This garden belonging to David and Wendy Sellars is my final post for this week of Vancouver Study Weekend garden visits, I toured this garden last June.
I stepped into the garden via their steep and winding driveway and was immediately fascinated with the rock garden plantings. Rock gardens (and saxifrage) are definitely a thing in the Vancouver area.
From our tour brochure: "
Wendy and David Sellars started their garden in 1987 on a heavily treed acre in South Surrey. The trees were cleared and the land shaped to create high banks, valleys, ponds and streams. A woodland area has mature trees… A rock garden on steep bank extends across the front of the garden with extensive plantings in tufa rock. In 2012 the garden was given the Linc and Timmy Foster Millstream Garden Award by the North American Rock Garden Society."
Arenaria alfacarensis, Spanish sandwort
That sandwort is the only name I'll be sharing in this post. There were a million fabulous little plants, but I don't know what most of them were. There were some name tags, but not many on the plants I was interested in. Which to my way of thinking is a good thing, this was a private garden, not a botanical garden.
Some type of eriogonum blooming at the back? And an Armeria maritima in front? (guessing!)
Well okay, I know this one because I grow it, Maihuenia poeppigii.
So many saxifrage...
On the other side of the driveway...
Lady slipper orchids were in almost every garden we toured, such great foliage.
Rocks, rocks, and more rocks...
I've made it around to the back garden now. You can see for miles...
These must be special plants as they were displayed on a table at eye-level.
There was an extensive nursery/growing area, but I think it was all for personal use. Echium...
It's not every garden that has its own railroad.
Finally, a couple of rhododendrons. I'm guessing R. pachysanthum and R. williamsianum. Great garden!
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This garden is a rock and alpine garden lover's dream. The tufa work is pretty amazing. Lots of great little plants. Grass is always greener scenario: if you have flat land (my garden) you want to create slopes and cliffs. Hence, I am quite envious of the beautiful waterfall and pond. Love this garden and great photos too!
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a happy medium to be found between flat and one with interesting terrain. Too steep though and it just looks like another broken ankle to me.
DeleteWow, that is truly lovely. The rock gardens and water features are special--naturalistic and nicely planned.
ReplyDeleteI read your comment as "nicely planted" and had to agree, but nicely planned works too!
DeleteI've never really warmed up to the alpine-style rock gardens even though I appreciate many of the plants (that I can't grow). However, I admit that I love the look of the area shown in photo #16. The Eriogonum you commented on may be E. nudum 'Ella Nelson's Yellow'. I tried it once but it quickly died out when I wasn't watching. I just put it back on my Annie's wish list.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad this post rekindled a love for that eriogonum, hopefully the second time is the charm.
DeleteBeautiful garden. Rocks--bad for farming, pretty good for gardening.
ReplyDeleteHa! You're right!
DeleteI have a special fondness for small, tidy plants and rock gardens. You can fit a lot of diversity and adventure into a small place. The saxifrages are very appealing. I particularly like #24, with it's alternating yellow and red leaves at the base of a silvery green crown. I like to imagine that they used that little tiny train to haul tiny loads of rock and plants to distant parts of the rock garden, and then had little toy excavators, dump trucks, etc, to install it all in place.
ReplyDeleteI like your garden imagination!
DeleteI do like rock and crevice gardens, I admit they've had to grow on me. I especially like cushion plants. The eriogonum is really vivid, I love that!
ReplyDeleteSometimes rock gardens look so "constructed" they can be a turn off for me.
DeleteFor anyone how loves pocket planting (me!), this garden has a lot to offer. Lots of charming Saxifrage again, and whatever is featured in photo 25. Is it the same plant you identified as "cutie" in Wednesday's post?
ReplyDeleteChavli
I think that might be the same! I wish I knew what it was... (and that more saxifrage were available in our area nurseries).
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