Thursday, August 24, 2017

The garden of Linda Hostetler, a stop on the 2017 Garden Bloggers Fling

I've been on a roll, writing about the the Smithsonian Garden stops on the 2017 Garden Bloggers Fling. But as much as I love the public gardens we visit during a "Fling" the really magical moments are the ones spent in the private gardens, so let's take a break and visit one...

Several of my Fling-mates were seriously hyped to see the garden of Linda Hostetler, sadly I was out of the loop, but now I get it. Here's the description from our Fling materials: "Linda is a graphic designer turned landscape designer who is happiest playing in the dirt with primary colors. Her incredible garden started with poison ivy and three dead cherry trees and has become an exuberant red and blue playground threaded with vignettes created by a collector gone mad. She and her husband dug a 90’ stream and a 16x24 foot pond for their resident amphibians." (You will see those amphibians in just a bit).

The photo above began to show the long driveway to the back of the property. Here's a wide view to help you begin to grasp the scale of this garden.

Along the drive...

Looking from the drive to the house.

So this house is only 100 years older than our house, give or take a few of years (ours dates to 1948).

The front door...

Looking back towards the main street that passes through this picturesque little town (and our buses parked across the street).

I usually try for garden photos sans people, but everyone was just so happy to be here! It's fun to see them soaking it all up.

We were here on June 25th and her Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ was already in bloom. Mine back at home wouldn't start up until mid-July.

My Lonicera refuses to bloom. I'm a little heartbroken about that.

The pathway to the back garden...

The Grey Gardens of bird houses.

Oh! Remember those amphibians?

Here they are...

Well just a couple of them. There were many more...

At the back of the house, the end point of that long graveled drive out front. But now...

We're about to walk into a very large back garden...

Sweet!

All sorts of variegation, all playing very nicely together.

There were many (many!) blue accents in the garden, including a wire gazebo. In the center of the gazebo was this cage...

Containing a potted Agave. You know I wanted to free it. But I was a good garden visitor and just walked on by...

More blue...

This! We'd seen it before in a couple other gardens, so ordinary, yet so exotic looking (to me). Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata', aka Spreading Japanese Plum Yew.

I don't recall ever seeing this plant back in Portland, yet it's perfectly hardy in my Zone AND rumored to be grown by several of our nurseries, they just ship it back east before we can buy it. I am a girl on a mission.

Right about here the call came out to head back to the buses.

Since lunch was the next stop we all paid attention, eventually.

Thanks for sharing your garden Linda! (back of the house)

Weather Diary, Aug 23: Hi 83, Low 61/ Precip tbd

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

24 comments:

  1. The way you laid out your post I understood this garden better than on some of the other blogs. Really gorgeous combinations. She may have the first meditation circle I've seen that I really liked. Do they take care of the garden all by themselves? I would love more space for shrubs and big plants but I am already maxed out on maintenance.

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    1. I believe she does take care of the garden all by herself, although had some family health issues prior to our visit so may have lined up a little help before 80 cameras showed up. Glad my post was helpful!

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  2. I didn't know Linda's garden before visiting either, but wow, do I feel pleased to have seen it! It just kept unfolding and unfolding, with magical places to explore along the way. As for those spreading plum yews -- I can't believe we grow something in Austin that Portland doesn't already have in spades! ;)

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    1. I've talked to a couple of designer friends who say they can't get them (the yews) because they're all sold to out of state companies, isn't that odd?

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  3. A stunningly beautiful garden! I love the bird house, the pond and the densely planted borders: genius!

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    1. This was definitely one I wish we could have spent a little more time exploring.

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  4. Yippee! I've been looking forward to this post, because I knew you would have photos of things that I missed. I didn't get a good closeup view of the Agave in the cage. (I think maybe next year I'm going to put a Petunia in a cage in your honor, the world needs that balance.) I never even saw any of the plants along the driveway.

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    1. Yay! I hope you do Alison, that would make me so happy!!! (the Petunia)

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  5. As usual, you picked up a lot of the details and interesting vignettes I missed. I love that "Gray Gardens" birdhouse, one of the things I missed. And, when I saw the caged agave, I recall wondering if you might be tempted to free it...

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    1. If Linda and I had been Facebook friends before the Fling I might have thought more seriously about freeing the Agave, but since I'd had no contact with her it just seemed wrong to do.

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  6. I had forgotten how many interesting corners there was to Linda's garden. Two of my favorites were the pond on the side and the spiral in the back.

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    1. It would be hard to chose a fav, but that pond and its frogs would definitely be high on my list.

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  7. Wonderful garden, and wonderful to see several different posts about it. So much to see, and fun to see the happy Flingers enjoying it.

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  8. This is one of my favorite gardens from the fling posts I've seen so far.
    Love the old house and all the whimsical touches in the garden!

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  9. that Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata' looks like a sonchus mated with a cycas. Sooo cool!!!

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    1. Right!? I still haven't posted about the first garden we saw it in but I was stopped in my tracks. At first my brain just registered it as a green blob but when it looked closer it was so exotic. I have to find one!

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  10. You captured the essence of this beautiful garden with such clarity. Beautiful vignettes. Would have loved to have more time at this special space.

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    1. Me too, it definitely warranted another half hour.

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  11. Must have been hard to tear yourself away from this one.

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    1. But with a bus a waitin there is no alternative...

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  12. Stunning!
    Love the amphibians.

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