Tuesday, July 30, 2013

A sunny Sunday full of garden visits…

It’s that time of the year here in Portland; the open garden season is in full swing! I took advantage of a (rare) open slot in the schedule and slipped out to visit a few. First stop (well actually the second, but we don’t need to talk about the first, trust me) was the garden of my friend Tamara. As you might remember she generously shared images from her Australian vacation last winter.

This is the first time I've visited her garden and I have to be honest, I have a serious crush on her house! A Mediterranean gem right here in Portland! She recently painted the front porch this fabulous charcoal color, it is so perfect with the plants.

A blue sky, white stucco...*sigh*...

The front path pavers are new too.

The garden is about 3 years old, except of course for the established trees and shrubs.

Time to check out the back garden...

Last June the garden was part of the Backyard Habitat Certification Program Tour. Every year the program sponsors a tour of about 7 gardens in the Portland metro area, all of which are certified either gold or platinum in the program. Over 200 people showed up! While this strikes fear in my heart Tamara says it "was great fun to share ideas for small urban spaces and still be a cool garden while helping out the bees and birds." (the program is a collaboration between the Audubon Society of Portland and the Columbia Land Trust). So with that experience under her belt opening for fellow Hardy Plant Society members must have been a breeze!

I heard her husband talk about laying the pavers, I love the tight pattern.

I was unable to capture the size of these Podophyllum they were huge!

Tamara practices tough love for her tender plants. They either make it or they don't.

Although she did admit to tucking a few of them up in containers against the glass doors and under the chairs when the winter weather was particularly ugly.

This beauty caught my eye.

It's a pittosporum she picked up at the Cistus Nursery tough love sale last fall.

Can you believe it? Just a buck or two, damn.

If I were going to grow Echinacea I these might be the ones.

Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca' another conifer I wouldn't mind having.

This colorful shed was in one corner of the back garden.

And this fabulous green-roofed structure in the other (they're all looking at the blue shed).

The roof was just recently finished so the plants haven't had a chance to really fill in. Can you imagine how magnificent that blood grass is going to look lit by the evening light?

These blooms were already glowing.

One last look at this beautiful garden, before we....

Visit my friend JJ's garden! I've taken a zillion photos of her space so I didn't plan to take more...but that darn camera just jumped out of my handbag!

Tablescape in the front garden.

My asparagus fern is in the very same container! (great minds)

The annticipation builds as you enter the back garden...what will I discover this time?

More containers! (I think she's pulled ahead in our "contest")...

This Agave 'royal spine' came from our trek to Flora Grubb spring of 2012.

Why do mixed plantings always look good in other people's gardens but not mine?

I've always loved her garden lighting, but as I was leaving her garden I noticed it in a new light, since I've finished my galvanized dish planters...well, I simply must steal them (or at least the idea), they would be perfect in my garden!

Onward! The final garden visit of the day wasn't open to the public, it was a special perk for us Portland Garden Bloggers as Jane (MulchMaid) opened her garden just for us!

I thought I was immune to the charms of the crocosmia.

Not this one! Just look at that orange on orange coloring! Crocosmia 'Corona'...

Jane's Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. debeuzevilli was even better than I thought it would be. Of course you can't tell from this picture...

And she has agave pets! Lot's of them, oh and a dyckia too.

The path leads to the patio off the back of the house.

She shared this combo in a "favorite plant" post a few weeks back. It's even better in person.

Zantedeschia 'Flame'...simply perfect, Jane shared that as the flower ages it changes color, getting darker and darker.

When I shared an image of my Acanthus mollis last Bloomday Jane complemented their subtle coloring. Now I know why. Her's are knock your socks off dark! Maybe because they get more sun than mine?

Pampas Grass taller than the palm!

Right about here is where I started to wonder about the transition into the Northwest Territory.

You see Jane has the most rare of things, a gardening spouse. Mr. Mulchman gardens in (as you might have guessed) the NW corner of their lot. And although he has a distinctly different style than Jane I think they've managed to make the whole work quite well.

And that's some impressive use of large river rock.

Finally we close down the afternoon with a look at a grouping on the patio. Seems Jane is an orange lover too! Thank you Tamara, JJ and Jane for letting me visit your lovely gardens.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

23 comments:

  1. Great tour...Mediterranean and Pacific NW seem to merge in the first and the last. I really like the duo of containers, all layered in JJ's garden in the middle, too. Never tried that...hmmm.

    Not sure I get your comment about mixed plantings not working for you...expand, please!

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    1. Mixed plantings in containers. Succulents mainly...like in the shot of the white planters on her wooden table and orange planter on her black table. I can never get a mish mash of succulents planted together like that to look right in my garden.

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  2. Thanks for the ID on Jane's Crocosmia, it was the first plant I noticed when we arrived. Love it. I remember leaving Jane's garden and wondering, Wait? Where is her Steroidal Giant? There it is in your picture, towering above the patio area. I forgot to look up. JJ's garden was pretty awesome too. Nigel loved the industrial vibe, especially her diamond plate stairs that were a salvage item from somewhere.

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    1. That crocosmia has me wondering just where I could put one and yes, ther Tetrapanax is quite tall! Easy to miss if your eyes were on all the good things on the ground level.

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  3. All of these gardens are just wonderful, but you really have me wondering about the unseen first...

    This is also the first time I've ever thought about what it would be like if my wife gardened too. I'm almost certain we'd have to buy some more land somewhere, as clashing styles and limited space might make things stressful. :)

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    1. Just an odd interaction with the owner which had me wondering "why even open your garden?"

      And I agree, I think the only way we could manage it is Andrew wanted a plot of land would be to split the front and back yards.

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  4. All 3 of these are great gardens! I particularly liked the green roof in the 1st garden; the wood and cable wire arbor, the container plants and the light in the 2nd; and the wonderful Crocosmia in the 3rd. You're lucky to have friends nearby that share your interest (and even your love of orange)!

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    1. Indeed...to tour all of these gardens I didn't have to go far. Portland is full of them! (gardens I mean)

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  5. Loree! What an honor to have you in my garden and photograph and blog about it. You are an inspiration and welcome at my garden any time! After my open garden I went, per your advice, to JJ's garden (second in the lineup today) and it KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF. Wow, such ideas and color and and and....I"m so glad I went, your photos are gorgeous too, by the way. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you Tamara, and I'm glad to got a chance to see JJ's too. I wasn't able to use several of the photos I took at your place, the shadows from the bright sun were just to harsh. Ah well, I do love a sunny day even when it makes photography difficult.

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  6. What a fun Sunday of garden visits! It was great fun seeing you at Jane's!

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    1. Indeed, fun seeing you (and Tom) too...

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  7. Oh, man, wishing I had gone to Tamara's garden now. I did get to JJ's garden on Monday evening and it was industrial spiky magic. I loved having you all over to my garden. The hunky purple Acanthus you pictured is actually A. spinosa (from Ricki) and it's a bit of a beast! Thanks for sharing your perspective on the garden I look at every day, Loree. It's such fun to see it through someone else's eyes.

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    1. Hi MulchMaid,
      Oh, I wanted to see yours too! We're doing another open garden day on Sunday August 18 from 10-1 if you are interested. I'll look you up too! Would LOVE to see yours as I follow your blog and have some serious plant lust!

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    2. "industrial spiky magic"...nice description Jane! And thank you for your acanthus i.d.

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  8. I was so happy to finally get to see The Mulch Duo's garden...and I'm still fascinated how they balance their opposing styles so well.

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    1. "The Mulch Duo"...they sound kind of like super heroes don't they?

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  9. Triple delight Loree, so many nice things to see and so many things to be inspired with! We never get tired of your garden tours, just wish we could tag along with you in person (but for now your photos will do just fine) :)

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    1. Next year! (tagging along in person) Hopefully your still thinking of coming to the Portland Fling?

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  10. Thanks for more great garden tours, almost as good as being there. The plants on the roof are a great idea. I'm inspired, I actually bought some hens and chicks to plant out, now I have some ideas how to do it. I have to start somewhere...

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    1. Indeed...every amazing garden had to start somewhere!

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  11. We seem to have all been running about looking at gardens that Sunday. So many gardens, so little time, but with our network of bloggers we get to see so much more and even new perspectives on the ones we have seen. By the way: yes the A. spinosa is a bit of a thug (a beautiful one) so if you ever want some I have plenty to share.

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    1. Thank you Ricki! After moving my Acanthus mollis and then fighting it reappearing for 4 or 5 years now I'm hesitant to introduce another even though it's gorgeous. If only I'd known of A. spinosa back when I started gardening here!

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