13 July: Bella Madrona, part two

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

Allan at Bella Madrona

I couldn’t get down the steep hills into the lower gardens of Bella Madrona.  Since Allan had been there once before, long ago, probably in 2006, he went all over the garden while I happily revisited  only the upper levels.

at the entrance to the service road

He found the little koi pond

and the brown bottle tree.

and the stream under stones

and the chain on the rock.

Eryngium giganteum

 

Allan says a lot of bloggers were admiring this tree, which was about 30 feet high.

He thinks we don’t have room for it, but maybe Steve and John do.

He took this note of the name. (??)

lights on the trees

bears breeches

Allan also found this fellow.

After his exploration of the artistically rich gardens between the service road and the central lawn, Allan found the woodland swing.

bus driver Andy on the swing

Andy helps set Barbara up with the swing.

 

 

Barbara’s blog:  BWise Gardening (Nashville)

and her trailer about the Bloggers Fling

And then he began his descent into the mysterious depths of Bella Madrona.

the wild edge of the hill

 

down into the wilderness

 

I remember this!

further down and farther in

There’s my favourite bus driver again.

by the bog

lower meadow

the gnome woods

Andy in the gnome woods

 

 

fungi

disturbing! No wonder gnomes can have a bad name.

Although some appear to be nice.

way down the hill in the bog

danger tree?

 

 

 

Allan did not get totally lost in the strange lower regions of Bella Madrona; eventually he did return to the more civilized upper levels and joined us for dinner and took a walk around the house to see the blue bottle tree.

For a more organized tour of Bella Madrona, see my visit in 2011.

And thus we come to the end of the Garden Bloggers Fling.  Next year, it will be in Toronto.  I very much doubt we will make that one….but maybe you will.

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13 July: Bella Madrona, part one

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

The itinerary for our bus was different than on the schedule.

wandering at Bella Madrona

I have visited this wondrous garden twice before, once in 2006 and once in 2011, when I attempted to do a very organized description of how it fits together.

This time, my experience was more random and wandering and my gimpiness kept me to the upper levels. In fact, I am not going to do my usual compulsive organizing and explaining; I’ll post the photos as they were taken so just walk with me while I wander here and there and then sit with me and observe. Allan had his own wanderings and adventures so I’ll divide this post into two parts.

What makes me feel so gently amused and at peace here? The gardens do not feel designed, even though there are plenty of intricate and carefully structured features. It just feels like it grew this way.

We arrive at the back entrance.

entry pillar

the gardens await us

My first wanderings are all around the south? side of the house and big central lawn.

diving in

a glimpse of the bloggers’ farewell gathering

steps to the house; I find a level path instead.

I find a little pond that I remember.

little pond, big fish

I miss the enormous mossy boulder in my old garden; it was as bigger than a lorry.

Several of us were photographing this display of small brown bottles.

 

The garden is so large that we drifted apart again.

 

There’s water under that rock.

 

I remember all these things almost as if I have been living here in a dream for the last three years.

The paths become more formal nearer the lawn.

I stick to the wilder part.

 

 

Oh, for some pillars for my bogsy woods!

While I was not having a physically painful day, I found it hard to do the gentlest steps, so I wandered the paths that I remembered would help me avoid steps, even the easy ones by the water feature below. The garden had stayed in my memory well, probably from blogging about it. I have more detailed photos of this cool waterfall stream in my 2011 post.

at the top of the waterfall stairs

I take another route; this path must lead to the central lawn.

I don’t want to stop wandering yet.

not yet…

back to the wilder spots

I have come round to the bottom of the waterfall steps.

coolest water feature ever

level path below

where the land begins to slope downhill

back past the waterfall steps

I look at the path going downhill, but am pretty sure what used to be grass is now gravel, so I turn back to the level path below the central lawn. (Gravel can be slippy to walk on downhill. Later Allan tells me the service road took him down to the lower garden, but that was a route I did not know.)

the arches below the guest house

or the stairs to the lawn

this is the top of one of the paths from below

I couldn’t get down those steps today.

path to the guest house

coming up from below

There’s the water closet.

I made it up the stairs!

a peek out onto the lawn

all kinds of ingredients

at the edge of the lawn

guest house

Itea ilicifolia: must have

diners above the lawn

What a spread of food!

on the table, more swag: free CDs by Pink Martini. (upside down, sorry)

Pink Martini loves to perform in this garden, and the CD we are given has a song set here: In the Garden of Sampson and Beasley.

I found this beautiful article about the Sampson-Beasley wedding in the garden.

Two large dogs and two pug dogs have joined us on the lawn.

A pug named Olive gets some love.

more pug lovin’

 

 

With a plate of delicious food, I find a place to sit just above the lawn.

my view

Then I decide I had better take an amble around the house gardens.

gate to the parking lot

I turn aside after taking a photo of these pretty ducks.

My good friend Sheila pointed something out to me when we were here in 2011.

a window clipped in the hedge

turning 180 degrees

looking back

 

I tell another blogger about the hedge window.

The ducks have gone to sleep.

the greenhouse near the house

the deck behind the house

by the main house

 

beside the house

around to the front

the front porch

I remember seeing on telly (maybe Mike Darcy’s In The Garden) how Sampson and Beasley decided that since they did not enter from the front gate, they would just rip out the front sidewalk to the porch and fill it with plants.

around the other side of the house

the memorable blue bottle tree

I instagrammed it.

a new repair

on the way back to the lawn again

the guest house (or studio?)

I go on more wanderings (hobbling rather slowly) because the light is so pretty.

Hydrangea aspera

back to the top of the waterfall stairs

I wanted to see this fellow again.

on the lawn again

the pug lovin’ still going on

Andy!

The tall guy in glasses is my favourite bus driver, Andy. A bit earlier I had found him wandering the garden. He said he had found a really great swing and suggested I try it; I declined, but later I found Allan had got some fun pictures of Andy trying out the swing. (Next post.)

more wandering

these things again

the most beautiful, perfectly warm evening imaginable

the bottles again

The cord shows that these must light up at night.

Finally, I return to my seat above the lawn. The party is going on well past 6 PM as no one can bear to leave.

Andy and Mr. Beasley

We do eventually all depart on the buses and after getting back to the hotel, Allan and I made the two and a half hour drive home. But before I come to the end of the fling, next comes Allan’s adventures at Bella Madrona.

For Loree’s take on Bella Madrona, see her excellent post on Danger Garden (with a book recommendation that I must read). She resisted posting 100 photos, but I didn’t.

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13 July: Floramagoria, the back garden

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

Floramagoria, part 2: the back garden

 

We’ve visited the front garden; now let’s go around the shady side of the house to the back.

lovely clematis

This is one of those gardens where it is so hard to explain how all the wonderful parts fit together.  I will try to make you feel like you have been there with us.

just inside the back garden gate

pitcher plant raised display

 

look closely

Allan’s photo

 

Allan’s photo

turning to the left

and as I turn, this is in greenhouse to my left against the back wall of the house

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

 

Allan’s photo

The view of the garden has me absolutely gobsmacked, so I walk along the back wall of the house first.

against the house

to my right: a low wall with cactus display

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

straight ahead, a covered deck

Allan’s photo

to my right: just beyond the green wall that borders the house patio

Straight ahead:  Oh!

Allan’s photo

Let’s focus on the details right behind the house before become overwhelmed by the garden.

shelf or seating

 

 

 

Allan’s photo, garden host, center courtyard outside house

love the way the house opens onto the garden

our host and his dog

inside (Allan’s photo)

what a beauty (Allan’s photo)

 

 

Allan’s photo

Looking from the house out into the garden (Allan’s photo)

 

on a corner of the low green wall (from previous photo)

 

one of these is on each side of the center patio.  Note the inlaid carpet, lower right

The pillars are placed like this.

Just beyond the little head pillars, one step down,  is the carpet inlay:

 

 

brugmansia

looking back to the house

Allan’s photo

 

 

 

gunnera leaf

 

behind the fire area

 

 

bamboo behind the wall

a good place to warm up after rain

 

looking back to the house

To our right as we face the fire is a big bamboo-roofed dining pavilion (thanks to the Garden Bloggers Fling website for helping me know what to call it!).   In researching what the structure might be properly called, I found out that the glorious Laura Crockett was instrumental in designing this garden.  Of course!  Her own garden was one of my favourites that I have ever toured.

one of the several little tiles throughout the garden

the dining pavilion

Allan’s photo

in the pavilion, bloggers still dressed for rain

cookies!

inside the pavilion

inside the pavilion looking toward the house

view of the fire from inside the pavilion

from inside the pavilion, looking to the shade garden corner

a candle pillar by the shade garden

Beyond the pavilion, in the back corner of the garden, a huge sequoia provides shelter in a shady corner.

the giant sequoia

with a bubble machine

at the base of the tree

Allan’s photo

the wall dividining shade garden from sun

shady corner

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

perfect for a hot day

looking from the shade garden to the pavilion

looking back into the pavilion

Now on into the sunny gardens.  To our  right as we face the fire seating area are flower beds (out from the part of the house that has the greenhouse).  Here’s a little head pillar to orient yourself by:

beside the center patio

a haze of pink

sanguisorba, one of the my favourite plants

sanguisorba and pink poppies

ruffles and feathers

more pink on pink

looking toward the pavilion at the back of the garden

conifer cluster

a path from sun into the shady Sequoia corner

looking toward the house and the low green wall with cacti pots

Nigella (love in a mist)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

The other side of this blue wall is the green wall of the shade garden.

Allan’s photo

 

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Melianthus major in a pot

looking across the center of the garden

looking toward the house

the cross view from one side of the garden to the other

We’re going now to the other side (straight ahead in the above photo.  It would be to our left as we face the fire seating area.) The next part of the garden is below the covered deck with the memorable pool boy.

 

just beyond previous photo

You can orient yourself by the little pillar heads; four closeups from above tableau follow:

looking toward the fire

pitcher plants at the base of the pillar

looking toward the pavilion

close up of glass flowers with Allium albopilosum

stepping into the side garden

looking out from the center patio

into a gold and orange themed garden area

gold daylily and yarrow

with bloggers galore

 

the path to enter the gold and orange garden

Some painted bamboo is going to make its way into my garden.  I say that every year but this time I really mean that I am going to get around to it.  Really!

painted bamboo adding so much pizzazz and verticality

looking back toward the center of the garden

and toward the back fence

shrubs toward the back fence

looking toward the house

ruffled daylilies

I hope you’ve enjoyed the many details of this back garden and have some idea of how it is arranged.

The path beside the deck leads to a side garden.

Next, we’ll go around the corner of the deck for part three of our Floramagoria tour, what our host called “our farm area”.  You’ll get a buzz out of it.

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13 July: Floramagoria, the front garden

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

The itinerary for our bus was different than on the schedule.

Floramagoria, part 1: the front garden

There were three gardens I was especially excited to see on the tour, two because I read blogs about them (Rhone Street and Danger Garden), and Floramagoria because I had heard it is wonderful and rarely has a garden open.

Because I like to put every single last detail of gardens I tour into our blog, so that I can relive the experience later, I have divided this garden into two (or maybe even three) sections, thus avoiding an entry with over 100 photos! You will understand when you see the back garden.

The front garden is “NW/Asian” in style and is five years old.

arriving at Floramagoria; Allan’s photo

along the driveway

dog sculpture

woodsy front garden

bird draped with Japanese forest grass

raised fern display

I suggested to Allan that he do something like this to squeeze more ferns into his garden.

daylily…a hint of brightness to come

¯

I found the front garden pleasant, but I knew the garden was about flowers. Allan did not know that as he had not read hints about it online, as I had. So he was quite content in the front garden, especially because of his love of ferns.

Allan’s photos:

Fatsia ‘Spider’s Web” (he has one in his garden)

 

 

a gentle adjustable limb brace

Allan was in fern heaven and I believe he thought that’s what the garden was all about…until he looked up and realized everyone else had disappeared and he wondered where we had all gone.

That’s when he came around the side and joined the rest of us in the back garden.

Prepare to have your sock knocked off!

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13 July: John Kuzma Garden

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

The itinerary for our bus was different than on the schedule.

crossing one of Portland’s many bridges.

Along many areas beside the city freeways, drifts of roses are planted.  (photo taken from the bus, of course)

John Kuzma Garden

As soon as I saw this garden, I again wanted to tear up all of my grass (as is usual when I see a gravel garden).  One of the main thing that stops me is that we cannot get decomposed granite or even washed gravel.  The only gravel around here is full of “fines” and is not the proper sort for building a garden like this (as far as I know).

the bus arrives and we are greeted by our host, John Kuzma

Allan’s photo

Gravel drifts all the way to the street.

Allan’s photo

As we arrived, it began to rain.

taking shelter by the front door

Allan’s photo

front porch, Allan’s photo

the front garden

Allan’s photo, a rhodo for Steve and John

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Now…walking around the side of the house:

side garden

And into the truly enormous back garden:

entering the back courtyard

an elegant water feature

against the house

in the courtyard

And now into the upper level of the back garden:

just a few steps up; I’d hardly had to do any stairs all day.

The garden was big enough to let us spread out.  Also so nice and level for my walking comfort.

 

 

crevice garden

 

 

Allan’s photo; I was smitten with his crevice garden idea.

The rain had begun to bucket down.

I hustled to a shed at the back corner of the garden.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

with a living roof

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

shelter from the storm

I had to get back out for more photos.

Soon it seemed I was the only one who had stayed out in the garden.

gunnera toward the back of the garden

a small kitchen garden

looking back to the house

When I heard thunder and saw dramatic forked lightning strike on the other side of the house, I decided I had better get inside!

a quick route via an unexplored area

rose, maybe Mutabilis?

 

Eucalyptus at the edge of the garden

I found the bloggers clustered on the back porch, donning garbage bags as rain gear.  One of the organizers had thought to bring them after seeing the forecast of thunderstorms.

 

the donning of rain gear, Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

our gracious host, Mr Kuzma, who let us drip into his house for lunch if we so desired.

This was our lunch spot; the other bus would be dining at the Floramagoria garden at the same time.

view from the back porch

stairs to the upper level

Along with several other people, I went into the house to eat.

another delicious sandwich from Elephants Deli.

view from the kitchen window; you can see one side of the upper back garden does not have stairs to enter.

kitchen view

kitchen view

front door view

view from the front porch

In the house, garden designer Sean Hogan’s plant encyclopedia (Allan’s photo)

During lunch, the contigent of California bloggers were talking about Instagram and one of them gave me a quick tutorial.  I had it on my phone but had only used it once and had not realized it had become such a big thing.

Then the bloggers fanned out into the garden to take photos, rain or no rain.  (It had almost stopped.)

after lunch

With the rain stopped, I could finally take photos looking up.

And with my phone, I took and posted my first Instagram.

Allan joined the other bloggers for a post-rain tour of the garden; photos below are all his:

 

Xera plant tag

Aw….I had this back in 2012.

Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’, I believe, and a little rhodo

This is the sort of garden where I have no clue what most of the plants are.

If I were twenty years younger…I might dig up every scrap of sod at home and find a way to get the right sort of gravel.  Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden is one of my favourite books. I had no lawn at my old garden and liked it, but even better I like the way the paths, courtyards, and plantings are as one in a garden like this.

I think that Robert Nold of The Miserable Gardener would love this one.

Next: Floramagoria, a garden which I have heard is rarely open for tours.

 

 

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13 July: Rhone Street Gardens

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

Sunday’s well-worn itinerary

On the way from Ernst/Fuller Gardens to the Rhone Street Garden, our tour bus was halted by a freight train. We were all astonished that in the middle of the city, a train that long was allowed to block so much traffic. Since then, I’ve done some reading on freight trains in Portland and found this was probably not unusual.

Again, the two Fling tour buses were going in a different order to the small gardens so that only 40 of us at once would descend on each one.

trainwatching

It is no exaggeration to say that the train had us sitting there for at least fifteen minutes, cutting into our Rhone Street Gardens time.

Rhone Street Gardens at last

Joy!! I was so very excited to visit Rhone Street Gardens, as that and Danger Garden are blogs that I adore. To see both of these gardens in person will deeply enhance my blog reading experience. I also was very much enjoying the smaller gardens, as they were much more accessible to me in my sore legs state of being, and I did not have to go far afield and away from all the other humans to find a place to sit. In the small gardens, one can go round several times and catch every detail.

I wish I had remembered to ask owner Scott (who also was one of the Fling organizers) what the story was about flooding, as I could not picture how a garden like this floods. Perhaps the story was written in his blog before I discovered it, so I’ll poke back and have a look. (I did, and learned that the flooding was along the parking strips. Allan says he was told the storm sewers backed up as high as the bottom step of the stairs by the sidewalk.)

Bloggers arrive at Rhone Street Gardens; Scott is to the very left

Allan’s photo, approaching the garden

I believe that is Lisa, a blogger who most impressively came all the way from Spain.

(Lisa’s blog: http://descubriendohojas.blogspot.com/)

sit spot by the front steps

steps to the front porch

Leslie from California explores the sidewalk gardens.

(Leslie’s blog: http://www.starappleediblegardens.com/)

along the other length of sidewalk along the front of the house

Below: wood edges on sidewalk, perhaps added recently to counteract flooding?

really paved in 1911???

Allan’s photo: “kit for raised garden lumber detail”

grasses swooping next to the sidewalk

to my right: sloped garden by the house

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Parking Strip: grasses and perennials mixed

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

What is this grass? I must acquire it!

Allan’s photo: “Schizachirum looks better than ‘blue oat grass’ no dead center”

Maybe Scott wrote this down for Allan.

I see that I need to start collecting ornamental grasses again. I used to, then got complacent and slacked off. These are wonderful.

salvia, I believe

galvanized pots mark one end of the L shaped parking strips

looking to the right

I meant to have some of the delicious orange juice on my second walk-through but got so absorbed in the garden that I forgot! As you can see, and as I forgot to mention earlier, the day was not blazing hot and the light on the gardens was not all harsh sun and shadow as it had been on Friday and Saturday.

As I turn up the path, the porch is to my right. (I have a terrible time with left and right, and Allan often reads the blog after it is published and gives me corrections. 😉

 

on the porch, a blogger gets a photo looking out

Allan’s photo from the porch

a somewhat secret sit spot behind the grasses

Scott wrote here about the creation of this sit spot.

I remember Lucy Hardiman speaking about how she likes the secret sit spot behind shrubs in her garden so that she can eavesdrop on what people say about it.

This one caught my eye, of course.

rain chain by the porch

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

standing by the sit spot

birds must love this garden

Allan’s photo

Now I turn my attention to the shed of wood and metal (a look that I like very much.)

with a blogger enraptured with plants

the best green roof, with grasses and flowers

Allan’s photo

(I do hope this inspires Allan to build a little shed like this between us and Nora’s security light… I have no such skills. I used to think that I should wait and see if I get a gardening neighbour next door, but have realized from the Ernst/Fuller garden that a privacy wall is good, even with a friend next door.)

 

Allan’s photo

 

passageway between house and shed

looking back at the shed

with garden detail

I walked around three times and took a photo each time.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

 

OOOh, Allan took a photo of the building details!

beside the path

just past the shed

little courtyard behind the shed

Earlier this year, Scott wrote about the need to create a privacy screen for this particular sit spot. (In rereading that post, I finally realized that the metal trough planters that I like have a name: stock tanks.)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

sign on fence by that little sit spot

 

lily at corner of house

Allan’s photo

bloggers turn the corner from the sit spot to the back of the house

I could hear water among this greenery in the back corner.

a little secret bubbler

Allan’s photo: looking out to the driveway

looking back from the arbour that leads to the driveway

looking back from the driveway to the side of the house

Allan’s photo

Scott said the neighbours’ chickens like to visit.

At the foot of the driveway, Scott’s cat (or the neighbour’s orange cat?) was looking suspiciously at the big tour bus parked across the street.

what the heck is that?

I’ll lie down but I’m still keeping an eye on it.

Allan’s photo of me taking the picture

and trying to get some attention from the cat.

I think the standoffishness indicates that this was the neighbours’ orange cat…or else he was really obsessed with that bus.

from the foot of the driveway, looking down the parking strip toward the corner from where I started

Allan’s photo: “soft sidewalk edge”

Allan’s photo

Echinacea pallida (must have!!) and a verbascum

parking strip

fireweed against the house

I just so much appreciate touring a garden in a house that was made for the working or middle class!

I can imagine living here.

Having come full circle, here are the stairs to the front porch.

parking strip plants

I back up for some more street views.

the kitty appears

 

I’m mystified as to where Allan took this photo; maybe from the front porch??

I found out that Scott’s husband likes Star Trek!

As our time at Rhone Street Gardens drew to a close and we all began to gather near the front steps, Boots decided it was time to pose.

(I hope I have his name right.)

Allan’s photo: Kylee from Ohio and Boots

Kylee’s blog: http://ourlittleacre.blogspot.com/

Allan’s photo: cat admiration society

Allan’s photo: more cat photos

Allan’s photo of a photo of garden owners (all three of them)

happy family (Allan’s photo)

and then…some territory defending! (Allan’s photo)

At the end…We had difficulty tearing ourselves away. The garden completely lived up to my expectations and I was sorry to leave.

Next: the John Kuza garden in collaboration with Sean Hogan.

P.S.:

Allan noticed this cute license plate and wondered which blogger it belongs to!

Here’s Pam Penick’s ode to Rhone Street Gardens.

Here’s GardenBook on Rhone Street Gardens.

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13 July: Ernst/Fuller Gardens

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

Sunday’s well-worn itinerary

leaving the hotel….There’s my favourite bus driver Andy, but ooooooh, drat, he was driving the other bus!

Here we go! (Allan’s photo)

Our bus, with a perfectly nice driver (but not Andy!) took us into a lovely treed Portland neighbourhood.

just one of the handsome houses we passed

The streets were enclosed by a green tunnel of trees.  Our driver told us that the bus drivers carry a stepladder and loppers to clear the way of low hanging branches if need be, if the city has not limbed them up.

street trees of Portland

He said one bus company in particular has a strict policy that drivers must not allow the tops of the buses to be scratched by low hanging branches.

I asked him if he was joking but he swore he was telling the absolute truth!

Ernst/Fuller Gardens

Bloggers gather below Linda’s house.

Ernst house

to my left, pots on top of the garage

Allan’s photo

further to the right, the front of the Fuller house

I remain covetous of these transparent privacy panels.

in front of the Fuller house

partway up the Ernst driveway, looking across the front of the two houses

the brightest of red daylilies in Linda’s garden

I remember this huge Azara microphylla on the corner of the Ernst house.

Ernst garden foliage

Allan’s photo

Linda’s garden is an extra half lot wide and this area is to the right of the driveway.

one of many sit spots

Both gardeners are skilled at placing focal points.

a frilly little poppy

still in the Ernst garden side yard

in the corner of a small lawn

Allan’s photo

looking back toward the street

and away from the street from the lawn to a little courtyard (still all next to the driveway and garage!)

just outside the courtyard of colourfulness

bright zinnias and marigolds

gold hosta and coleus

ladies in waiting on a storage shed roof to the garage side of the courtyard

I learned the new term “ladies in waiting” for unpotted plants from (I think) one of the Austin bloggers.

table in the little courtyard

in front of the garage

container to the right of previous photo

I sat here for a spell.

Linda’s spouse said the garage has not been used for a car in years; because the area is all planted with containers, it could be changed back to a car garage if need be.

Awww…in the back door of the house.

where the car lives?

Allan’s photo

Allan thinks the car must live in a garage because it is so impeccably clean and shiny.

beside the driveway

vine support

Now we’ll enter the patio and garden behind the Ernst house.

in Linda’s back garden

the neighbourly door

next to the garage

beds of colour

and a water feature

perfectly level to create a sheet of water

subtle colours in the corner

on the patio table

Between the two gardens, a privacy wall and a friendly door.

I like the combination of privacy and friendship here.

Allan’s photo with Mark from England

mossy lion by the neighbour door

Allan’s photo

Through the door into Joanne Fuller’s garden:

Allan’s photo

a Jeffrey Bale mosaic; garden owner Joanne in dress, with Loree of Danger Garden and Neil Jones from England.

just to the left of the mosaic, sculptures from Glass Gardens of Mukilteo

further to the left, a nook by the back door, Little and Lewis columns

love the colours

Allan’s photo

a bubble of water

Allan’s photo

ahead, a step up onto a patio

the curtained nook from the deck

deck seating

and a hospitality center

 

Allan’s photo

at ground level, a fire circle (the deck is behind it)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

The neighbour’s yard on the other side is all bindweed…trying to creep through.

sea of bindweed next door

This reminds me of how bindweed is creeping into my garden from Nora’s side!

other side of bamboo deck screen

more glass enhancing a corner

gate to the side walkway

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

I wish this meter hiding thingie was in focus

Yay for Allan! He got it!

Allan’s photo, looking back

around the corner into the front garden

that translucent privacy solution

gentle curve along the front of the Fuller house

hostas and ferns

on top of the garage

and on the porch

more bamboo screening (between the two porches?)

across the front of the Linda Ernst house

The driveway up which we entered is in sight again.

the Ernst front porch

Allan’s photo

and back to the driveway

I made the whole circuit around the gardens twice, so let’s hit the high spots again.

the huge Azara microphylla at the corner of the house!

the side garden

the lilies!

Patio of Colours!

driveway garden!

that smooth sheet of water that you just have to touch.

Linda’s back door sit spot

bloggers still chatting

privacy walls

Joanne’s glass swirls and curtained nook

Joanne’s exuberant foliar jungle

Back down on the sidewalk:

the two houses

Quite tired, I have a seat on Joanne’s stairs.

my view to the left

and to the right

and up into a street tree

I don’t sit for long before I realize there is discussion going on at the next door parking strip.  I had admired it earlier and had assumed it belonged to the neighbours there, even though it did not seem to fit with the rest of their yard.

next door parking strip

Joanne, whose garden is mostly shady, is using it to grow sunny plants!

parking strip lilies

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Here’s the fling preview about these two gardens.

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I’ve been to these gardens twice before, and as far back as 2007 (when I saw it during a Hardy Plant Study Weekend) I mentioned briefly  the enviability of having a gardening neighbour right next door.

In 2011, I revisited it during the next Portland study weekend and again rhapsodized about gardening neighbours.

It was something I had wished for since I began gardening in earnest in my thirties; I am still holding onto the dream that a gardening neighbour might move in right next door if the house to the west of us (now empty after the passing of our elderly and beloved Nora) ever goes up for sale.  However, I am almost 60, so it had better happen soon if it ever does.

I thought I had a close gardening friend nearby; even visiting back and forth from a few doors away was a lot of fun before things went wrong (and made my heart sore).   The idyllic dream of an adjoining garden and a gardener right next door with a friendly neighbour gate between still lives on in my heart, inspired by the book Gardening from the Heart: Why Gardeners Garden.  In my fantasy, she or he or they share the same plant nuttiness that I do, we could enjoy views of each other’s gardens, and maybe even share a kitchen garden outside my back garage door.

You can bet that if the house ever does go on the market, I will be urgently sharing the listing in the gardening community online.   I’m accustomed to close friendships lasting for 10-40 years (depending on how long ago we met!), so it would not be a risky proposition.  I do think it helps if friends are of the same economic class, though, so I am glad it’s not a mansion next door!  (GBLT friendly please and no tea partiers except for actual garden tea parties!)

 

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12 July: Superhero postscript

Saturday, 12 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

garden touring postscript

On the way home, we saw the most fun and fascinating sight from the bus at a bar down the street a few blocks from our hotel; Allan happened to be on the side of the bus where he could get some photos.  Oh, how I miss going dancing at LBGT bars, and oh, how I sometimes miss being young and able to dance till 2 AM.

 

It was Superhero Saturday in Portland!  We later learned from garden blogger Kristin‘s spouse that there had been a big fun run during the day featuring superheros of all ages.

The contigent from the Embers Bar was pouring out onto the street and into the town.

 

Superhero crossing guard

That all made me very happy.

We had had a dream that Saturday evening we would make it to Powells Books, the famously large Portland Bookstore to which Allan had never been.  I was much too tired, and I don’t think Allan had a huge amount of energy left either.  So we just went to the Portland Marriott restaurant to have a not delicious dinner.  (Food burnt, not nicely charred, just burnt so one had to scrape the burnt parts off if one did not have the energy to send it back.)

The dining room views were an interesting sight for a former city person…

…now a country mouse.

The nice server comped us two desserts when she saw how much blackened food we had set aside, and we enjoyed them in the bar with Kristin and her spouse.

 

Next: Five more Bloggers Fling gardens await us on Sunday!

 

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12 July: Chickadee Gardens

Saturday, 12 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

Saturday Itinerary with times

Chickadee Gardens

Chickadees were my grandmother‘s favourite birds, and I remember her calling to them, “Chickadee-dee-dee-dee-dee!” The combination of love of birds, love of cats, and the lovely architectural style of the stucco house made this garden a special treat.

Mary Ann Newcomer and a friend of hers had kindly offered me a car ride from JJ De Sousa’s garden to avoid me climbing the tour bus steps, so we got to Chickadee early and were able to take lots of photos with no one else in the garden.

rudbeckias by the sidewalk

Allan’s photo (later)

Allan’s photo after he arrives later on the tour bus.

As we arrived, the owner said to us “I de-spidered everything!” He meant that he had gently removed cobwebs from the garden paths, certainly not that he had hurt any spiders.

by the front sidewalk

You can order yourself a Pesticide Free Zone sign for your garden here, with bee or ladybug.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

by the front porch

Allan’s photo

Casa de los tres gatos

architecture admiration

I love this style of house.

a path along the woodsy front garden by the house

the front porch

a window detail

It is interesting to me that they have such a large tree in a pot.

I am still trying to figure out where to plant my precious Davidia ‘Lady Sunshine’; I wonder if a very large pot would do?

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

walking up the driveway and looking back to the street

at the end of the driveway, by the garage, refreshments and literature about bird-friendly gardens.

a splash of colour as we peek into the back garden

Wow, just the sort of colours I adore!

colour echoes

Allan’s photo after the bus arrived.

love!

Allan’s photo

looking from the table to the house

back porch

 

Allan’s photo

cat silhouettes on the fence

There was some loose netting at the top of the fence that kept the family cats from getting out. The owner said his cats are not interested in bothering the birds; very good kitties indeed.

Allan got a photo of it!

flowers against the fence, Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

in the back garden

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

by the back porch (Allan’s photo)

back wall of house

The owner told us that a friend lives over the garage. What a delightful arrangement for all!

a green roof next to the garage apartment

Allan’s photo

under the green roof

All the details greatly appealed to me.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

How I would love to have an apartment to offer to a dear friend.

Allan’s photo

Echinops (blue globe thistle), Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Having gotten there early, I found it mindlessly refreshing to just sit in a chair along the driveway, enjoy some yummy chips and dips and gaze up at the architecture of the house and garage.

looking up at the back corner of the house from the driveway

other Bloggers Fling posts about this garden:

Chickadee Gardens: Alternative Eden

Red Dirt Ramblings

 

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12 July: JJ De Sousa Garden

Saturday, 12 July 2014

Garden Bloggers Fling, Portland

Saturday Itinerary with times

JJ De Sousa Garden

Even the name of this garden evokes music, vibrancy, and fun.

the bloggers arrive

handsome privacy screen for the front garden

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

from the sidewalk to the front gate

Allan’s photo

The entry walk is low and between two walled gardens.

It’s already clear that orange is a theme.

inspired by the fabulous carrot gate?

GMTA (Allan’s photo)

just inside the gate to the right, rock walls, with water feature behind the grasses

water bubbler

a wee rhodo for Steve and John (Allan’s photo)

 

front door

Allan’s photo

DeSousa pooch (Allan’s photo)

What a cutiepatootie! (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

 

bamboo against the chimney

 

This is why the buses split to only bring half of us at a time to the tiny gardens! (Allan’s photo); That’s JJ herself in black.

from patio to the left as you face the front door; you can see how the sundial is situated right inside the gate

Allan’s photo

with shady sit spots

on the patio table

the carrot gate

against the front wall of the house

and around the corner to the shady side

a light thingie!

Allan’s photo; the fence must be by the neighbour’s house on the shady side.

cool refreshing foliage on the shady side

in the back gate

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan was clearly smitten with this seed pod.

Allan’s photo

My memory does not serve me well whether this red door is in the front or the back. I’m guessing the back.

the back yard is a party space

two levels of seating; I have never seen furniture like that outside in the Pacific Northwest

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

corner of back yard; I’m fond of fences made of metal like that.

Allan’s photo

(It may be dull for the reader, but for my own amusement I like to see our similar photos. Remember, I plan to read this someday in the assisted living home, should I and WordPress live that long!)

Allan’s photo of Stipa gigantea (my favourite ornamental grass)

I can’t get up there!

Even with no injuries, I cannot do stairs without railings because I am just and have always been kind of clumsy. (Allan’s photo)

(Another blogger told me she got there early and “crawled up and down” before anyone was watching; that I could have done!)

It’s time to say “Allan, would you take photos up there for me, of everything!?” I returned to the shady front patio and sat with Mary Ann Newcomer for the rest of the visit.

Allan’s photos:

on the upper deck

looking down on the couch corner

back door: adorable!

 

fuzzy tails!

looking down through Stipa gigantea

 

Allan has now enlightened me that this area is at ground level down another flight of stairs at the other side of the deck, in a corner of the garden. The little greenhouse is down there, as well.

Now he appears to be back up on the decks again.

Thanks to Allan, I feel we got to see every detail of this garden.

I overheard something about the garden owner own a garden and interior design shop called Digs, and that a lot of the containers in the garden were spray painted, and that the day before the tour she had re-painted some chairs from black to orange or the other way around.

The De Sousa blog is here.

Here she is on Pinterest.

And in an article by Kym P0korny. Thanks to Kym, I now know the secret of that outdoor couch area: “The horseshoe sectional is made of recycled polyethylene, which is naturally anti-microbial to keep mildew at bay. “

more stunning photos from Alternative Eden here

Pam Penick, an Austin blogger’s view of the garden here

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