Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The garden of Barbara and Howard Katz, a stop on the 2017 Capitol Region GB Fling

If I have one regret from the recent Garden Bloggers Fling it's that I didn't actually meet Barbara Katz. Oh sure she was there when we visited her garden (on the second day of the Fling), in fact that's her in front of the garage, in the orange top. But I'm not one to make a point of introducing myself. Turns out I should have though, as she left a comment later, on Instagram, mentioning that she's followed me for awhile and would have liked to meet. Ya gotta love social media!

Barbara was there to greet our group as we disembarked the bus, if you've seen other posts on the garden you've probably read the story of how the house and garden became theirs. She'd created the garden for a client years earlier, when the client decided to sell, Barbara and her husband Howard bought. Presto! A garden created by Barbara, and paid for by someone else, became hers after-all.

The short garden description from our Fling itinerary: "Landscape designer Barbara Katz is the owner of London Landscapes, LLC and the creator of this lushly planted hillside garden. The lot slopes 12 feet up to the property line near a 200 year old oak. A waterfall and small pond make use of the slope, attracting birds and wildlife. Filled with annuals and perennials, the garden has a strict color division with plants in tones of orange, white, and purple on one side and yellow, pink, blue, and maroon on the other."

The front entry of the home featured several stunning succulent displays...

As well as the more "traditional" plantings, but done up with a flair.

The driveway had its own garden, probably client plants in the waiting.

Heading around the side garden...

And wow, the back garden! Complete with dozens of bloggers...

Everything looked so spring fresh, as though summer's heat hadn't yet hit (the sweltering temperatures the day before had proven that wasn't the case).

After having had my appetite whetted by the succulent containers out front, I was thrilled to see there were more, these flanking the wide steps to the upper garden...

I'd been warned there wouldn't be many (any?) Agaves on this Fling (already proven untrue with my posts on Hillwood and the Minnich Garden)  and so I was thrilled to see these. And they were absolutely flawless!

I lingered just long enough, snapping photo after photo, that Howard Katz stopped to chat with me. Turns out he's the gardener behind the succulents. With no greenhouse on the property these go inside the house for the winter.

What a labor of love...


There's Howard...

And another photo of Barbara. What a creative pair these two are!

Okay, there's more garden to see, let's explore...

Oh! Another container...

Plume poppies (Macleaya cordata), contained. Smart, lest they take over the garden.

I love this!

Heading back down the steps...

Once final glance up.

What a great vignette!

That's it! Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden with us Barbara and Howard...

Weather Diary, July 24: Hi 88, Low 58/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

26 comments:

  1. Must have been difficult to leave such an inviting garden. The lily pads have spectacular patterns I had not seen before. Howard's succulent displays are not only beautiful, but have good variety of plants. He must be a collector, and what a job it is to drag them in for the winter.

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    1. I asked about the moving of the containers, here's the repy: "We put 2 sheets under each container, grab the corners, and carry in the container that way - much easier than trying to carry them by hand"

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  2. I've seen shots of those succulent bowls on other blogs about Barbara's garden (having missed it on that second day), and I've been hoping your post about it would focus on them. My own mixed succulent bowls that usually sit on top of the gabions need to up their game, and this is a wonderfully creative shot in the arm.

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    1. As you know I tend to the one plant per pot thing, but these are so well done! I'm sorry you missed this garden.

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  3. Beautiful garden! And have found myself looking at their succulent planting in detail. Even individually a lot of their spikies are fine specimens!

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  4. A wonderful garden! I love the pond with the waterfall and the water lily seems to be the gorgeous Madame Ganna Walska, one of my favorite tropical water lilies.

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  5. A lovely garden, and I'm pleased to say that I see some of the plans for my new bits in their garden, so I hope it turns out as well

    Sometimes it is better to have fewer beautiful succulents that lots of common stuff, those plants highlight this perfectly

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    1. Interesting that you saw some of what you're doing with your space. Can't wait to see the big reveal!

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  6. Like you, I often regret afterward not making time to talk with the garden owners. But I'm always so caught up in exploring their creations and taking pictures that I run out of time without talking to anyone. It's like I'm trying to soak in a day's worth of seeing the garden -- or a week's worth! -- in just 30 or 45 minutes. :) Luckily, thanks to social media, we CAN get to know the owners better that way too.

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    1. I did talk with a few of the owners, but when I see others lining up to do so I tend to back away - figuring they're overwhelmed already!

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  7. Another gorgeous garden, exuberantly and expertly planted. The succulent containers are, of course, beautifully done and are a nice surprise.

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  8. I am going to log off and go dig up my Macleaya. That is fabulous! Beautiful garden all around.

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    1. Maybe the wrong time of the year? But then you know that...

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  9. What happens to all those non-hardy succulents in the winter?

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  10. You got a lot more plant close-ups than I did - and I think you thoroughly covered the succulent collection! This garden was in my top 3 of the Fling tour.

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  11. AnonymousJuly 26, 2017

    Enjoyed strolling through this again looking at details through your eyes. You captures some great images.

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  12. I'm not the introducing myself type either-same as you especially in a crowd. Barbara's was one of my favorite gardens on the Fling and I wish I'd made a point to tell her.

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  13. That was an outstanding garden - that water feature! You captured it well. My usual technique for introducing myself is to ask about a plant - in this case, a variety of Agastache. Of course, after that I can't think of anything to say and beat a hasty retreat.

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  14. I love Barbara's garden and knew the Flingers would, too. I had no idea there were so many agaves in this area until you pointed them out. :o)

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  15. Such an outstanding garden. I could have plopped myself down at the patio table with a nice bottle of Chardonnay and stared at the hillside plantings for an hour or two more.

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