Back on July 13th I finally paid a visit to my friend Tim's garden, aka Webster Manor. I meant to get over there ("over there" being all of 3 miles away) last summer, but never managed to do so—I made it a priority this year. Since the light was harsh during my visit I borrowed this wide-shot from Tim...
That's what vision and a lot of hard work will do. Here are a couple of my attempts at a wide-shot, bright afternoon that it was. I'm standing on the street when I took these photos.
Tim is growing Trachelospermum jasminoides on the chain-link fence to create a nice front garden wall.
Every year I share a photo of the agaves at the Rare Plant Research open house labeled as Agave utahensis and every year I mention they're most likely Agave montana. Tim bought one a few years back and it's grown into this beauty, however it rotted off at the base after this ugly winter. After discovering the tragedy Tim placed the rootless agave on the ground in his greenhouse and... it rooted! He since moved it out here, it looks pretty darn good don't you think?
As we worked our way into the front garden Tim used the term "chaos gardening" to describe his style. I like it, but I also feel a little like it undercuts his serious gardening credentials.
BTW—another opportunity to visit local gardens is coming up this weekend! The Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association is holding a garden tour, one of the gardens on the tour will be this garden I've written about several times, belonging to Dale Latham. Dale is a kind supporter of my work and will have a few copies of my book, Fearless Gardening available for purchase at his garden during the tour (1-5pm Saturday July 29th). Check it out!
— — —
To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note; these are sent from a third party, you’ll want to click thru to read the post here on the blog to avoid their annoying ads.
All material © 2009-2023 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
Who doesn't love before and after photos... an astonishing transformation to garden and house. I wonder if the pandemic gave Tim more time in the garden that he wouldn't otherwise have. I love his collection of conifers and that massive cycad!
ReplyDeleteThe re-rooting Agave utahensis is an inspiring story of survival.
Chavli
In case you didn't catch it, Tim replied to you below. I can vouch for the fact that Tim was not one of those folks who had garden time on his hands during the pandemic.
DeleteTo some degree, yes, but I spent a lot of the pandemic working two jobs and studying for a career change. I'm just kind of obsessive!
ReplyDeleteThis is a garden in which I would feel right at home. So much to love. In spite of the spiky plants, still very much PNW.
ReplyDeleteI actually like the term "chaos gardening." Chaos gets a bad rap.
While I generally have a hard time seeing what others see when they identify a garden as being PNW in style, I think I get it here.
DeleteI have a hard time matching up those photos with the before shot. What a transformation - and what a range of plants! I'm a little in love with the Cunninghamia but, according to Sunset, it's not suitable to my climate, which is probably a good thing as it'd put me in the line of fire with the "view conservation" police.
ReplyDeleteCollectors collect! (range of plants) I didn't even mention the range of dogs that call this garden home...
DeleteLove the before shot. Really helps us see the transformation. So cool that he kept the chain link fence. I agree that he should not call it chaotic. It’s fascinating, overwhelming, gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteTim has (gosh I've lost count) 4 (I think) dogs. That chain link keeps them contained! Overwhelming in a good way, right?
DeleteYup four dogs!
DeleteWhat a makeover. You would never know it's the same property. Those cycad curly fronds are very cool. Like someone took a curling iron to them. What is the variegated plant in the container in the shot before the Ligularia?
ReplyDeleteHmmm... are you maybe referring to the shot with the Gunnera perpensa (not ligularia)? I think it's a variegated brugmansia.
DeleteThat's a baby variegated clerodendrum (for the next house) 😁
DeleteWhat a joyful, abundant jungle. I remember when Tim was getting ready to paint that little house. Thanks for the tour Loree.
ReplyDeleteA timeless collector's garden made in no time at all. And very "homey"--a place to live in and enjoy, instead of for show. Thanks for the tour of botanical beauties.
ReplyDeleteWell, everyone else was too polite, so I'm going to dive right in. The boxwood containers make a bold statement and show that there is a sense of humor running amok amongst all the chaos gardening. I so wanted to come up with something more clever to say, but failed. The other thing that made me laugh was the cabbage on a rope.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I enjoyed seeing how much has been accomplished in 5 years. I can hardly believe it. That's an incredible collection of diverse plants, something for everyone, with great composition. I can't wait to see the bathtub get put to some creative use here. I'm sure Tim will do a much better job of making it look stunning with carnivorous plants than I was able to.