My friend Bridget moved back to Portland and made a great garden...

I met Bridget and her wife Mary when they moved to our neighborhood back in 2012. There was no mistaking she was a gardener and we became fast friends. We stayed in touch even after they moved to Louisville, KY, and Bridget opened a shop, Mahonia. As I’m sure you can guess (if you read the title of the post), they’re back in Portland and there’s a new garden. This visit took place early in October, hence the colorful leaves...

This was what I was aiming the camera at (through the kitchen window). I think Bridget said it was a Microsorum brachylepis 'Datun', although the leaves are much longer than my version of that plant. I love her creative planting!

Stepping out the back door you enter a long narrow garden and a comfy seating area, filled with plants of course.

Bridget definitely loves Mahonia, there are several fine specimens around the garden.

The outdoor dining table is a little further along in the space, making it a destination.

Plants in waiting…

And a most excellent container display by another entry. Bridget has clearly come over to the spiky side with this garden.

Loquat, Eriobotrya japonica.

Looking backwards before we leave the private back garden…

And now we’re out in public area along the side and front of the house. Yucca aloifolia I believe, joined by a couple Eryngium.

The plantings in this area have filled in dramatically since my last visit. I believe the wood rounds came from a tree cut down on-site, they create informal seating area perfect for neighborhood visiting.

Gravel mulch covers the garden and makes for a nice uniform look throughout.

Agave ovatifolia I believe, gorgeous!

Mary and Bridget were hosting a brunch that day, hence the group gathered for plant admiring.

Phlomis some-somebody. I really cannot believe how much this garden has exploded in growth.

Agave ‘Mateo’ along with what I think may be Dorycnium hirsutum.

I recently shared a photo of an Agave ‘Mateo’ in James Andrew Gould’s garden that was pupping, and now we’re seeing the same in Bridget’s garden. Perhaps there’s hope for baby agaves from my ‘Mateo’.

Picturesque fungus.

If you forced me to guess I’d say Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths', but really this could be any one of dozens of manzanita.

At the end of this post I’ll share a photo from indoors, looking out that big picture window.

But first there’s a little more garden to see.

So many agaves!

And Mahonia, of course. I believe this and the next are seed grown Mahonia eurybracteata [Cistus Silvers].

Everyone loves a blooming sedum, doesn't that just scream fall?

Fantasitc!

And finally, that indoor shot I teased. Doesn’t it look beachy? Thanks for sharing your gorgeous garden Bridget!

The Bit at the End

Another Garden Rant post by Marianne Willburn, but this one is much less wordy: Cultivating Informed Debate on Growing Greener Podcast. 

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