Friday, August 4, 2017

The garden of Debbie Friedman, a stop on the Garden Bloggers Fling

On every Garden Bloggers Fling there's always talk about what the "it" plant of the region is. I can't remember what the final consensus was for the Capitol Region Fling, but I believe Monarda and Amsonia were both in the running...

They were pared up here in the garden of Debbie Friedman...

Of course I was thrilled by this small patch of Opuntia, right under the mailbox!

From our Fling itinerary: "Landscape designer and owner of Bethesda Landscapes, Debbie’s garden is inspired with elements from nature used as art or functional pieces.  Logs are made into benches, log slices are used as patios, willow is grown to weave into balls, granite stones from vacations in Mt. Desert Island, ME, are interspersed into the front walkway, and log hollow slices are set on their side for your own interpretation."

In what to my eye seemed like a fairly typical suburban setting, this front garden scene really stood out — in a good way!

I didn't manage to catch one in a photo, but there were happy pollinators everywhere.

Random is good.

If I remember correctly these tall beauties were on the neighbor next-door's lot.

I think the fluffy one may be a Cryptomeria?

The entrance to the back garden.

Bloggers hiding in the shade! If I didn't know better this might have a bit of a creepy feel to it.

Soon enough I joined them...

Bird's nest fern!

I wanted to ask if this was a custom made piece or purchased retail, I love it.

Those logs mentioned in the description.

Wouldn't it be nice to take a little nap here?

Excellent fencing.

It wasn't until looking at my photos that I realized just how massive the house was! I was so focused on the garden while I was there.

Love this, so much...

And this!

We tried to figure out exactly what plant it came from but couldn't. I've seen other bloggers throw out the question, but not seen an answer. Anyone know?

Obviously it makes a fabulous Tillansia holder

A cut end...

And that's a wrap on this garden! Oh so much more Fling left to share...

Weather Diary, Aug 3: Hi 105, Low 66/ Precip 0 (dry day 47)

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

30 comments:

  1. That tillandsia holder thingy is incredible; hope someone knows what it is. Fun garden and I especially liked the Bird's Nest Fern joke and want to copy it! You must have brought the hot weather back with you from the fling. Thank goodness it's not also humid and that we're 10 degrees cooler up here!

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    1. You definitely need your own "bird's nest fern", in fact I'm surprised you don't have one already!

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  2. Someone suggested it might be a dried yucca bloom stalk on my blog post about this garden. Maybe? She put it to creative use, didn't she? Hope you're staying cool this week, btw.

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    1. Interesting, and yes — maybe. But I've never seen a Yucca bloom that densely. Check out this possibility, as suggested by Toni (annon, comment below): http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-great-mullein-seed-spike-verbascum-thapsus-scrophulariaceae-14049696.html

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  3. Thank goodness we installed air conditioning last year. There were a lot of large swaths of Amsonia in the Fling gardens. This looks like another creative gardener. I like the path with the river rock accents, I might steal that.

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    1. I can't imagine what the last few days would have been like without a/c...we would have been camping in the basement.

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  4. I was going to try to fill an area with green Hakonechloa and realized it would take too many plants and too much money to do what I wanted. I'm impressed with her placement.

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    1. I wish I'd asked her how long those had been in the ground. Once they bulk up it's going to be amazing.

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  5. Your mention of the shade enveloped bloggers, all with backs turned I noted, made me laugh. The photo did have a sinister air, even though the shade space was lovely. Debbie's use of tree trunk slices made me kick myself (again) for failing to hold on to pieces of the 2 trees we removed to satisfy my (now former) tree-hating neighbor.

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    1. The memory of your evil neighbor has really managed to live on hasn't it? Darn lady.

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  6. So many cool ideas, lots of great elements in this garden. I was wondering if the tillandsia holder might be from a palm tree collected on some tropical beach while vacationing. If she collects rocks from Maine, perhaps palms from Florida?

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    1. Hmmm, that could be — so many cool plants in this world.

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  7. Love the laid-back use of different paving materials, as well as the variety of re-used interesting garden flotsam!

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  8. Interesting garden. Some trendy touches without clashing with the style of the house (like a Tudor with a cactus garden).

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    1. And yet not so trendy as to be Trendy.

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  9. I love the meadow in front of the house. I'd much rather have that than traditional lawn. The bamboo is gorgeous (both the living bits and the fence).

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    1. It was definitely a very happy and healthy garden.

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  10. The tillandsia holder, I'm thinking a verbascum flower stalk, perhaps Verbascum thapsus, though brussels sprouts immediately came to mind....
    - Toni in Puyallup

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    1. Okay, I have to admit that upon reading your comment I was thinking "Verbascum, really? Well no way"...but just a quick image search tells me you're on to something. How interesting! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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  11. I thought perhaps the tillandsia holder was the seedpod from the crinocardium lily, albeit a very perfect one. Just a thought.

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  12. That Aeonium-and-fern box on a stone is a delight, and fits in well with the modernistic patio. That area isn't seen at its best against the house, but when you're actually in it, it's a cohesive little Portlandia . The sound from that cool fountain must also heighten the separate-world effect.

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  13. For the tillandsia holder, I'm thinking it is the dried stalk from a cluster of palm nuts. When certain species of large palm nuts are attached to the inflorescence, they have a "cap" just like acorns do. The nuts eventually fall out of these caps and to the ground. If you google "palm caps" the results look very similar! they are commonly used in floral arrangements as dried "flowers" glued on fake stems. This specific one seems too dense to be coconut palm, but, if you also google attalea palm nuts, the cluster shape and seed size seems to match! the central stalk looks right too. i had to do some research for this because i knew it was somehow familiar!

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    1. Thank you! There is so much to learn about the plants of the world...I had no idea palm nuts could be that large. Thanks for sharing the results of your research.

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  14. correction: you have to google "dried palm cap" for the correct image to pop up!

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  15. There were many nice elements in Debbie's garden. Those woven sculptural form were great.

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  16. When I saw the tillandsia holders I immediately thought of coconut husks.

    This garden looks to be ENORMOUS. So many wonderful elements.

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  17. On my initial research I found the dried palm cap of interest, as well, but could not find an image that showed a definite "stalk". Using the tip from Anonymous above and on further snooping, er, I mean research (!), I found a dried fishtail palm stem here that more closely resembles the tillandsia holder. -Toni in Puyallup https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0810/6505/products/IMG_5494.jpg?v=1487982895

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  18. I know someone who might help solve the mystery plant thingy, as a few years ago I bought the individual "flowers" (whatever those dried husks are) at the Toronto Botanical Garden as winter decor items. I've asked, and will report back if they have an answer.

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