Monday, January 30, 2023

NPA Study Weekend, Tanya Bednarksi and neighbors

All of my posts this week are from the 2022 NPA Study Weekend which took place in the greater Seattle area last June. 

The garden we're visiting today is on the backside of the Mt Baker neighborhood, overlooking Lake Washington. From our tour booklet: "The 1922 Tudor style house sets the theme for the garden's design with its structure, symmetry and style suggesting an English Garden. A high boxwood hedge runs the length of the front yard with access through a double gate designed and fabricated by Jim Honald [I'm guessing that should actually be Honold, website here]. Boxwoods of various shapes and sizes fill the narrow front garden which is divided into two sections..."

So now you may be thinking; "this doesn't sound like something Loree would be interested in seeing!" Am I right? Well, you'd be right. A friend recommended this garden (a friend who loves clipped boxwoods) and since I planned another garden stop nearby, I figured "why not!" And honestly, do LOVE the perfectly clipped shapes in this first photo...

I was the first to arrive (something that never happens) and the gate was still closed, so I wandered around to the side of the garden and that's when I spotted this excellent gabion wall at a neighbor's place.

Talk about a wall that says "stay out!"...
Things were much more inviting next door, I really wanted to wander in, but I was good and stayed on the sidewalk. Just look at everything that's going on in there!

Turning back towards the tour house now, which looks like it was added onto at some point. That's not a Tudor-style...

Lots of fabulous lush plantings. 

A reminder that this event took place just as our very wet and cool spring was transitioning to summer.

Lake Washington view...

I believe this shady planting was under the deck off the back of the house.

Steps up to the front garden from the driveway...

Looking back at that interesting garden that I wanted to crash. Praying I'd see someone wandering about so I could ask for a closer look (sadly it was not to be).

Now I've arrived! In the front garden that is. 

I loved it. 

I mean, I wouldn't want a garden like this (I need all the cool plants all around me) but I think it's super fun.



Turning around to look down the long pathway to the other end...

More shapes seen en-route.

The steps down and back up are the direct pathway to the front door from the street.



I love this little trough pond too.

Okay, heading back to my car I spotted more fun from the neighbors, this was going on across the street.

Yes, I am glad I made this stop.

11 comments:

  1. The orderliness of formal gardens appeals to me but I know I couldn't live with one. However, the perfectly manicured shrubs do a beautiful job of highlighting the artistically positioned splashes of red (or is that vice-versa?). There's enough variation in foliage color and texture to carry the eye but I still think I'd get bored with the garden overall. In contrast, my gardeners who love their hedge pruners, would probably think they'd gone to heaven, although I doubt they could maintain all those shrubs in their pristine state in the 20 minutes or less they give my garden each week. As gabion walls go, the one featured in your 2nd and third photos is impressive, even if intimidating.

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    1. I agree, boredom would set in, there's no way I could be happy with this planting long term, but it's fun to visit!

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  2. It is a pretty formal garden, but qith quite a few quirky things in it.

    The planting on that sloping rockery is lovely. Acers and ferns go together really well.

    The view looks stunning as well.

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    1. Ya, the cloudy day didn't show the view to it's best.

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  3. I can apricate gardens of many styles, even those I'd never want for myself. And while I don't like boxwood, that garden is lovely. But the two abutters are intriguing.

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    1. Intriguing is the perfect word, I so wish I could have explored them!

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  4. Wow, the antithesis of my desert garden!

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  5. A beautifully done formal garden. I'm sure the owners get many hours of joy and relaxation out of it. Plus it's professionally maintained, so obviously not rabid gardeners who appreciate rolling around in the dirt.
    Chavli

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  6. Though I love pounded boxwoods this is just all too much for me. I am already so nervous about box blight that it is sad to think about what might happen to such a garden. And those gabion walls next door are high enough that they feel threatening to me. Very stay away from my house.

    On a different note, I am friends with the two WI gardeners in the American Roots book. Think you will enjoy the variety in it.

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  7. Very simple clean lines with lots of designed shapes. A very British style of garden but fits perfectly with the architecture of the house. Love that mosaic table.

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