda, above. I assume she is his mother, since he’s bright green and her coloring is more brown and the perfect camouflage for burrowing into my pots. Sometimes they are both in the fountain together, and sometimes they spend some quality alone time in the fountain.

Then came the TOAD….

And once he got in that fountain, he didn’t move. He’d spend days in there, seemingly in the same spot. A squatter – just daring the frogs to come back.

I missed my frogs, but came to like Tad, the toad, too. I’m not sure why I like frogs better than toads. Toads are lumpy and bumpy and look like they would feel icky to touch. Frogs are green and shiny and speckled and smooth and even though I wouldn’t touch them (there would be that girl screaming thing along with falling back onto the ground in terror thing), they just seem prettier.

When it rained last week, Tad the toad hopped out of the fountain to frolic wherever toads and frogs frolic. He must have stayed out past curfew, because after two days of an empty fountain, Frieda, the mom frog, is back. She’s just hanging out on this pretty almost-fall-like day.

I reached around to the back of the fountain with my iPhone to get this picture. They don’t mind my peeking around from the front, but every now and then the dogs like to see what’s going on in the fountain, so our hopping friends have taken up residence behind the rocks most of the time.

You can see some of the rocks are turning green. I’ve been very careful not to disturb the frogs and toads, but this week I am going to carefully remove those specific rocks and clean them by hand and rinse them and put them back into the fountain. I don’t put bleach in any of my outdoor water features — I certainly wouldn’t want even a few drops of that in my gin and tonic!

I love having more wildlife friends to enjoy in our landscape, so frog or toad, they’re all welcome here.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:51-05:00September 13th, 2015|Blog, fountain, frog, Sharing Nature's Garden, toads, water feature, wildlife|0 Comments

water feature

Puget Sound Gardeners Fling – People, Plants, and More

Tour of Austin Garden Bloggers Fling’s beautiful gardens

Garden paradise at the Austin Pond Tour 2018

Lush hillside garden delights bloggers at Fling

Take a step back in time at Hillwood Gardens…

Frogs in the fountain…and some toads, too!

Escape in the garden