The Mitchell Garden, during the 2025 Study Weekend

They just keep coming right? Are you curious just how many Study Weekend gardens I visited? Well, so far I've written about eight of them, those visits took place Friday and Saturday, June 27th and 28th. Today we kick off Sunday's tours with Christine and Jim Mitchell's garden. After this I've got one more Sunday garden and then a bonus Monday garden. There were many other open gardens that weekend that I didn't make it to for one reason or another. 

The sun was shining bright on Sunday and unfortunately the photos suffer because of it. Hopefully you can see past the glare and harsh shadows. From the tour brochure: Located on a quiet, one-third-acre suburban corner lot, the 26-year-old Mitchell Garden has developed into a mature, diverse, peaceful, restful and lush private retreat. This is an “all seasons” garden. Plants in this garden are selected for foliage—color, shape, texture, and multi-season impact. Plants are also selected for low maintenance. 

The description continues: The front garden is anchored by conscientiously pruned conifers along with water-wise ground covers and seasonal perennials. Dry-loving plants and a collection of dwarf conifers thrive here. A collection of hardy and marginally hardy succulents (including desert specimens) are scattered throughout the front and back garden beds.

That blue ground-hugging conifer is swallowing a similarly colored agave. Do you see it?

There it is...

This is a horrid photo, with the bright light and deep shadows, but I had to include it because I love how the peeling Arctostaphylos bark mimics the spiky bits of the opuntia.

We've walked into the back garden now...

More from the tour guide: In the very private backyard garden, brick and stone patios encourage sitting and viewing. Multiple trellises are covered with clematis and hops (used by the resident home brewer). A cathedral of six large, 100-plus year-old Douglas fir trees tower over the back, framing a lush woodland garden.

I first visited this garden back in 2015, with a small group of bloggers (here), that means I've been visiting for 10 years! Time flies...

The strong light that day made it especially difficult to photograph in the shady woodland garden.

Lysimachia paridiformis var. stenophylla

Tetrapanax reaching for the sun above a mix of Podophyllum.

Stunning Rhododendrons too!

There are a few of those 100-plus year-old Douglas fir tree trunks.

Chris Mitchell and I share a love for agaves. Back when I first met her she was planting out and lifting nonhardy agaves each year, not anymore. Now the agaves in the ground stay there and only the potted specimens are moved with the seasons—that is undercover for the rainy months.

I loved how these potted agaves told visitors this was an off-limits area.

Another sculptural Arctostaphylos showing off its cinnamon colored bark in the sunshine.

Nice color echo at the end of the pathway, between the Berberis (?) and the umbrella.

That's a happy Agave parryi!

A couple shots of the front garden as we head back to the car...

The Bit at the End

Garden touring calls for a certain level of behavior, be it a public or a private garden. I thought this Garden Rant article hit on several important points; Behaving Badly In Gardens.

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All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.