Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Wednesday Vignette, crevice garden heaven

I'm back from a week in Colorado and the 2019 Garden Bloggers Fling. As usual I went a little crazy with the photos (over 2,000...) so it's going to take awhile to work through them all.

We saw fabulous gardens and met some really wonderful gardeners. I'm left with memories of rocks, lots of rocks. Rocks in crevice gardens, crushed rock mulch, boulders in the landscape, stacked rocks...and on and on. Plant-wise, sempervivum top my list, along with opuntia and yucca. Sure there were lots of iris, peonies, poppies and the like, but you know me, pretty flowers don't keep me entertained for long.

Several years ago I wrote a story for the Oregon Association of Nurseries on crevice gardens. For that story I had the pleasure of interviewing Kenton Seth, of Grand Junction, CO, he's a leader in the design and building of crevice gardens here in the U.S.. One of the gardens we visited on the first day of the Fling, Carol and Randy Shinn’s garden, included a couple of Kenton's creations. I look forward to sharing more images from the Shinn's garden, until then I hope you enjoy this trio of vignettes.

Weather Diary, June 18: Hi 73, Low 55/ Precip 0

Wednesday Vignettes are hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum. All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

30 comments:

  1. I remember years ago seeing the rock garden at Denver Botanic. Folks in that region really know how to do that style of gardening at the highest levels.

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    1. And they've got great rocks to go with it!

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  2. I'm not really into crevice gardens or rock gardens, but I was really impressed with all the rock gardens we saw in Denver. I'm also a major flower floozie, but I came away astounded by -- not to mention extremely jealous of -- the thick carpets of Semps there. They were gorgeous.

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    1. I am seriously wondering how they get them to multiply like that, and be so dense. Mine are always blooming out.

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  3. PERFECTION! I can't get enough of these three images. I'm going to redo the succulent bed next to our front door in the fall, and I think I'll try to create a small version of a succulent crevice garden. The only issue: where do you get flat rocks like that???

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    1. Ya, the rocks are perfect. If I were to do something like this here I think I might go with urbanite, assuming I could find some...

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  4. Looking forward to seeing more!

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  5. It was so well done! Shawn and I are talking about where we can try one. Your photo is perfect! So good to hang out and share gardens. HUGS

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    1. It was wonderful to see you both. I'm still laughing about Shawn's reply to people who say he looks familiar...

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  6. I lover rocks. All rocks. I may have been introduced to crevice gardens right here reading your blog. I find them extremely appealing, practically mesmerizing. They can be huge or diminutive, but always fun.
    2000 plus pictures? Bring it on, I'm ready!

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    1. I'll do my best to keep the photos coming!

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  7. Beautiful - I didn't realize the Fling was in June. Looking forward to seeing your posts.

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    1. The timing of the Fling changes depending on the weather/events in the host city. Portland was in July, Austin was in May...

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  8. We saw the crevice gardens when we visited Denver last year and along with hikes and other gardens there and in Idaho I came home hell bent on doing a crevice garden. So far just a couple of small ones but I have been gathering rocks to do a larger one. My style is turning more towards rock gardening and succulents. Not always easy to do well in Texas but at least I have the rocks.

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    1. I guess I'm going to have to come back and see your garden again!

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  9. Incredible! And food for thought as I contemplate reconstruction of my bromeliad bed. I look forward to your Fling posts. I was sorry to miss it.

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    1. We missed you! And are you thinking of a crevice garden bromeliad bed? I look forward to seeing what you end up with...

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  10. When we lived in Denver, I had the opportunity to chat back and forth with Kenton over a few weeks one winter about the possibility of creating a crevice garden. They take so much skill, finesse, heaps of patience and a whole lot of time to create a small space I realized that it was more than I could do justice to since I would need a whole lot more muscle to achieve my dream. Kenton is a thoughtful guy... I felt that even though I didn't achieve my dream of a crevice garden on my small property, I learned the steps of building one and the passion needed to create my own piece of rocky beauty. He is amazing as is his vision of a craggy terrain no matter the size.

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    1. A lot of people don't realize a crevice garden is more than just plants interspersed with rocks, there so much more involved in the building.

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  11. My dad once made a rock garden on a slope behind our house. I mostly recall how he had to go to the chiropractor afterwards, and of course the plants he put in it. I'm going to have to show him your future posts on these - he will get a kick out of them, as will I. I wish I could have Flinged this year - these photos are lovely!

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    1. Ha, yes the chiropractor sounds like a necessary visit after building something like this. I wish you could have joined us!

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  12. How I loved this Fling! I only took about 900, but I was trying to be intentional. That never works out for me. Lurking in the background was the near full capacity on my external hard drive. I ordered a new one today-need space for study weekend pics !

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    1. I can't seem to get over my inclination to just snap away. I wish I could.

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  13. Sounds like it was a great time. Looking forward to all those photos.

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  14. Nice teaser. I came across Kenton's awesome blog last year - exciting that you had a chance to interview him. looking forward to the post.

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  15. I loved the crevice gardens too and thought them surprisingly subtle in how they fit into the private gardens. I've got to check out your article again, so thanks for the reminder.

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  16. The first time I saw crevice gardens in Denver, it was simply amazing. "Hey, I see that on my favorite hike in El Paso, in the wild!" But these in Denver are built with skill and interesting plants. 2000 pics...probably worth it!

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