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A garden with a view…

It was a picture perfect morning in a hillside garden overlooking Lake Washington just outside of Seattle. Our first stop of the day on the Seattle Fling, we began at the award-winning home of Michelle and Christopher Epping.

It was hard to know at where to look — at the beautiful garden, the glistening blue lake or the skyline of Seattle on the horizon.
The garden was a filled to the brim with vibrant colors and textures.

Several different pathways led through secret garden areas with statues and other interesting objects tucked into the landscape for discovery by garden visitors.
The garden was sprinkled with giant mounds of Hakonechloa, Japanese Forest Grass, seen here against a stunning sky-blue Hydrangea and a burgundy Japanese Maple in the background.
One little path led to a wooden bench that offered us a rest and a different perspective from which to admire the garden. Pam of Digging and Kylee of Our Little Acre took a little break with me in the shade.
The garden was also filled with whimsical cedar sculptures carved by the owner’s father.
What an inspiring way to start the day!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:23-06:00July 23rd, 2011|Blog, garden bloggers, garden bloggers fling, Hakonechloa, Lake Washington, sculpture, Seattle, Sharing Nature's Garden, Spring Fling 2011, statue|0 Comments

Seattle’s Best … Gardens, that is…

Day 1 of the Garden Bloggers Fling, held in Seattle this year, was even more than I could have hoped for.

Our tours today took us to two private gardens, one private/public garden and the Washington University Center for Urban Horticulture.

Come take a stroll with me through the first garden, lovingly created by Shelagh Tucker. This garden was full of little vignettes and pockets of secret gardens around every turn.

The recent rains and cool temperatures in Seattle made all of the plants lush and ready for our visit.

There was a lot of old stonework in this garden, steps and benches and intricate inlaid details that added charm and an old-world feel to the garden.

All the borders and beds were filled to the brim with layers upon layers of plants – complimentary and contrasting colors, shapes, sizes and textures – creating a rich and beautiful palette.

And within each vignette are wonderful little pairings like this one. Her eye for plant combinations made this garden a delightful journey of discovery.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:05-05:00July 22nd, 2011|Blog, cottage garden, garden bloggers, garden bloggers fling, Garden Tours 2011, lilies, Seattle, Sharing Nature's Garden, Spring Fling 2011|0 Comments

Buffalo gardens amaze & impress

As I traveled home from a delightful time in Buffalo for the garden bloggers’ Buffa10 gathering, I tried to think of the best way to describe the gardens I’d seen.

It wasn’t easy.

We had a whirlwind 4 days — seeing sights, touring gardens, meeting and making friends and smelling the roses.

Our hosts, Elizabeth Licata of Gardening While Intoxicated and Jim Charlier of Art of Gardening took us on a fairytale tour of their beautiful city and its gardens. They were perfect ambassadors who opened our eyes to not only the gardens of the city, but the art and the architecture and the city’s rich history.

A wide variety of gardens and gardeners welcomed us with open arms as we descended upon the city.

And while they ranged from jam-packed cottage gardens to simple, zen-like Asian gardens, they all had one thing in common.

They were lush.

Really lush.

There — that was it, that was the word that captured all the gardens we had the good fortune to see. According to Thesaurus.com, there are many ways to describe something lush.

Main Entry:	lush
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	profuse and delightful
Synonyms:	abundant, ambrosial, delectable, delicious, deluxe, dense, elaborate, extensive, extravagant, exuberant, flourishing, fresh, grand, green, heavenly, juicy, lavish, luscious, luxuriant, luxurious, opulent, ornate, overgrown, palatial, plush, prodigal, prolific, rank, rich, riotous, ripe, ritzy, scrumptious, sensuous, succulent, sumptuous, teeming, tender, verdant,

Oddly enough, the weather when my travel companion Pam, of Digging, and I arrived, was actually hotter than in Austin, Texas! Back home – 86, Buffalo – 91!
On our first afternoon, we enjoyed a walking tour of the Allentown Gardens, including a stop for happy hour at Elizabeth’s garden.
Then we were treated to a fabulous dinner and a tour of the 20th Century Club and its gardens. See that sun?!
Garden bloggers Leslie of Growing a Garden in Davis, Robin of Bumblebee Blog and Kathy of Cold Climate Gardening are probably discussing the uncharacteristically hot weather in Buffalo as we wait for dinner.
And now, more lushness.
The beauty was blurred, one stunning garden after another, as we stumbled along – not knowing which street we were on or whose garden it was, just struck by the amazing displays of annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs and garden art.
And then there was the amazing architecture, including some borrowed views of historic buildings like this one.
Each garden delivered a new perspective, a different plant list and a unique feel to our troupe of 70 visitors.

And I, for one, will carry these amazing memories with me for a long time. Buffalo is a beautiful, historic city, and one I would gladly visit again and again.

There is so much more to see — stay tuned for more posts about our amazing adventure. This just covered the first 6 hours!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:26-06:00July 13th, 2010|Blog, bloggers, Buffa10, cottage garden, garden bloggers, garden tour, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Design day…

Today was the perfect day – 81 degrees and a gaggle of garden bloggers came to my house for our second monthly “DesignA Go Go” brainstorming session.

We did have one non-blogger interloper, who came to greet the guests and snag herself some lemonade. While she was doing that, her Dad was taking these great photos so I could post about our party before they headed off to the movies together.

We toured the gardens, talked about plants and compared notes about what’s still dormant and what might be dead in our gardens after our harsh winter.
After some visiting and chatting,
…and some eating and drinking,

…we set about looking at the area that I designated for my design brainstorming session. (Scroll down to my last post to see the area.)

Everyone asked great questions about what I like and what I don’t. What I’ll plant and what I won’t. And most importantly, what are the dogs gonna do with it all?!

The first component is an area along the wrought-iron fence that allows them to look out and watch the deer off into the woods behind the fence. In front of that, I had visions of a garden area — maybe a little like a secret garden — with some neat features you have to walk into to actually see and experience.

Bloggers sketched and drew and wrote and walked and looked. And I was giddy with anticipation. We all talked about lots of great ideas. And then each gardener shared with me his or her unique perspective.

And honestly, I think I am going to be taking ideas from many of the plans that were laid out – and there were so many good ideas – stock tanks, seating, fencing, plants — you name it, nothing was left off the table.

They even convinced me to try some plants and a stock tank (for plants), that I’d previously rejected. I was really trying to keep an open mind.

And then we had our plant swap and we all got loads of great new plants to try in our gardens.

It was a delightful day – a perfect Austin spring day – for relaxing and enjoying the garden instead of working in it for a chance.

THANKS to everyone who came and spent the afternoon sharing your great ideas with me.

Tomorrow I am off to the Zilker Garden Fest — our biggest garden festival of the year — where I hope to fill my wagon with more goodies to plant. Enough of this resting stuff!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:32-06:00March 27th, 2010|Blog, Design A Go Go, garden bloggers, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

garden bloggers

A garden with a view…

Seattle’s Best … Gardens, that is…

Buffalo gardens amaze & impress

Design day…

Escape in the garden