Monday, August 9, 2021

Heather's garden...for real this time

I've only done a limited look at my friend Heather's garden in the past (here), so I'm excited to share these photos I took at her open garden for the HPSO back on July 31st...

The tall bloomer is Dasylirion texana, there are more photos to come. The big beautiful shrub to it's right is a mahonia, Mahonia × media ‘Arthur Menzies’.

In our America there are also agaves. I am not making light of the very important sentiments the sign is calling out, but rather acknowledging that agaves have a place in our summer dry climate here in Portland. 

I should also point out that Heather practices a tough-love style of gardening with her agaves and doesn't try to protect them from the snow and ice we occasionally get in the wintertime—like I sometimes do. They are flawless...

Here's the beautiful garden she got when she bought the house.

We cannot forget the wall-o-arborvitae she scored in the hellstrip; because why wouldn't you want an ugly wall of green to hide behind?

Okay more agaves and a better look at that Dasylirion texana, with it's three bloom spikes.




Agave blue glow on the front porch...


...and in the garden. This one may, or may not, be hardy here in Portland in a bad winter. Heather's doing a little testing for the rest of us.

I've also got to mention that she has amazingly well drained soil. Just three and a half miles away from me and it's like she's gardening in an entirely different city—my soil is clay.

Agave ovatifolia

Looking back along the front of the house...

As it goes with Portland open gardens (at least in the good old days), you are guaranteed to run into friends. Left to right: Heather is bent over loving on Linda's dog Josephine, then Norm and Scott and Linda with her back to me.

Linda and Josephine.

Now we're walking into the back garden...


Heather is a lily-lover, I only managed one photo of a lily in bloom.

I wish I could share a photo with the lights under the pavilion on, they cast the best colorful glow.

Those pieces of paper you may have noticed on the table above, those are the before shots. Here's a look at the super glamourous back garden. Nice huh?

I'm mildly jealous of those nicely cut leaves on her Schefflera delavayi

And just flat out—considered stealing it—jealous of this begonia and bromeliad combination.

Hosta plantaginea (smells so good!)

At the back side of the pavilion...

And then turning back around to look at the back of the house.

And then turning to the right (east)...


Heather made the investment in several mature palms (trachycarpus) this spring and they definitely provide a tropical mood in the back garden.

Senecio candicans 'Angel Wings' with a fine selection of friends.

I love these semperivium peeking out from under the bronze grass.

One more shot at under the pavilion...

The comfy seats...

And a couple of those new palms...

Headed back to my car I stopped to photograph how well the strip Heather has planted next to her driveway manages to work with the neighbor's garden next door.

And just a couple more agave/front garden shots...



All material © 2009-2021 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

35 comments:

  1. I love having before photos as it makes the gardener's efforts even more impressive. What a lovely garden and house color/door etc.

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    1. I'd seen those photos before and yet I was impressed all over again!

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  2. I couldn't believe the "before" shot of that hell-strip - why would anyone plant something like that?! Heather's done a fantastic job with all areas of her garden. I love the tropical feel of the back garden, a look I've never been able to create in my current garden.

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    1. Reports are that hellstrip gave the local ne'er do wells a great place to stash their 40-oz bottles when they were done with them.

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  3. PlantPantherAugust 09, 2021

    I understand your disbelief at the difference in soil composition from your house to your friends. Here in Davis, my besties live 2.5 miles across town; they have wonderful loamy soil in their yard. Me? Clay, which in the heat of summer might as well be cement. Growing anything in ground requires amending the soil, or skipping that and making mounds that allow for better drainage.

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    1. Isn't it crazy!? I wonder if we would have moved here if I'd have done a soil test first...

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  4. Great to see Heather's garden again. I couldn't visit last weekend for the open, but you make me feel almost like I was there - well, except for meeting up with garden friends, of course. Good work, Heather (and I covet your well-drained soil)!

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    1. Ah, it would have been lovely to see you there Jane!

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  5. What a terrific garden. Heather is talented. I echo what Kris said above. You don't have to answer this, but does Heather also have a basement for winter storage of her more delicate plants? Wish I had friends like Heather...Meaning I wish I had more garden-oriented friends.

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    1. From what I know about Heather's over-wintering strategy she uses her garage and the main floor of the house. I do feel very lucky to be part of such a garden focused community here in Portland.

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  6. What a treat to get such an intimate tour from so far away.
    Colors/textures are fantastic. I am intrigued at how she has such strong contrast without it ever being cloying/gaudy, which is the usual.

    I presumed the agaves were there to inflict justice on any would-be yard-sign snatchers.

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    1. Ha! Probably that too. Glad you enjoyed the tour.

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  7. Wow, those Agaves look great! And it's so fun to see the "befores" and "afters." So much creativity!

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  8. I love the flow Heather gets with her great taste in plants, the walkable paths/immersion, plenty of seating, and she nails scale too. What a treat to see her garden!

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    1. Your right about the paths, their is great flow. Something I could learn from.

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  9. Texture and color— what a gift! A stunning garden.

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  10. Heather has a lovely garden. You both have similar design aesthetics. Am jealous of her pavilion. Can see her wiling away the hot afternoons in its shade with a good book and a cold drink.

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    1. We do appreciate many of the same things in a garden, that's for sure.

      I've always been jealous of her easy access into the back garden from the house. We talked about putting a door in, off the back of our house, but it never happened. Instead you have to walk up the driveway a bit.

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  11. That is quite a transformation. The plant between the palms with the burgundy leaves - is that lorepetalum? I've wondered how they do here. I never see any although we do sell them at the nursery.

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    1. It is a lorepetalum, a big one! Lan Su Garden has a huge one too (or at least they used to).

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  12. What a gorgeous garden Heather has created. I'm sorry I missed it. Heather is a master at textures and color combinations and that back garden paradise? Wowza. I love her front dry garden and remember her saying once she HATES watering...I see the front garden thrives with little (no?) water. All of it is fantastic and so inviting! Thanks for the tour.

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    1. Oh it would have been fun to see you there! I need to make a plan to get out to your garden again soon...

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  13. What a transformation from before to after. She's done an amazing job. How long has she lived there? Too bad all yards couldn't see such a great transition!

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    1. I believe she bought the house in 2009, and agreed! I wish some of my neighbors would follow the same path.

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  14. Heather’s garden is looking amazing, stunning even. And absolutely love her pavilion and the beautiful planting in and out of it, great staging!

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    1. Maybe you'll have to visit the next time you're in Portland?

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  15. The before photos show a house with so little curve appeal (none!), that one would have to posses great imagination and determination to create this transformation!
    Love the photo of semperivium and bronze grass! Had to have been fun running into old garden friends again...

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    1. Yes indeed, a little like "normal" to see people at an open garden.

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  16. I love everything she's done so much, especially that cabana amid the palms and other fabulous plants in back! Is that Michelle Derviss-style umbrella perfectly positioned to hide the neighbor's window? If so, bravo!

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    1. Actually it's being used to shade a gunnera with a tendency to burn.

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  17. I love the gravel because it's not jst one size but a mix, much as one would find in the Arizona desett. Do you know how thick the gravel mulch is in order to keep wwerdss from growing?

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  18. I should have said "to keep the WEEDS from growing" not wwerdss

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    1. I do not know how thick the gravel is, but I'm guessing at least an inch and a half. I'll try to remember to ask her.

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