Monday, June 11, 2012

Garden Textures

I have made a new friend this spring through an old friend, and it is a great pleasure to see how many things we have in common. One thing we do not have in common, however, is a green thumb.  Last week, she invited me and our common friend to see her yard which is 1 1/2 acres in the front of the house and another 1 1/2 behind—all gardens! 

The day we went to visit was rainy on and off, so we timed our walks between the showers.  Many of the spring blossoms are gone but there are such lovely color and textures I thought you would enjoy it.  They bought the property 10 years ago and lived on it while building their house.  Although the garden has developed over the whole 10 years, the plan for it was conceived at the outset and filled in piece by piece.  They have done all the work themselves.  Most of the plants have come from cuttings of friends’ plants, or scavenged trees that were going to be dug up.  Even the California Redwoods were saved from gardeners pulling the errant starts out of flower beds (while they were on a California trip.)  Their garden is a Rescue Shelter for homeless plants—but all very coordinated and planned.

12-06-07-13-42-11H View from the dining table

 12-06-07-14-10-52H 12-06-07-14-24-46H 12-06-07-14-25-08HThey dammed up a little creek running through the property and created a koi pond, complete with waterfall.

12-06-07-14-26-32H

12-06-07-14-47-24H 12-06-07-14-38-18H 12-06-07-14-41-46H 12-06-07-14-41-57H 12-06-07-14-45-39H

12-06-07-14-40-05H Variegated-leaf Queen Anne’s Lace

12-06-07-15-19-15HPink Peace rose  12-06-07-14-49-13H 12-06-07-14-50-27H 12-06-07-14-58-03H 12-06-07-15-01-10HA gulch with another creek runs through the back of the property

Her garden comes complete with baby ducks12-06-07-14-17-33H

and chicks and hens12-06-07-14-19-29H 12-06-07-14-19-37H  12-06-07-14-20-51H 12-06-07-14-27-40H She paints with plants, mixing colors and textures on a real-life canvas!

8 comments:

Connie said...

The work here is staggering. It is beautiful and your close-ups were fun to see as well.

Have a great summer!

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

Wow - that is a picture book of beauty! What a green thumb! Linda

Judy said...

A beautiful garden on the edge of the forest. Thanks for the tour!

Anneliese said...

So much beauty to take in!

Rowan said...

That's a big garden to take care of - it looks beautiful and I love that they have ducklings and chickens as well.

Willow said...

What a beautiful spot and it's so very Pacific Northwest :) Lovely!
But I'm thinking it must take a lot of work for upkeep.

Willow said...

PS: Your post about chalkboard artists at Trader Joe's now has me curious. I'll be stopping at TJ's tomorrow for groceries and will have a look around and see if there are more artists down my way.

Gilly said...

Oh, what a wonderful garden! It looks absolutely beautiful. It does help to have an overall plan from the beginning and sticking to it! Obviously much more organised than we are!