Visiting Nanthawat's garden

I finally got to visit my friend Nanthawat Jiranuwatana's garden! (I've been asking to visit for several years) If that name seems familiar it's because he's the owner of The Other Side Nursery which I posted about last spring.

Nat and his husband Chris have lived here since 2015, Nat reports that once they took possession he immediately started removing the lawn and plants that they'd inherited, getting ready to work his own magic. 

I felt right at home in this front garden. It has the same sort of wild feel that my front garden has, but Nat has created pathways thru the entire space, something that I didn't feel was necessary when I put together my garden, and thus visitors don't interact with the garden in the way I wish they could.

As you may have noticed, there's a bit of a party going on up near the house—we'll see close-ups of some these reptile inhabitants in a bit.

Back out street-side, this stellar combination of Eryngium maritimum and Yucca rostrata had me swooning.

My Eryngium maritimum have been shaded out, but even in their prime they never looked this good.

Fatsia polycarpa ‘Needhams Lace’

The day I visited the sunshine was shining bright, not the best for taking photos. Hopefully the beauty of this garden will still be evident.  

Agave montana, I think.

Hebe and opuntia—it's a good combination.

Another hebe and Corokia cotoneaster in the foreground.

There were many unexpected wildlife sightings. Thankfully everyone was friendly.

The tall thin dinos are all from Portland artist Mike Bennett...

They look right at home here amongst the plants.

Aloiampelos striatula, formerly Aloe striatula.

Nat is growing the most amazing patch of Eryngium proteiflorum, I'd never seen anything like it and I was in awe.

On the left Genista aetnensis—a fabulous tree that casts very little shade but has hundreds of fragrant yellow flowers in it's blooming season.

So many spikes, all very happy.

Agave parrasanna 'Meat Claw'

Fronted by a sprinkling of cactus growing just like they would in the desert.

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Chirimen' with a Euphorbia characias 'Tasmanian Tiger' doing its best to fool me into thinking it's Phylica pubescens. Yes I know the scale is wrong, but for just a moment...

Cornus sanguinea 'Compressa' in the center...

Nat is a serious plant collector and has put together a garden that shows off the specimens he's gathered perfectly. Everything is given room to shine.

Phlomis 'Sunningdale Gold' in front of a yucca.

Schefflera delavayi 

Rhododendron pachysanthum

Mahonia eurybracteata 'Soft Caress'

Ilex crenata ‘Dwarf Pagoda’—a plant I really need to find a place for in my garden.

We've now worked our way through the various planting areas of the front garden and we're looking at the plants up against the house. Canna 'Cleopatra' is fantastic, with it's striped leaves and random bloom colors.

I'm interrupting photos Nat's garden to share a photo of this cactus he sent home with me, Echinopsis chamaecereus 'Arlequin' in my garden. It's a cactus version of Canna 'Cleopatra'!

Back to Nat's garden and more canna...

...and water lily blooms—Nymphaea 'Violicious'. I am jealous, the damn raccoons have taken away my ability to grow these beauties.

Have you ever seen a more successful patch of Senecio candicans. aka Angel Wings Senecio? I doubt it. Nat said he's had companies contact him asking to use his photos for marketing purposes. I can see why. 

Oh... and that turquoise fellow is a friendly beaver head given to Chris by a coworker. I think it needs a name, any suggestions?

Nat kindly agreed to stand next to his AMAZING Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguaro' so you see just how tall it is. My tiny 2.5 ft plant has some major growing to do!

I'm not usually a conifer fan ('Wissel's Saguaro' excepted), but this one with it's blue and green needles, sitting in front of a blue wall, well—it stopped me in my tracks.

Now we're in the back garden where Nat has stashed some inventory for The Other Side Nursery .

Callisia fragrans, aka basket plant. 

Alocasia cuprea 'Red Secret'

Greenhouse treasures...

Stock tank veggie garden...

And this! 

I think I successfully down-played the complete and utter joy I felt when I saw this little in-ground pond, Nat said they inherited it with the garden, and he's certainly made the most of it. When I was a kid there was a small pond like this in the yard of a house we frequently drove by. I was in love with that pond and the idea of it. Seeing this one took me back...

But really the big show in the back garden is this...

A HUGE display of happy, healthy and colorful sarracenia. Amazing!

I could have done an entire blog post on just the sarracenia but managed to (somehow) pare it down to just two images. There could have been so many more. 

I turned and was lured away by beautiful ripe tomatoes.

And then spotted this, a variegated Monstera deliciosa spending the summer outdoors.

Nat, thanks for letting me visit your garden—it's pretty damn fabulous! Parting shot of a very healthy Agave americana 'Mediopicta Alba'. 

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