Fling

Contemporary landscape creates comfort at Garden Bloggers Fling garden

Combining contemporary style with cool comfort, landscape designer, B. Jane, opened her garden up to the Garden Bloggers Fling held in Austin last summer.  Her straightforward lines and thoughtful plantings evoke a sense of calm and simplicity.

She uses a stone wall and steps to define the entrance.

Entertaining space is punctuated by brightly colored blooms and neon children’s balls floating in the pool.

Brisket, the official greeter, welcomed us to his backyard.  He didn’t seem to mind having company and sharing his oasis with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Pam and I scouted the garden in 2017 as we developed our itinerary for the Fling, we had the pleasure of meeting Brisket’s siblings as well.  Brisket clearly knows how to cool off on a hot summer day.

B. Jane designed a variety of seating vignettes throughout the garden.

Foregoing the formal seating options, a group of bloggers enjoyed the shady view from this wall running along one side of the garden.

With cooling concrete walls and a canopy of shade. this was a perfect spot for bloggers to take a rest and enjoy the garden view.

Colorful cottage garden explodes with color and plants

One of my favorite Austin gardeners, Lucinda Hutson, welcomed busloads of Garden Bloggers Fling guests into her carefully crafted garden.  Surrounded by an explosion of color, gardeners wound through her sanctuary, taking in a rainbow of plants, benches, and ephemera designed to delight.

Lucinda’s garden reflects her love of the Mexican culture which permeates every corner of her garden and home.

 

Multiple seating areas offer welcoming areas for entertaining family and friends.

 

Her cat, Sancho, presides over his domain and took the time to pose for his guests.

Garden rooms are dedicated to different themes like the mermaid grotto.

 

Our gracious hostess joined us at the Fling closing BBQ Bash at Articulture, enjoying the live music and treating us to a dance.

 

Word can’t fully convey our appreciation for the Flingers and their kind words about the Austin Anniversary Fling.  We loved inviting them into our gardens and sharing some special pieces of Austin with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course we needed a shot of tequila to start the Fling off right!

Why do we blog?

The social media explosion forever changed electronic communication around the globe.  The advent of web blogs brought a new, dynamic opportunity for gardeners to communicate with other gardeners.

Suddenly, as more and more gardeners entered the blogging realm, the could read blogs to get real-life information about what works and doesn’t work in their gardens.

They were able to share the highs, lows, quirky stories, and unique experiences and Gardeners embraced this new realm.

Even at the very first Garden Bloggers Fling held here in Austin a decade ago, we had breakout sessions to discuss the future of blogging.  Carol Michel of May Dreams Gardens spoke about the evolving social aspects of blogging.  Kathy Purdy of Cold ClimateGardening discussed the emerging technical issues of maintaining a blog.  Bloggers shared their experiences with Blogger and Word Press programs, monetizing blogs, and the future of blogging.  Even a decade ago, this issue was a burning question.

As the next waves of social media washed over the internet, bloggers expanded their reach, adding Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to expand their outreach repertoire.  Families, jobs, and even gardening, got in the way of publishing detailed and let’s face it, time-consuming posts.

It’s so simple now – throw up140 characters, a great photo, and a snippet of information, and voila, you’re done.  More people see these condensed, tiny bytes of information.  It only takes a few minutes out of your day.

Does this mean that the world of blogging is quietly slipping into the dark of night, a light soon to be extinguished by the new rush to post as fast as you can in real time?

I’d argue no.  While some bloggers find other social media channels more to their liking, others prefer to continue blogging, using those tools to promote their longer, detailed posts.

I’m in the latter camp, and I’m not alone.  Blogging gives me something that none of the other outlets do.

It allows me to express my passion for gardening and to share it with others.  My posts provide information, tips, lots of photos and the story that is continually evolving in my garden.  In return, I’m grateful to have the perspective of others from around the world to expand my horizons with the same cornucopia of detailed information.

The blogging world may have lost a few gardeners to a faster medium that better suits their needs, but I would argue that there will always be a yearning for all that nitty gritty information we dive into on our respective blogs.  We trial plants for each other, we share tips, we experiment, and we celebrate our successes and commiserate over our losses.

There will always be a thirst for knowledge and a demand for detail.  Nothing will replace a blogs ongoing personal perspective that readers can’t always find on a newsstand or in a book. This fulfilling electronic connection cultivates a loyal readership and friendships that span the globe.  It’s why we blog and it’s why we garden bloggers gather each year for the Garden Bloggers Fling.

And, I feel privileged to be among this special group of garden bloggers.  We’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Fling May3-6.  See you all in Austin in 97 days!

 

By |2018-01-27T17:30:47-06:00January 27th, 2018|Blog, bloggers, Fling, Sharing Nature's Garden|3 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.

Garden Bloggers Fling cottage-style garden of Casa Mariposa

Long, hot days and late nights aside, the 2017 Garden Bloggers Fling, held two weekends ago in the Northern Virginia/DC area, had it all.  Surrounded by friends old and new, we toured botanical gardens, private gardens and the many gardens along the National Mall in D.C.

The Fling team did a fabulous job of hosting and things ran like clockwork.  Our chief organizer and hostess writes a garden blog at Casa Mariposa.  We were all excited to see her garden in person.

This quaint arbor and gate mark the entrance to the back garden.

The back garden was overflowing with a rainbow of blooms .

The back was a pollinator’s paradise,

Sweet birdhouses dotted the garden.

A collection of pots and garden art lined the back steps into the house.

A dry creek helps with drainage and provides a hardscape contrast to the delicate flowers.

The shady parts of the garden are brightened by variegated plants.

Bloggers, bloggers everywhere!

I may have to steal this clever idea.  Since dogs always want to run the fence line, we need to work with them, not against them! A cleverly concealed little fence gives the dogs room to run to their hearts’ content without tearing through the beds.

I loved all of the complimentary and contrasting colors in her garden.  I think this combination was my favorite. Opposites really do attract!

Stayed tuned for many more posts about the beautiful Fling gardens.

Cistus nursery delights gardeners at Portland Fling…

Our third stop on the first day of the Portland Garden Bloggers Fling was Cistus Nursery.  Coming from the Lan Su Chinese Garden, which was serene and peaceful, Cistus provided a bold contrast — it was chock full of plants – a sensory explosion for plant lovers.

There were many familiar plants at the nursery, like these Yucca rostrata, which grow happily at home in Austin, Texas.

 I did say chock full, didn’t I?

 But some of the Cistus family were uninterested in visiting bloggers.

“Yeah, I see you, but it’s hot and it feels good here on these cold bricks, so I hope  you don’t mind if I don’t get up to greet you!”

 Oh, so true!  It should have said, “gaggle of plant nerds!”

 I’m smitten with interesting tree bark and there were several great trees to photograph.

 Love these Eryngium — their dramatic spiky blooms provide unique texture in any garden bed.

 Dramatic grasses billowed in the breeze.

While it was easy to become engrossed in the plants on the ground and the tables, the impressive views extended to some of the majestic trees that love the Pacific Northwest.

There were many different species of Eucomis in the gardens and nurseries in Portland.  I’ve been  babying one in my own garden at home for some time.  Forced to suffer the scorching heat and the periodic nibbling deer, it is tough as nails.  Hmmmm…. and thus began the idea of taking another one home with me…

I saw this plant all over the Portland gardens — Melianthus major.  Big, bold, textured and tough, it really caught my eye.  I took several photos of it, fully intent on finding one for my garden at home.  But after some research yesterday, I’ve decided it might be too invasive in my garden…but maybe I can keep one in a pot!

 Another favorite in my garden, Euphorbia.

 Flingers in search of treasure.

 More interesting bark.

And these crocosmia were everywhere.  Their beautiful strappy leaves combined with vibrant blooms add a real pop to any garden setting.

 More amazing Erygnium.

 Reaching for the sun.

Being a salvia collector, I’m going to have to try to find one of these in Austin for my garden — Salvia guar. ‘Argentine skies.’

Even the growing heat couldn’t keep us from fanning out across the nursery in search of garden goodies.  Some bloggers left with plants.  I left with something almost as good — ideas!

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