Friday, November 30, 2012

My visit to Alternative Eden, the garden of Mark and Gaz (part 2)

Yesterday we visited the densely planted jungle that is the garden of Mark and Gaz. Today we leave the jungle and step out into a more arid landscape. It’s the transition between these two spaces that I could never completely understand. In case you've felt the same (or this is your first time seeing their garden) took a photo from yesterdays post to help…

The bottom arrow leads back into what we've already explored, the top arrow points on to this, just around the corner, jutting out perpendicular to the rest of the garden, as I mentioned yesterday almost forming an "L."

What was once a flat boring bit of land (I’m guessing) has been completely transformed. Their Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea' (again, guessing) are striking no?

And how many trunking Yuccas does one garden need? At least five…

Aloe polyphylla, the spiral aloe.

That thin leafed Euphorbia at the base of the Yucca is E. deflexa.

Graptopetalum paraguayense, yes…this gorgeous succulent has lived through the winter in the ground. (how jealous am I!?)

I also loved this Leucogenes leontopodium.

The green mound is Scleranthus uniflorus, and yes I had to touch it.

Agave bracteosa

Another Aloe polyphylla.

Looking back…

And on the other side of the path…

Here’s the Celmisia I mentioned last week, C. hookeri.

And finally the koi pond! (well, it will be…soon) I was surprised, it’s even bigger than it looks.

It made me happy to see they’d properly signed their work.

I should have turned just a bit more to get a photo of the area beyond. At least you can see a sliver of it. Where the piece of wood is now will be a window.

The work these two have done to create this structure is nothing short of amazing. Just clearing out lawn and putting in our patio was enough work for me. I am in awe. Looking back the other way (where we came from).

From the photos I’d seen I also thought the roof might feel a little claustrophobic, but it doesn't.
This will be a smaller open pond across the path from the large one.

Every gardener has a ‘plant maintenance facility’ (or plants in waiting) theirs is beyond the pond and filtration house area. There was a Saxifraga longifolia (I believe)...

And a Mahonia 'Soft Caress,' along with many others fabulous plants.

Inside their second greenhouse...

You knew there had to be another Schefflera today right? S. brevipedicellata…

But wait, there's more! Schefflera delavayi…with completely different shaped leaves from mine.

Finally we end this garden visit with Schefflera multinervia.

The time we spent in the garden flew by, it felt like minutes but before we knew it hours had passed. It was time to get a bite to eat! The guys took me to the Fancott, which was actually my only true English pub meal, and it was delicious.

After a leisurely meal and more chatting it was time to do a little sightseeing. We hopped in their car and headed to Woburn. This is where I admit my silly American-ness and say OMG! Sitting in the front seat of the car in what to me is the driver’s seat as we met oncoming or turning traffic was a thrill indeed. I had to stifle a tiny scream more than once.

As we walked through the village I was struck by how picturesque everything was…

I love seeing plants up on a balcony.

And old cemeteries had somehow become a feature of this trip too. I suppose when you visit a country as old as England you are bound to run into the prior inhabitants around every corner.

As for my hosts, thank you so much for inviting me into your home and garden and making my visit so memorable. The beauty of your garden was eclipsed only by your personalities, I so enjoyed getting to know you both a bit. I hope you’ll let me repay the hospitality someday!

39 comments:

  1. Mark and Gaz' succulents are as carefully selected and as beautiful as their jungle plants. I love how they combine plants from different ecosystems into a cohesive whole. There is so much inspiration to be had when visiting a garden like theirs. Thank you for posting so many photos.

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    1. No doubt, I came home inspired to make some changes in my garden!

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  2. So much to love here, just like in the jungle half of the post, but the Graptopetalum paraguayense made me start -- what a unique and beautiful color!

    I've realized that I used to subscribe to Mark and Gaz's blog, but for some reason I haven't seen a post for a year or more. They were still working on digging out the chalky soil for the koi pond the last I read... I'll have to go back and see how it evolved into this raised structure!

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    1. It's gorgeous! (the Graptopetalum) And available at Annie's! (http://www.anniesannuals.com/plt_lst/lists/general/lst.gen.asp?prodid=1809)

      You really should check out their blog. Like you they see something that needs done in their garden and just do it...themselves. I wonder why your subscription stopped updating?

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    2. Hi Alan, I used to get updates from your blog as well but noticed recently it stopped, somehow the subscription disappeared. Had to redo it. Occasionally it does happen when blogger makes changes and I have to re-enter details. Wordpress can be an issue too and find that I have re-enter details again every so often, otherwise it doesn't update.

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  3. TWO spiral aloes in a climate as soggy as ours? How do they do that? They are clearly as magic as they are nice! Your pictures really helped me figure out where the new koi pond is located in relation to the rest of the garden. I'm so glad that you asked about the place where the piece of wood is as the high walls with that opening have been puzzling me every since they started posting about the project.
    I've wondered about the difference in leaf shape between the S.delavayi in their garden which are similar to pictures seen online and the shape of the ones we have. Different selection? Maturity?
    LOVE this garden!

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    1. Magic indeed. It's got to be the drainage in the raised beds that allows those Aloes to be so happy. Then again there was one at Kennedy School that made it through last winter (not that last winter was all that tough).

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    2. The drainage does help :) Also this aloe seems to do better with a richer growing medium, in a spot that doesn't get waterlogged. Quite a tricky combination but it can be done.

      We would love to get hold of the form of S. delavayi you guys have there!

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  4. Just when I thought yesterdays post was my dream, you post this! Amazing! How cool is that garden. I looove those aloe polyphylla. I think I have to try another one. Those darn squirrels will get it if they mess with me this time! And their Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea' are nothing shy of stunning! how are yours looking? Mine was in a pot last year and left outside and I guess the drainage wasn't good enough because they looked terrible. I eventually threw it in the compost heap.

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    1. My Y. aloifolia 'Purpurea' are actually looking okay, but not as good as theirs. Can't remember if I told you (or blogged about it) but the 3 I had in the back garden went into the green waste bin last spring. The ones out front are doing better.

      I can't remember, was your A. polyphylla in the ground?

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    2. Oh sad about the three yucca in your back garden. your front would have good drainage with the grade I imagine.

      I had one aloe polyphylla in the ground. It wasn't the cold that got to it because I had a potted one outside that did just fine, but one day I came to find pieces of it all over the place. It literally looked like someone massacred it and scattered it. I was so sad. I blamed the squirrels because they broke off the blooms of my aloe aristata. I really don't know what happened to it. Unless they literally fall apart like a jig saw puzzle when they are not happy.

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  5. Amazing garden and I loved your views of it. I didn't realize the Koi pond was so large. Wow, what a great collection of plants. I'm always so impressed by how they make these plants work for them in their much different climate.

    I can imagine how unnerving it could be to sit on the "wrong" side of the car. The little town is so pretty and the plants and moss were interesting to see, of course almost everywhere looks damp to me.

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    1. A couple of weeks ago I was battling the phenomenon where there is so much moisture inside my car that I can't get the windows clear to drive. I noticed the license plate on the car next to me was from New Mexico and I wondered how they were feeling about our very damp climate. My skin loves it...but the rest of me, not so much.

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  6. OMG, I actually recognized a plant, I'm so proud of myself. LOL So what if it was just a cyclamen. Actually, I recognized the spiral aloe too. I've seen it a lot on Pinterest.

    What an amazing, drool-worthy garden. Did they build all those concrete walls themselves? That must be the secret to their success, all those raised beds. The koi pond will be a visual delight when it's finished, with that window to see underwater. So cool.

    We used to visit my MIL in Leicestershire, and narrow British streets, especially the country lanes, where they drive too fast on the wrong side of the road used to freak. me. out. I remember lots of quick pull-overs at the side to let oncoming traffic past. Their sequence of lights is different from ours too. I would expect the driver to be slowing down, expecting the light to go red, and instead it would turn green.

    Pub food is great! Too bad you didn't get to eat more of it. No one over here does fish and chips right.

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    1. You are the Pinterest queen Alison. I swear every time I log on you've pinned about 65 new images!

      We ate well while there. Andrew was very (make that VERY) excited about Wagamama, do you know it? Great noodles. Every pub that we went into near our hotel only served food at lunch, just drinks at night. Disappointing.

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    2. We are fans of Wagamama as well, yumm! Thinking about it now makes me want to go there again very soon...

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    3. I bought the Wagamama cookbook to try and learn some secrets and make the husbands tummy happy. It's pretty good!

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  7. I sometimes fantasize about returning to the lands of my ancestors, where it's like Oregon or San Diego, or somewhere in-between. Then I see how well-tended not just the public streets are, but those alleyways...a usually waste-space - that's impressive!

    And their garden ain't shabby, either...

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    1. Could you take the grey skies? Not that you'd have to deal with them so much in San Diego.

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  8. Hooray for decent pub food (and Guinness of course). I'll take the leucogenes and celmisias, please. What fun to meet up and view such an amazing garden. It's seeing gardens like theirs that keep us from getting lazy or complacent about our own. Huge thanks to all three of you!

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    1. Will you think less of me if I admit I had red wine?

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  9. Awesome garden--they do not waste a square inch. That must have been a wonderful vacation. Thanks for sharing the visit.

    "Plant maintenance facility": I believe the technical term for that is "pot ghetto".

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    1. "Plant maintenance facility" comes from my husband's days as a meter reader in Santa Barbara. There was a house with signage directing you to the PMF, which was were the plants needing a little TLC and those yet to be planted were staged. Out of sight of the main house/garden of course.

      I agree "pot ghetto" describes it better for most of us that aren't of the "estate class"...

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  10. Again your photos really show the garden very well, high lighting some great plant vignettes. So many plants I never seen here, and I have an advantage of zone 10 conditions. Thanks again for the garden tour and glimpse of the town. I might just add that Graptopetalum paraguayense is actually very cold hardy if kept dry in winter, probably good down to low 20'sF. Props easily from broken leaves also if you want to bulk up quantities faster.
    David in Berkeley

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    1. Okay I've got to try some of that Graptopetalum next year. I've got a good spot with great drainage...we'll see.

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  11. I've enjoyed all these posts of yours from your London holiday. I hope that's not the end of them!

    The large kniphofia in the raised beds, do you know if it is K. Northiae?

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    1. Oh no...there's more! Physic Garden, The Garden Museum, and several random plant sightings. As for the Knip that sounds right. If I'm wrong hopefully Mark and Gaz will chime in!

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  12. Hi Loree, thank you again for the lovely feature which we thoroughly enjoyed reading too :) Your photos are superb, with certain angles we've never thought of taking ourselves and sometimes it almost feels like we're looking at somebody else's place (especially part one). Wish we could do this more often, if distance wasn't issue. We would be delighted to visit you and your lovely garden, and the city of Portland very soon. Hopefully very soon indeed!

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  13. That is some serious hardscaping...and I thought YOUR structural elements were over the top. Hats off to these guys for creating their own paradise.

    There must be a city ordinance to keep the kitsch and claptrap at bay...not a blue tarp in sight. sigh...

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    1. Isn't it remarkable?!

      Speaking of tarps guess what appeared just down the street from us, yep a charming blue one. Friday nights wind and rain must have done some damage. Hopefully they're the fixing it sooner rather than later types.

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  14. What's with the zig zag stripes to mark the lanes in photo 232 (yes, I did figure that number thing out eventually)

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    1. The painter was drunk?...No, I believe no stopping or parking (like that Range Rover). They also seem to appear by cross walks too.

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  15. Another great post on these creative men's incredible garden! The first post show'd the lushness. (Is that a word) And this post show'd more of an area a perfectionist would have. What wonderful plants and I am so in awe and wanting of their tree aloes (or yucca's). Thank you again for the super photos and loved how you show'd us around town!

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    1. Oh I definitely think lushness is a word, and I'd like those yuccas too!

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  16. It is so lovely for us readers and followers to see a blooming friendship because of gardening. It is right that Mark and Gaz took a leave to tour you around, they are very hospitable, understandable because Mark's background is from a country known for hospitality. Is that right Mark, am sure Gaz is like that too!

    So now Alternative Eden becomes more famous because of the Dangerous Gardener. Thank you very much Loree, for showing another side of their garden.

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    1. You are so welcome Andrea, thank you for stopping by! Glad you enjoyed the tour.

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  17. I wonder how dense their insect population is, they must be able to attract all sorts with that kind of foliage. We recently had a rather expensive trip to UK Water Features to negotiate the installation of our garden pond, which we hope will be the catalyst at transforming our suburban garden into a wildlife hub of insects, amphibians and small mammals.

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