If
Monday and
Wednesday's posts were the layers of a cake, then today's post is the frosting. Or maybe the other posts were the salad and dinner courses and this is the desert? Whatever you want to call it today's post is more garden eye candy from sculptor Marcia Donahue's Berkeley garden as I saw it late last March...
There is a large raised pond in the middle of the back garden and I find it endlessly fascinating for all the ways Marcia plants in and around it.
Pottery shards as mulch is a good look.
I think this staghorn planting must have really imprinted on my subconscious as did a very similar mount
with the plant I brought back from this trip, a gift from
Tracy. I'd forgotten all about seeing this until I started to edit my photos. I was rather surprised...
Going through and editing down my photos it took me a moment to realize those are the base of severed palm fronds. At first I thought they were metal.
Canarina canariensis
Being in the Bay Area Marcia can grow Phlebodium out doors year round.
Cypripedium formosanum in full bloom for our visit.
Coniogramme emeiensis 'Golden Zebra' or like.
Along with various totems (Marcia's work) this part of the garden featured multiple bowl plantings up on a plinth, it's a look I love.
Okay this was a bit jarring to my eyes. Mahonia x media 'marvel' seems a little familiar to be growing here. I say that not out of dislike (I have three and love them), but because among all the bromeliads, begonias and jungle cactus it was surprising to see.
Another Phlebodium...
The pond from the opposite side.
I have a piece of this plant! At least I think it's from this plant.
Riz Reyes got it from Marcia and he passed it on to
Ann Amato who divided it and passed it on to me.
Am I repeating myself? A little. I'm sharing the same subjects from different angles, I want you to feel like you're there in the garden!
Walking back, retracing my steps...
And now I'm back at the gate that leads to
the parking garden I shared on Monday. I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into Marcia Donahue's remarkable garden as much as I did!
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Incredible. I said "ohhhh" out loud so many times. I'll bookmark this one, I need a few read throughs to even come close to absorbing. It's so SO much more than "this plant or this pot" making the magic. The pottery shards are so cool, plus those pottery "bulbs" daaaang. I'm awestruck.
ReplyDeleteSo much more! The mix is the magic in this garden.
DeleteThis garden is overwhelming in its detail! I'm surprised you didn't get lost a time or 2 when you were wandering through it. I also have to wonder about the challenges in maintaining it. I hope she has lots of help!
ReplyDeleteOh I don't think it's large enough to successfully get lost in. Interesting the idea of help, some of the folks I was touring with do work in other gardens, but nobody mentioned helping out in Marcia's.
DeletePicture 5 from the top. Do you know what that spindly, weepy tree that seems like it’s growing out of the pot in the pond is?
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't have a clue.
DeleteI think that this garden is the most fascinating I have ever seen. Amazing! And the Canarina canariensis! I've never seen it before! I have seen her artistic pieces like these in other gardens. They are so eye catching!
ReplyDeleteMarcia's garden is definitely one of a kind and fascinating. I feel lucky to have been able to visit multiple times.
DeleteThis pond area of the garden is a treasure throve! I looked through twice, often not immediately sure whether something is natural or woman-made; such as the tulip bulbs!!!
ReplyDeleteWas there a 'sit-spot' anywhere around the pond? I know I'd need one, to relax and reflect.
The best part of "I have a piece of this plant!" and what makes it ever so special is how it made it's way to you. I hope it's thriving.
Chavli
Oh there are a lot of sit-spots in the garden, I think you'd be very happy with them.
DeleteThanks so much for three (!) posts on Marcia's garden. The veg garden is so cool. Your reaction to the mahonia made me laugh. Spectacular weeping conifer (?) in the first photo.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoyed the three posts. I enjoyed letting myself cover it in glorious detail.
DeleteHave I mentioned lately how great it is that I can open larger versions of your photos to look at them more closely? (I usually read your posts on my phone so everything is small) Invaluable, especially when you're sharing a garden as multi-layered, complex and creative as this one is. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, a phone photo would be a painful way to see this garden! I am glad you are able to enlarge them.
DeleteThanks for the tour! So much cool art in her garden. Were pieces for sale or does she do custom orders based on what you see.
ReplyDeleteI believe things are for sale, but I'm sure she must do custom work as well.
DeleteAh, the things that wander through our subconscious minds and then pop up at the right moment when we are tapping into our creative minds. It makes us realize that there are very few original ideas. We just embellish, modify, refine what we see elsewhere to our own tastes in our own space. Then someone who visits us is inspired to do their own version. And so on, and so on. We pass on the creative spirit that makes us so uniquely human and alive. Again, this is just so lovely.
ReplyDelete