Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Lucinda Hutson (¡VIVA TEQUILA!), a stop on the 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling

Lucinda Hutson's garden was our first stop on Sunday, May 6th, the last day of the Austin GB Fling. The time stamp on my camera says this photo was taken at 6:41 am, of course that's Pacific Time, Austin is in the Central Zone, two hours difference, so it was 8:41 their time. I remember feeling distinctly like it was TOO EARLY to be up and at it...
But Lucinda's garden quickly woke me up, all the color and personality...it was like a triple shot of espresso right into my veins.

Thanks to reading Pam's blog over the years I was familiar with this garden, Pam's written about her several visits over the years.

There's the lady herself, Lucinda, welcoming us...

There was a line to walk up the main sidewalk, so I went around to the side garden.

Lucinda has lived and gardened her for 41 years, can you even imagine? She identifies the different areas of the garden as "courtyard theme gardens" and they include the Mexican mermaid grotto, the raised kitchen garden, a salad "bar", a deck for salsa dancing and fiestas, and a tequila cantina.

There's the line I by-passed...

The Mexican mermaid grotto...

And now I must figure out a way to get an Agave up on top of a wall in my garden.

I took a close-up photo of the mermaid, but she was blurry.

"Our Lady of Tina — the bathtub goddess who protects the garden"

Veggies!

And Marigolds...

I poked my head in the building behind the table, it looked to maybe be an office? There were so many people in there however that I didn't try to snap a photo.

Doesn't it just look like a party could break out at anytime?

I should have asked Teresa if she wanted to dance, after all I think this is the "deck for salsa dancing"...

And this area must be the tequila cantina!

Outdoor shower...

Just a few empties.

Cork mulch, I could do that.

Walking back through the garden towards the front.

I did see a lot of ferns in Austin, which kind of surprised me (thinking dry heat, which obviously is not the case).

Lord knows I've broken enough pottery in my lifetime that I could also do a much like this.

Out in the hellstrip, was this amazingly huge group of Hesperaloe blooms.

The front garden was full of flowers.

Lucinda also let us wander through her house and photograph there,

I felt a little awkward, but everyone else was, so...

Agave chandelier!

I loved the big personality of this garden, in someways it reminded me of Keela Meadows garden in the Bay Area, which we visited as part of the 2013 Fling (here). Both ladies love color and aren't afraid to use it, I love that fearless approach to gardening.

I would be remiss not to mention Lucinda's cookbooks, at least one of which includes the fabulous Tequila beverages we enjoyed on the final night of the Fling, at Articulture. You can learn more and purchase them here, on her website.

Weather Diary, Oct 8: Hi 61, Low 53/ Precip .18"

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

14 comments:

  1. Lucinda's colorful garden looks like it was a lot of fun! I love gardens that reflect the gardneer's personality like this. I've seen a few posts about it, but this is the first time I've seen a picture of her bottle edging.

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    1. I think there was so much to photograph in this garden that we all probably managed to miss a lot!

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  2. I definitely think you need an agave on top of a stone wall! I loved her office space - it was my favorite of her colorful indoor spaces.

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    1. Sadly there are no stone walls, but I'm scheming.

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  3. Love both the garden and the interior! So much color and warmth, the perfect thing to brighten this soggy cold autumn day.

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  4. I loved her home and garden, I was thinking of putting together a post for Halloween, actually - you beat me to it! You got some great shots and I agree, it was too very very early but still, so worth it. So you liked it, I wonder about Mr. Danger Garden? :)

    I loved the color and individual gardens especially. So bright and vibrant, very appropriate for her climate. I think if we tried to do this it might look off. Maybe not? Color is always a good thing, though.

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    1. You should definitely do a Halloween post, I look forward to seeing your take on her garden. And I agree the climate has a lot to do with it. When I was struggling with the perfect color to paint my house in Spokane I found it while visiting my brother in Phoenix. Ha! Talk about a lesson in how colors read in different light, it did not look the same in Spokane. (Mr. Danger hasn't had a chance to look at the photos, too busy...)

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  5. The thing I loved about this garden is that it was completely hers,with a strong sense of her personality and her history. The only garden I've visited that comes close to this is Keeyla Meadows. Both small gardens on small lots with a ton of color.

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    1. Did you see my sentence towards the end comparing this garden to Keeyla's? Great minds...

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  6. I could have spent an entire day in Lucinda's garden. First off, she has a wrist full of silver bracelets just like me, so I like her already.
    This garden has so much life and personality, imagination and creativity. I noticed the tequila cantina had a few metal agaves plus that metal chandelier. I can go for that kind of agave too. Fun Mexican art everywhere. I bet she entertain a lot of friends of the Day of The Dead.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed this, and if you're ever in Austin you should try to get to visit. It sounds like you would have a great time...and yes...I bet there's a lot of entertaining that goes on there.

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  7. I like your photos of her garden way better than mine!

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  8. Thank you very much for celebrating my home and gardens and sharing them with fans of your own wonderful blog!! So much fun welcoming you to Austin and am so appreciative of your kind words and fun photos. Mil gracias! Hurry back!

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