Monday, August 20, 2012

Crazy Colorfully Cool V2.0

Members of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon have had an abundance of amazing open gardens to visit the last couple of weeks and I’ve got the pictures to prove it! I’ll start things off with a revisit to my friend JJ’s garden which I first posted pictures of last August.

Besides the fact that she’s changed things up considerably over the year (new plants!), with the larger photo format you can see all the cool stuff you couldn't see in the small photos last year!

We’ve started our visit in the cool and shady front garden where I was immediately greeted by this friendly kitty…

There are amazingly good old bones to this space, like the brick built in seat above, and this old sundial.

Her garden is filled with great lighting too, some you see and some you don’t.

There are also an amazing number of seating options, this table just one of them.

Here’s our friendly kitty again…and tell me, did you notice the palm in the earlier (5th) photo above? It’s the much loved Bismarckia nobilis, this one bought at Flora Grubb during our road-trip adventure last spring.

Not reliably hardy here in Portland I meant to ask her what plans she has for overwintering, but I forgot.

Now we’re heading around to the back garden where it’s SUNNY and hot…

After entering the gate (pictured above) you walk past a raised planting area on your left and climb a small set of metal stairs. At the top I turned and looked back down at this seating area.

Beside me at the top of the stairs…

On the other side…

And looking over at the raised planting area…

Stella coming to say hello, with Jacques not too far behind (on the far left of the photo).

The courtyard at the back of the house.

I mentioned in last year’s post that I thought JJ had more containers in her garden than I do in mine. However when she was over for dinner last week out of the blue she announced “you’ve got more containers than I do, you win”…and then laughed. I think she enjoyed knowing someone maybe even more obsessed than she is.

Love the shadow pattern the umbrella casts on the fence and lounge chairs…

Do you think she has a thing for orange?

She has is a pair of these tall pots, and they glow at night! I love that little snippet of metal screen on the right.

Finally I’ll end this post with the same chairs I ended last years with, when I visited back then she was busy putting a bright blue coat of paint over dirty orange. I was surprised she wasn’t going with orange, but she assured me these were to go in her shop (Digs PDX on Alberta) not in her garden. Uhm….

But as you can see they're orange once again and very much in her garden, funny how that worked out!

33 comments:

  1. Oh man, I missed this because of my stupid migraine. What a great garden--she must have the best parties there. Thank you for documenting these tours!

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    1. Damn migraine! I've only been to one but not only does she have a great party space but she's also a great hostess (gallons of sangria!)...I still haven't managed to be there at dusk though, to see all the fun lighting "in action"...

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  2. Just as FABULOUS as the last time you posted her gardens........Where in the world does she winter over all those non-hardy plants?

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    1. If you look carefully at the picture of the orange lounge chairs, where the green umbrella is making the fabulous pattern, you can sort of see the outlines of her greenhouse behind the fence. It's small so she must really pack them in, plus some of the big ones stay in place but are covered.

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  3. This garden is wonderful! The juxtaposition of the traditional brick house with all of the modern elements works so well! There are surprises around every corner! Love the Bismarck Palm - so wish we could just throw them in the ground! Thanks for sharing this cool space with us again!

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    1. You're right about the brick, makes me wish we'd have ended up with a brick house.

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  4. I remember your last post about this splendid garden. Thank you for the news pics. I adore this place. Very modern, i love the pop orange.

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    1. I just wish you all could visit, it's one thing to see pictures but quite another to be there in person!

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  5. Oh my goodness me! I Looooooove it!!! The bismarkia is amazing! It stands out in all those pics. At first I thought maybe it was a really choice brahea armata. How big is her garden!?! I really like all those spaces. I wonder if she is a Jamie durie fan because it looks to be very much in line with his philosophy of outdoor spaces. I can just tell that like this JJ character you speak of. Epic!!!!

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    1. Not big, her lot is 55ft x 125 (mine is 45 x 111)...and you're right she is a character! (and I mean that in the best possible way).

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  6. So glad you posted about JJ's garden again! I saw too late that her garden had been open at almost the same time as I was over at Lilyvilla. Darn, I could easily have fitted them both in. I adore the way she uses orange and blue - and cool plants: that Bismarkia is just wonderful.

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    1. Bummer! I know there were so many gardens open that evening, I went to JJ's on Saturday (hers was open all weekend) because I knew there was no way I would get to see them all!

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  7. What an amazing garden! So many different types of plants and so many different places to sit. Your photos make the place look like a maze with many different "rooms."

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    1. It kind of is a maze actually, I think you could be at a big party and not even see all the people there.

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  8. Posts of JJ's garden cost me money -- I always want to throw out all my old terracotta pots and start over. The cinder block gabion divider is a great, stealable idea. Also use of tall metal florist pots. Thanks for grabbing photos!

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    1. You think seeing pictures costs you money just try living within a couple miles of her shop! (danger!).

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  9. Terrific garden, so many elements working together with great results. The best use of chicken wire and concrete block ever. All that color, corrugated metal, and containers everywhere too.

    So many good ideas, I'm digging my sundial out of the shed and hunting down a pedestal for it.

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    1. Can you tell she's a designer? (both interiors, gardens and events) I can't wait to see your "Texas twist" on the sundial, and lord knows yours will see more sun than hers does.

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  10. What a lovely garden!

    I think that the shady bit just beats the sunny bit IMO.

    The big Hostas in the shiny silver pots are delightful. What a great idea.

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    1. I'm sure you can guess which one I favor, still it's nice to have both right? I love that her front garden is a usable space, so many times (like in my case) it's not. Aren't those Hostas amazing? I swear one leaf is about the size of my dog!

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  11. I love Stella! Oh, and the garden is nice too.

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    1. Stella is a sweety and a bed thief! We took Lila over for a 4th of July party and took her bed along so she'd have a place to rest. Instead Stella stacked it on top of her own and laid down on it, pretty cute. Of course it may have been a statement about the fact that Lila was allowed on the outdoor furniture and Stella was not.

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  12. thanks for the inspiraton.

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  13. Beautiful!!! Love her gardens!
    Debbie :)

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  14. I was glad that you did not ignore the old bricked seat in the front garden. Elements like that really give a garden character but are often chucked out in favor fo the crisp "new" industrial looks we see in the backgarden. There is something to be said for keeping old bones and respecting them if they have good proportions. There should have been some bright cushions on that seat!

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    1. Great point! JJ is not one to overlook the chance to add a colorful pop, or comfort. I wonder why she's ignored this one!?

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  15. Really nice use of pots and plants. The garden structure is as you say strong but the pots with appropriate sized plants make the space pop. This is a garden space that is tasteful and well organized.

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    1. I can't imagine this space without the containers...they really do make it work!

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  16. Why do I keep losing my feed to your posts? This garden has me befuddled -- how many seating areas are there? Even with my confusion... wow!

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    1. I'm not sure what you mean about losing the feed???

      Seating areas, let me count...I come up with 9, and I think she said they could seat 60 people.

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  17. Loree, you're killing me with these fantastic garden tours! I was telling Scott that you Portlanders really need to host a Garden Bloggers Fling -- you have a wealth of gorgeous gardens to share! Say the word, and we'll put you on the list!

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