Saturday, 18 July 2015
Music in the Gardens Tour, Long Beach Peninsula
a benefit for the Water Music Festival and music programs in local schools
Garden 2: Lynda’s Garden
In this one-year old garden, all of the decks, fences, gates, and a unique water feature were designed and built by the owner. Beside the lawn, a stage holds inset planters with aromatherapy plants such as jasmine, gardenias, and pinks, and is shaded by sails that dance in the wind. A view of Loomis Lake is framed across the street through well-placed fences and a multi-grafted espaliered apple tree.
Our friend (and pro mower) Ed Strange had recommended that this garden be on the tour, and the day before he came over and mowed and trimmed the grass, saying “I got you into this!” It’s just around the corner from our friend J9’s house, and when Allan and I went to scout it out for the tour, I wondered why I had not noticed it when I walked from J9’s to the lakeshore park. Then I realized that was because my walk to the lakeshore park was over a year ago, and Lynda has done all this gardening and carpentry since then. When Garden Tour Nancy and I went back to see the garden together, Nancy was thrilled at Lynda’s can-do attitude. “The tour is July 18th? Great, I have a month to get everything done!”

After getting a big pile of rip rap dumped on site, Lynda sat by the pile and threw the rocks into place one by one.
As we departed for the next garden, we took some last photos driving past the house.
Ed Strange told Lynda that her garden was a “Neverland garden”. She thought, “How nice, he means it’s a garden for children or fairies to enjoy” and he said that what he meant was that she will always have a new project and therefore never be done.
I so admire Lynda’s carpentry and design skills and the stage in particular. Her garden is one that would intrigue me to take a closer look if I glimpsed its intricacies as I walked by.
interlude
Lynda’s garden is on the east side of the Tides West neighborhood, and the next tour garden is on the west side. We like when tour gardens are close to each other. After crossing the highway, on the way to the next garden, we passed this garden which is one that I would like to explore: