Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The 2011 ANLD Behind the Scenes Garden Tour, Part 2

Yesterday I shared a pictorial overview of six of the eight gardens from this coming Saturday’s ANLD tour. Today we visit the other two gardens, the Twombley Garden and the Hardiman Garden. But first I must mention one of the unadvertised benefits of taking this tour, as you follow the map to the gardens on the tour you’re driving through residential neighborhoods that you may otherwise never happen upon. You are bound to see wonderful things that excite and inspire…like this fabulous agave that I spotted in route from one garden to the next. Totally unexpected and totally fabulous! And speaking of fabulous….wow! Loved loved loved the first garden on the tour, the Twombley Garden designed by Courtney Downing of Green Artisans. Of course helped that the backdrop (the house) was a fabulous mid-century modern gem, which I failed to get a photo of (blinded by the plants). First you see the front garden anchored by this statement wall…hot huh? There was a matching one next to what must be the carport. The stylish vintage backyard furnishings were icing on the cake. And the plants….many of my favorites were in the dry gravel bed in front of the house. The Verbascum was perfectly timed for maximum impact during the tour… This garden was also a bit of a Tetrapanax education for me. Look…there is a sweet innocent plant cozied up to the agave. But just to the left is the trunk of an established plant that is doing a little branching, and spreading (there were several more in the back garden). Courtney (the garden designer) said that maintenance is part of the service she provides and each year they look at the pups coming up and decide which to keep. My own experience trying to relocate my pups tells me that if you don’t like them where they are it’s very easy to get rid of them. When small they don’t have much of a root system (good if you want to eliminate, bad if you want to transplant).

Most of the gardens on the tour feature the works of local artists. There were a couple of pieces in this garden (by Everett, WA, artist Lance Carleton) that I really liked. If you regularly read this blog you know I’m not a huge fan of garden art so that is indeed a big compliment from me! On the east (?) side of the house is the shady side garden with its winding path and big leaved plants. This gem, which Lucy Hardiman was able to identify for me as Asphodeline lutea is my new “must have” plant! Look at the green “barber pole” stripes the leaves make up the stem! The other garden on the tour that really stood out for me was the personal garden of garden designer Lucy Hardiman (Perennial Partners). If you have attended any of her many lectures you’ve no doubt seen pictures…but that is nothing like seeing it in real life! This lady loves plants…and there are many many fabulous specimens tucked into her very urban garden. She is also most certainly not afraid of color! The Cerinthe major in the hell-strip was a traffic stopper, everyone had to photograph it. Lucy mentioned that the hell-strips are her current favorite place to play; these plants receive no supplemental water once established. I wish I would have gotten the name of this (I think) Echium… Stone mosaics provide a welcome to people parking along the street. We were told the name of this well behaved thistle, but of course I didn’t write it down. I remembered two important details though. It was a gift from Dan Hinkley, and it is virtually impossible to locate for sale anywhere. This garden in on a double lot with two residential structures. Lucy and her husband live in part of one of the homes and they rent out the remaining apartments. She said they have very little turnover. With a garden like this to enjoy why would you leave? Do you want to see more ANLD Garden tour photos? I attended the tour in 2009 and posted pictures here, and here. One of the gardens in the second post is the personal garden of designer Lauren Hall-Behrens, if you are one of the lucky people attending the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon Study Weekend hers is one of the open gardens you’ll be able to tour. You definitely don’t want to miss it!

And of course you don't want to miss this years ANLD tour, remember it's this coming Saturday June 18th and you can get your tickets here.

16 comments:

  1. I'm impressed at the quality of happy Agave havardiana / A. parryi I see up in Cascadia. Wish I was free of all this work I have, to do a random trip on that tour w/ my SW Airlines pass...what nice places you show! And cooler than here.

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  2. Very nice, and right up your alley, all those pokey plants! Sorry to have missed you last weekend, I didn't make it to the Manito sale. We actually live at the bottom of the Spokane Valley, right in between the Manito/South Hill area and Liberty Lake. On Sat my husband was out of town to do a half-Ironman race so I shuttled kids to a birthday party and did NOT attempt any sales with 3 kids in tow.

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  3. Wow... What great pictures! Wish I could come see them in person.
    The echium in the hell strip is, I THINK, E. lusitanicum, which has been mostly hardy for me here in a wet zone 5. About half my plants bit it last winter, but the rest came through.

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  4. I love it when bloggers go on garden tours! I think that unnamed echium might be gentianoides, and that delicious cirsium is probably C. rivulare ‘atropurpureum’ -- Digging Dog offered it recently but otherwise seriously unavailable in the U.S. I saw Hardiman's garden on a tour a couple years back, and she said she was about to rip into a major re-do. Asphodels, yes, love!
    And that's great news that tetrapanax's runners are shallow rooted and easily destroyed. All quiet on the southern tetrapanax front for now!

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  5. That cirsium is available in seed from Thompson & Morgan. I tried it a few years ago. It grew for one year then died. I loved it while it was alive. Gorgeous flowers. ... Your tour photos are fabulous, Loree. I heard Lucy speak at a Master Gardener event several years ago. She left a bunch of plants for people to take cuttings from but none of mine took. Darn. Great post.

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  6. Fantastic post and pix! It feels like we were right there with you on the garden tour, and inspires me to get out on the next garden tour I can, which just so happens to be this weekend. Yay, garden tour season is here!

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  7. WOW, the Twombley Garden is amazing. Awesome photos!

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  8. Nice gardens! And I love the Mondrian-style wall structures at the Twombley garden. Not to mention waiting patiently for my Tetrapanax to become a similar problem...maybe in a couple of years? By coicidence, I was just reading about David Douglas and the asphodels he collected in the PNW. Now I know what one type looks like.

    I'm pumped that at least I get to see Lucy's garden this Sunday on one of Metro's natural gardening tours (one of the reasons I can't do the ANLD tour.) I was there years ago - thanks for this taste of delights to come!

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  9. My goodness! That was a sensational set of photos. I can see why you are inspired. It all looks so green. Ahhhh...
    David/ Tropical (Dust) Texana

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  10. What beauty! Looks like you had such a great time. Lots of pokey plants is right. And a lot of them blooming! Thanks for showing us all these great photos!

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  11. Well how cool is this, if we are talkin SW Twombley I 'll be strolling about there with my post- I-5 cocktail before this month is out- ! I wonder how neighborly these folks are ?

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  12. Thank you for posting these tour photos, Loree! The Twombley Mondrian screens and furniture make my eyes water behind my eyeballs! ...that is a funny thing to say, huh? Thanks for the kind words! I'm looking forward to the Study Weekend.

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  13. gasping down here! love the mcm garden, or whatever you call it. the twomley one, with the amazing succulents and that cool wall and fiberglass planter and and and... LOVE!! also, that stone mosaic driveway is fabulous! it looks like a magic carpet! thanks for the peek-a-boo tour!!

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  14. Stylish gardens and plants! The Mondrian screen/partition steals the show!

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  15. Thanks for the follow-up...man...I really want that thistle!

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  16. DD, isn't it gorgeous! And under a tree! Maybe it's good that you can't get away...the cooler temps and lush green just might be too much for you.

    VW, I completely understand (3 kids in tow). I don't know how you manage the time to have such a beautiful garden with 3 kids!!!

    Greensparrow, uhm...50% success rate in zone 5 sounds like 90% in zone 8....I'm gonna have to check this one out!

    Denise, yes! C. rivulare ‘atropurpureum’ certainly looks right.

    Grace, there is some consolation in knowing that there are others out there like me who suck at the whole propagation by cuttings thing.

    Aerie-el, yay! Glad I could inspire. Are you going to the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling?

    Heather, thank you!

    MulchMaid, I hope you will do a post on Metro's tour...I've never gone on one.

    David, yes...sorry to rub it in.

    Candy, it was a great day!

    ks, you're making a trip up to Oregon? Actually Twombley is the owners last name...but with garden furniture like that I bet they can appreciate a drop-by with cocktails!

    Lauren, "my eyes water behind my eyeballs"...omg! Did you just come up with that?

    Laguna, glad I could do a little pay back for all the fabulous tours you've taken us along on!

    Mark and Gaz, agreed.

    scott, you and me both.

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