This limestone wall/planting bed is what greeted us as we piled off the bus at Kirk Walden's garden...
You can see the bus there on the right, and the throngs of zombie bloggers approaching.
About the garden: "The garden is all about nature, if nature were a little more organized. Native and well-adapted plants predominate. It mixes multiple varietes of the same plant to create interest. For example, there are five different lantanas and three different esperanzas. The terrain appears naturally terraced, defined by berms, outcroppings, dry river beds, and stone paths. It was all man made, shaped and limited by the severe slop of the property." The garden dates 2013, when both the home and garden were completed.
I love this planting and would really like to return in a few years and see how it looks when the Agaves have grown.
Front of the house...
I was surprised to see wee Agaves planted so close together in Texas, where the Agaves get huge.
Beyond the driveway...
Desert-willow, Chilopsis
Looking backwards...
And walking around the side of the house now. I wish I could remember if this feature ran all the way across the lawn.
The Fling materials mention a French drain which runs the length of the front of the house and empties into "what appears to be a dry creek bed" I wonder if this is it?
The huge patio runs along the back of the house, this is just a corner. Nice eh?
Again one of the signature plants of the Austin Fling, "tractor seat Ligularia" aka Farfugium japonicum var. giganteum ...
Rounding the side of the house The View starts to come into play.
Wowsa!
I love when I see irrigation right next to Agaves.
What a gorgeous pool.
And palm.
And view!
I don't know exactly how this welcoming pool avoided becoming surrounded by bloggers cooling their feet, it is a Fling tradition after all.
Maybe because everyone was just so captivated by the view?
Weather Diary, Jan 2: Hi 45, Low 30/ Precip 0
All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
He really understands how to design to scale. And how to contrast plants and materials.
ReplyDeleteI love how he managed to bring the view in, rather than letting it take you away.
DeleteOh my gawd...I am so sorry to have missed this at the end of the Fling. Our plane awaited and it looks like I paid the price. Those tractor seat Farfugiums...that's a hoot. Thanks for taking me there at least visually, Loree.
ReplyDeleteI wish you and Jennifer had been able to hang out until the very end!
DeleteThe limestone planting bed that opens this post is very inviting and a promise of good things to come. This property is gorgeous, love the hardscape and no words are adequate to describe the pool. "tractor seat Ligularia" cracked me up.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Austinites begin to take their limestone for granted?
DeleteOh my, that view is magnificent. I love the way the pools in the foreground echo the color of the water in the distance.
ReplyDeleteRight? Masterful!
DeleteOnce again, you coverage of this garden is great - I was indeed a zobie by the time we reached this one. That view was my absolute favorite of the entire fling.
ReplyDeleteI hoped any of those zombie bloggers reading this would take my comment in the manner it was intended, I'm glad you did.
DeleteSo beautiful. Love the soft grasses and spiky agaves. And the pools . . . wowsa is right!
ReplyDeleteYou should "Fling" with us someday VW!
DeleteI've never heard that ligularia called "tractor seat" before, but it's a perfect description. I'm adding some to my garden this spring, now that I see how the deer completely avoid them in my 'hood.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember where I first heard it, but ya. Definitely sticks doesn't it?
DeleteThanks for showing so much more of this garden than that back view. It's all I saw on Instagram at the time, and I liked seeing the rest of it. What was the purpose of those big slabs of rock set in gravel? I'm trying to figure out better paving for some of my gravel areas, and I really like the look of that. Of course, my alternative will not be Texas limestone, but probably concrete. How good that Ligularia looks when it's not chewed to death by slugs!
ReplyDeleteMy guess with the big slabs is that it's overflow parking, backing up, etc, area. Kind of a "not really driveway, but not really entirely garden" space. Of course that is just a guess. I think the concept could be transferred to your garden quite successfully.
DeleteThis garden is a personal favorite, I just love that view and how the design pulls it in. The view is also special because it overlooks the ranch my great-grandparents founded in the 1890s.
ReplyDeleteThat would make it extra special!
DeleteI wondered if people were a little intimidated by the place, preventing toes from being dipped. Beautiful, all of it, but not as homey as many of the others.
ReplyDeleteGood point.
DeleteIt was HOT out there at the pool's edge! Everyone was pooped (by the heat) and hunkered in the shade of the house. (Plus I suspect HooverBoo's assessment is right as well. I actually wasn't even sure it WAS a swimming spot!) Laughed out loud at "zombie bloggers"!
ReplyDeleteI was definitely in the shade of the house (on the back patio), glad you liked the ZB reference...
DeleteI want to live here!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe they have a room you can rent?
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