The schedule for the first full day of the 2017 Capitol Region Garden Bloggers Fling was an ambitious one–garden touring (stalking?) in Washington D.C.’s June heat and humidity is not for the faint of heart. Our day was to include Hillwood, the estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post; The Franciscan Monastery; the United States Botanic Garden and the 12 Smithsonian gardens on the National Mall.  I am exhausted just listing them all! Look for the next few posts to to cover them–hopefully doing them all justice.

The gardens surrounding Hillwood are worthy of an entire day of devotion. One of the tenants of the Fling is to give participants a little taste of a wide variety of garden experiences in a given city or region rather than full immersion in a very few. There is a lot to appreciate at Hillwood and I’ll do well to give you enough of a glimpse of its beauty to inspire you to visit should you have the opportunity.

Marjorie Merriweather Post was the only child of Ella Merriweather and Charles Post, becoming the sole heir to the C.W. Post cereal empire. She was a businesswoman, diplomat, philanthropist and noted art collector. In 1955 she purchased this 25 acre estate, then called Arbremont. The grounds overlook Rock Creek Park, offering sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the city. Renovation of the mansion and its gardens, which were designed and built in the 1920s by landscape architect William Gebhart, was started immediately and lasted about 2 years.

Above you see Hillwood’s Motor Court at which Marjorie’s guests would arrive via the winding uphill driveway. This statue of an adolescent Eros stands among a formal bed of English ivy and boxwood and greets visitors with an arrow pulled from his quiver as he carefully shields a goat, a symbol of fertility. Although the Motor Court was the first glimpse of the home viewed by visitors, it is actually the rear of the mansion. The more impressive formal facade faces the back.

The French Parterre features a terra cotta sculpture of Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, and is divided into quadrants using gravel paths. Channels of moving water divide the central Italian glass tile pool.

This whimsical garden is viewed from the master bedroom and dressing room. The elaborate boxwood scrolls and numerous small pieces of statuary reflect Marjorie’s love of all things French.

Even in this small formal garden you see the lavish layering of conifers, hardwood trees and shrubs of varying textures, forms and colors used throughout the estate to create garden rooms, evoking a sense of both privacy and expansiveness.

The Lunar Lawn, so called because of its elliptical shape, is part of the panoramic view from the home’s portico. Masses of evergreens, azaleas, camellias, dogwoods and magnolias create a grand outdoor room. Seasonal color is added but the attraction of this area for me was the sheer variety of texture  and color rising to form living walls.

The Rose Garden offers a wood and brick pergola covered in wisteria in the spring and roses in the summer. The other rose plantings are simple with a single variety of floribunda rose in each bed. The centerpiece of the Rose Garden is a pink granite monument crowned with an antique urn.  Marjorie Merriweather Post’s ashes are housed at its base.

An exquisite Japanese Garden is reached by several paths of stone steps at the furthest point of the Lunar Lawn.  This garden is on several levels with many opportunities to view the vignettes from different perspectives. Take a look!

Such a peaceful spot, surrounded by towering green and calmed by the ever present water sounds.

Hillwood has two interesting buildings reflective of Ms. Post’s interests. The Dacha, or Russian country house, is her interpretation of a small peasant house. It is currently used for museum programs and rotating exhibitions. The Adirondack building, also used for exhibitions, was built 10 years after Marjorie’s death and recalls the rustic architectural style of Camp Topridge, her summer retreat in the Adirondack Mountains.

The Cutting Garden and Greenhouse were my final stops at Hillwood. I have seen many cutting gardens on large estates across the country and I can say this one was exquisitely design and impeccably maintained. The selection of plants in the cutting garden are representative of what was used in arrangements for the home in the 1950s and 60s.

A few favorites from the cutting garden…

The Greenhouse is filled with a collection of exotic orchids which are used for color and arrangements in the mansion when the outdoor cutting garden is dormant.

Marjorie Merriweather Post’s beautiful Hillwood is surely a jewel in Washington D.C.’s garden crown. Layers upon layers of mature trees and shrubs surround the house and grounds like a jeweled green cape. This garden stands as a timeless inspiration to all who aspire to make their own surroundings a little bit more beautiful.

The Garden Bloggers Fling is an annual social and garden touring event for garden bloggers across North America, organized and hosted by volunteer garden bloggers from the host city. This year’s Capitol Region event features Washington D.C, Virginia and Maryland. Since its 2008 kick off bloggers have gathered together in garden cities from Seattle to Buffalo and Austin to Minneapolis, learning about the region’s unique garden character and challenges by touring both public and private gardens. There’s plenty of time to meet and greet and lots of fun goodies from sponsors. This is my first Fling and in just the first few minutes I have found the group to be very friendly and interested in sharing their garden experiences and learning about mine. As a novice blogger I hope to get some tips on the fundamentals I have been fumbling through and absorb the energy which abounds in gatherings of people who share similar passions! I was excited to put a face to a gardener from Maryland who follows my blog!

We boarded buses to travel to our welcome event and dinner at Willowsford in northern Virginia. Willowsford is a rural residential development which includes 2000 acres of open space, part of which is a working farm–more about this in a bit. Capitol Region Fling Director Tammy Schmitt welcomes us and introduces both sponsors and participating garden owners who have joined us for dinner. Our light but delicious meal in the beautiful back garden space is sponsored by American Meadows and High Country Gardens.  Note to self for future parties: a cube of perfectly cooked beet beside a petite ball of goat cheese rolled in something a little crunchy (finely chopped nuts?) makes a wonderful single bite!

After our taste buds and tummies were satisfied we took the short walk to the Willowsford Farm stand, accompanied by Farm Manager Michael Snow and farm employee Jen.

Michael takes this time to give us a little history of this unique partnership between housing and farming. Loudoun County, VA is apparently caught in the age old push pull between development interests and rural interests. In some areas development has been completely stopped while other areas are called ‘transition areas’. In areas designated so, any development must be balanced with 50% open space. The developer of Willowsford purchased 4000 acres of land, of which 2000 will remain open space, including the Willowsford Farm. The large homes are clustered on what Michael refers to as “smaller lots”–he clearly has never been to my home state where we build on postage stamps! A non-profit called the Willowsford Conservancy and Farm manages about 300 acres on which herbs and vegetables are grown and livestock managed for both meat and eggs.

The developer has capitalized the farming operation and produce from the farm is sold to the public at the farm stand. Willowsford Farm has establish a CSA which currently has about 300 members, about half being residents of the surrounding homes.

Michael shared that the operation is a little over five years old now and when asked about the operational model for which he strives he replied, “to grow stuff we can sell to keep us going”. He added that they are always interested in new ways to partner with the development’s event center kitchen. The Farm sells produce directly to the kitchen; food is cooked there that then comes back to be sold at the farm stand. They also offer cooking classes relevant to whatever produce is plentiful at the moment.

We set off through the herb garden with farm dog, Bella, along side, to see a small part of the farm itself which lies just beyond a riparian area–sort of a through the woods and over the river trek!

Michael and Jen make a quick stop at the home of the farm’s two massive geese, Ben and Not Ben. The poultry on the farm, about 1000 chickens and 800 hens, is managed as what’s called ‘pastured poultry’. The population is housed in small groups in rotating locations, enabling the birds to contribute to the ground’s fertility by doing what they do best. Periodically the small chicken enclosures are picked up and moved to new areas, spreading the wealth around. A herd of goats also reside on the farm and they earn their keep by being hired out to clear ground for other local farmers.

Adjacent to this poultry area is a plot of ground that had been used for the farm’s venture into ‘forest farming’. This concept was new to me but several others in the group were familiar. In the photo below you see the area which really doesn’t look like much! The premise is that you select a small area and anchor it with the planting of a tree. the ground beneath the tree is then planted with nitrogen fixing shrubs and perennials which could provide a specialty crop product under the tree’s canopy. I think this will require more study for me to really understand it but Michael Snow confided that the weeds had gotten the better of their efforts anyway!

The farm is responsive to growing what the public asks for and so is growing a number of beans and gourds favored by Southeast Asian cooks–remember Michael’s ‘grow stuff we can sell’ model!

Many of the leafy crops are grown in mixed groups under row covers to protect from insect damage. Michael confirms the radishes are ready for harvest!

We got to taste a little of the Salanova lettuce being grown. This leafy lettuce grows in heads but when picked provides a variety of color and texture from one layer of leaves to the next. Michael said it stands up to the heat and humidity and tastes pretty good even after it bolts!

Coming full circle we stop at the newly erected  plastic covered hoop houses, home to the farm’s tomato crop. The high humidity is problematic for tomatoes and they have found much more success growing them under the plastic.

Many of you know I am not a veggie gardener–my husband comes from a large farming family and we always have boxes of produce and fruit on our doorstep during the growing season–but I am always interested in hearing the stories of people who passionately grow food and make finding better ways to do it their life’s work. Bravo to Michael Snow and his colleagues for making this unique partnership a win-win for all!

TOMORROW: Hillwood, the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post; the US Botanic Garden and the gardens of the Smithsonian; the Franciscan Monastery and a mystery guest speaker after dinner

Having recently completed two major events, the beloved Mother’s day weekend and the Filoli Flower Show, the garden was abuzz with staff and volunteers in the midst of changing out the many display areas in the formal parts of the grounds. Flats of Filoli greenhouse grown annuals were strategically stacks on carts awaiting planting. Beds were being turned and amended. The miles of low boxwood hedges were being trimmed. At every turn I came upon another cadre of (mostly) youthful gardeners.

One of the perks of being enrolled in my class is that I have access to the gardens in advance of the public opening time. The grounds are supremely peaceful at this time and  it is the best time of the day to take photographs. I usually only see a gardener or two working in the background and they quickly become invisible once the garden is open to the public. This day, the massive task of changing out the seasonal display beds has brought the gardeners into the spotlight and it helps to remind visitors of the hundreds, if not thousands, of hours it takes to keep Filoli looking beautiful year around.

Even the courtyard garden shop is wearing its summer colors with many summer blooming annuals for purchase in addition to Filoli’s signature plant material.

Given the choice to walk down the service road to my potting shed classroom or through the garden, I always choose the garden. The rose garden still looks wonderful! The very long perennial border which has been quite slow to bloom is now in its full glory.

The colonies of Veronica ‘Pink Damask’ were breathtaking and repeated throughout the border. The knot garden (below) was in full bloom.

On to class! Our morning topic was Water Management. Rather than focusing on getting to know unthirsty plant material or designing for low water usage, our goal today was to get an overview of common residential irrigation systems and most importantly get up close and personal with how an automatic clock or timer works. My household division of labor for 30 years has put the irrigation system in my husband’s purvue. He has installed and repaired systems in all our gardens and I have only gotten involved when MY plants interfere with HIS sprinklers or in telling him how long I would like each line to run. Instructor Mimi Clarke started with the very basics of low flow (micro spray, drip emitters or lines) and high low (fixed spray, rotor, impact bubbler) with examples of how each type is best used. We took a walk to the tool and equipment shed and got a look at the various components of each and some tips on how to organize your sprinkler parts and tools to be able to do regular system checks and repairs efficiently.

And now…on to the automatic clock! Mimi tells us she has never been to a client’s garden on a first visit where the sprinkler system is being used correctly and most homeowners have no idea how to program their clocks. So our first directive is to find the manual that came with the automatic timer or go online and print it off of the manufacturer’s website. Seems simple but we’ve lived in our home almost 9 years and I certainly do not have the instruction manual for my automatic sprinkler clock!

Using one of the 20 large timers in the Filoli formal gardens Mimi walks us through setting multiple programs and start times.

These clocks are quite old but still working well and although they lack the features of some of the newer and more high tech timers, they still work basically the same way. I was thrilled to learn that almost all modern day timers have remotes available for them. At our house it takes two people to work on the sprinklers: one to do the actual adjustments or repairs and the other (me) to run back and forth turning lines off and on! I also realized that we have been working too hard adjusting run times individually for various lines depending on season when we could be using the ‘%’ feature–on my clock it is called ‘water budget’. In a nutshell, you set the amount of time you want lines to run at the hottest point of your year and call that 100%. Then you simply adjust the percent downward during the times of year when much less water is called for–one adjustment covers all the lines. Pretty good reason right there to have read your instruction manual!

We also took a walk to the staff veggie gardens to look at a pretty low tech drip tape system that works using a timer attached to a hose bib. Just have to show you a small part of the garden even though the irrigation system is not very visible.

Moving still further down on the technology scale, we were introduced to the ‘Filoli Water Horse’–a unique handmade structure which allows you to direct the water from a hose with a spray nozzle in various directions and angles. The garden has 20 or more of these which are routinely used to water difficult areas outside of the automated irrigation system.

This was a very informative morning for me–feeling a little more empowered about actually managing my garden’s water more efficiently in the future. Dave and I have often felt that we spend an inordinate time adjusting/repairing parts of our sprinkler system but after hearing much anecdotal evidence from Mimi about the trials and tribulations of her clients and her own watering systems I now know that “misery loves company” is just about the right description of everyone’s experience.

We had a beautiful cool afternoon for our California Native Plant I.D. Walk. Filoli does not have a large collection of natives as the gardens are maintained in much the same style as they were originally designed. There is a small area behind the Visitor’s Center with both coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia)and valley oaks (Quercus lobata). The native madrone (Arbutus unedo) is also represented there along with several species of Arctostaphylos, or manzanita. The surrounding hillsides outside the formal gardens are mixed forests where these three trees are also seen along with many non natives.

Here you see a coast live oak in its youth in contrast to a more mature specimen.

And below a young native madrone…

There were just a few blooms left on the Salvia spathacea, hummingbird sage, and they provided a colorful contrast to the mostly cool green environment of this shaded niche.

We went “off roading” on our return to the potting shed, tramping through the open fields outside the formal gardens–a whole new perspective of the 864 acre estate. As we rounded our last turn we paid a ceremonial visit to the “daffodil graveyard” where the hundreds of pots of daffodils are housed until their foliage totally dies back.

The pots will then be emptied, the soil knocked from the bulbs and the bulbs stored in net bags until it is time to pot them up again! We are really behind the scenes now. You can get a glimpse at a number of different species of ivy growing along the back chain link fence–an entire collection was given by a donor some years ago and the plantings are maintained by a single dedicated volunteer. There is amazing diversity in this genus as you can see in the few I’ve included below.

 

Bidding you farewell from Filoli for this month. I can’t wait to see how the newly planted display beds will look on my July visit. Kudos to all the dedicated staff and volunteers who make these beautiful gardens reality for all those who come to admire them.

A recent non life threatening but exceedingly frustrating injury is going to keep me sidelined from much garden work for several more weeks and so, other than upcoming trips, my posts may be a bit anemic!

On my early May garden tour road trip to Orange County, I saw this dainty pink geranium in one of the tour garden’s sunny beds. The benefit in touring within a car ride’s distance from home is that there will always be at least one outing to my favorite Southern California garden centers!

‘Miss Heidi’ is one of more than 85 named selections of Geranium x oxonianum, a  very large group in part due to the species’ tendency to produce enormous numbers of seedlings. Ninety-nine percent of these named selections are pink! ‘Miss Heidi’ is one of the Monrovia nursery introductions and I have yet to see it in a Central Valley retailer even though it is purported to offer more tolerance to summer heat than many other true geraniums. Literature indicates it resents high humidity and direct afternoon sun.

All of the Geranium x oxonianum form clumping mounds of five lobed, deeply dissected green leaves. The small but plentiful flowers are slightly funnel shaped with notched petals and vary from white to dark pink and many with prominent veining.  ‘Miss Heidi’ is a clear mid pink with purple veins.

I sited my new friends in my south facing front garden tucked back under some leafy shade. I have in mind to set several large stepping stones to form a casual path to a seldom used side gate and hope that with two ‘Miss Heidi’ on the right and the third on the left forming a loose triangle, they will offer a colorful but subtle guide along the path.

With more gardeners appreciating the virtues of the true geraniums, as fillers, spillers, creepers and mounders adding texture and interest to containers and beds I can’t help but think we will start to see them more available at local garden centers and nurseries. Hooray!

There are over 250 species of penstemon with precious few commonly available in American retail garden centers. Although growing in popularity due to their somewhat xeric nature, most are still only available through specialty growers. Commonly called beard tongue in reference to their bell shaped, lipped flowers their native habitats range from Canada to Mexico and through all types of terrain. A number of species are native to the American midwest and thus the characterization of prairie perennials has stuck with me. Most species have narrow, pointed leaves which are larger at the basal clump and smaller on the flowers stems.  The need for fast drainage spans the genus–heavy wet soils will shorten their lives considerably.

A struggling clump of Penstemon digitalis ‘Red Husker’ was my introduction to the genus in the early 2000s. I had read about the cultivar being named the 1996 Perennial Plant of the Year and was easily able to find it at my local nursery. The heavy, almost always wet soil of my Georgia garden was not the best fit for its cultural needs and although I got lots of leaves and flowers, the bloom bearing stalks always laid on the ground! And so I wandered away from the penstemon world, my interest being rekindled when the intrinsic nature of my more alkaline, less humid garden canvas seemed to be an environment more friendly to this diverse group.

Penstemon x mexicali ‘Red Rocks’ was the first addition to my current garden. The original colony has waxed and waned over its 7 years, having been progressively shaded out by a large Raywood ash tree. The mexicali hybrids have some of the finer foliage and smaller flowers of the genus but are prolific bloomers.

Many of the penstemon hybrids, commonly called border penstemon or garden penstemon, have large exuberantly marked flowers. Hybrids in this group are tall, quite upright and bushy plants, often 3 feet or more tall and wide.

This clump of  Penstemon ‘ Midnight’ was  cut to the ground a couple of months ago and  is now coming into it own again. The flower stalks exceed 40″ tall and the individual blooms are heavily marked with white.

I don’t know who Bev Jensen was but she must have been one flirty girl to have this gorgeous raspberry penstemon named after her! Wide, heavily marked blooms and ramrod straight stems make her a standout in my garden. Be cautious with fertilizer–penstemons like to live a lean life and excess fertilizer will produce lush growth but minimal blooms.

Another favorite is ‘Apple Blossom’. Mature clumps can reach 3 feet by 3 feet and will provide a show all summer long.

The pink flower sports a clear white throat and they are especially charming just before they open.

This clump of Penstemon ‘Garnet’ has been a standout in my garden since 2010. I regularly cut it to the ground midsummer, encouraging it to bloom well into fall. The flowers are plentiful although a bit smaller than the last two cultivars.

It does dual duty acting as both a support for gladiolus planted behind it and camouflage for the bare base of a climbing rose.

Above is P. x mexicali ‘Carillo Pink’. It is a little more pale lavender than pink and has taken a couple of years to develop into a strong upright clump.

Penstemon heterophyllus ‘Margarita BOP’ above is a current favorite of  California native plant aficionados. It is more adaptable to heavy or clay soils than many of the more showy cultivars. Its name comes from Santa Margarita where the Las Pilitas Nursery is located and the acronym BOP for “Back of Porch” where the chance seedling was discovered growing. Yellow tinged buds open to bright blue flowers tinged a rose-purple color that eventually ages to purple. A more relaxed grower making a tidy mound 18″ by 18″, this cultivar has proven to be both heat and drought tolerant.

My most recent addition is Penstemon hartwegii  ‘Arabesque Violet’. I understand it is part of a series which includes a red and a pink also–keeping my eye out for those! Although penstemons can be less long lived than many perennials they offer great beauty and diversity as additions, even if temporary, to mixed beds and borders. As a group they fall right in line for me with hardy geraniums, veronicas and salvias–I am always excited to find one I don’t have and I can always find room for a new one!

There’s not much rest for gardeners in spring! If we’re not working in our own gardens, we are out and about seeing what new design ideas, plants or structures other gardeners have brought to life in their spaces. The gardening community is open and generous and likes nothing more than to share successes and commiserate with other gardeners over failures.

GBFF Judi and I are on the road again in Southern California–this day to Los Angeles for the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program.

Those of you who read my series of Mendocino madness posts (June 2016) have all ready been introduced to the Garden Conservancy. For anyone new to the blog or who just can’t remember what it was all about here’s a quick summary straight from this year’s Open Days Directory: “Since 1989, preservation has been at the core of the Garden Conservancy’s mission to save and share outstanding American gardens for the education and inspiration of the public. We have helped dozens of gardens across the country make the transition from private paradise to public garden. We also help to rescue gardens after natural disasters and to rehabilitate public gardens so that they preserve their cultural relevance and where possible, recover the brilliance of their historic designs.”

California has nine Open Days this year with eight taking place in April and May and one in September. Across the United States there are over 250 gardens involved in an Open Days programs in 18 states. The areas in California featured are Mendocino County (2), Pasadena, Los Angeles/Santa Monica, San Fransisco Peninsula (2), Marin County and San Jose. The number of gardens to see on each day varies from 4-7 and you can see all or just one as tickets are purchased for each garden. Funds raised benefit the Garden Conservancy’s preservation projects. Check out the website http://www.gardenconservancy.org for more information or go to http://www.opendaysprogram.org for dates and locations.

Last year’s Mendocino trip was worthy of a road warrior–the county is quite large (and the gardens were too!) and it was all I could do to even make it to them all on a very tight time schedule. Six of the seven gardens on today’s route are very close to each other, with three on the same street. Six of the seven are very small gardens on small city lots. The one outlier is less than 5 miles north so Judi and I may even get to SIT DOWN for lunch rather than eating on the run!

THE FIELDING GARDEN IN BRENTWOOD PARK

An amazing 200 year old Quercus lobata, common name valley oak, was both the focus and inspiration for an new drought resistant California native landscape installed to replace a more traditional front garden in 2015-16.

It was not possible to back up far enough within the walled estate to get the entire tree in the photo! We met the the garden’s designer who gave us a little insight into this transformation from broad lawns, camellias, azaleas and seasonal color to the new landscape which, to me, looks exactly like what belongs in front of this home. In addition to the designer, the job had dedicated professionals for the riverbed, lighting, and the permeable decomposed granite driveway.

The hardscape front walkway takes us to a pedestrian bridge crossing a recirculating water feature designed to mimic a stream spilling into a small pond.

I’ll admit to grimacing when I read the garden description of a front yard putting green but I would not have found it had I not been looking for it. It is hidden behind a berm to the right of the pedestrian bridge and almost invisible.

There is a dry stream bed running down into the putting green to soften the look of the artificial turf when it is viewed from the house.

Even the front porch pots, with a variety of succulent and desert plants, reflect the garden’s theme.

Care has been taken to offer a beautiful vista from the home to the street. The driveway blends seamlessly into the landscape.

20 FIFTH STREET URBAN YARD IN SANTA MONICA

Santa Monica is filled with interesting small older homes with architectural styles ranging from Spanish bungalows to redwood, glass and corrugated metal modern cottages worthy of the cover of Sunset magazine. The homeowners of our next garden stop purchased an all ready remodeled home in an older established neighborhood. The home’s modern architecture feels upbeat and young. They set about to add garden spaces that would extend their living areas outside, be drought tolerant and very child friendly. Our first glimpse curbside reveals a modern raised bed veggie garden accented by blooming California friendly plant material.

Enclosure for the garden area is provided by a minimalistic low wall streetside and Pittosporum tenuifolium. Australian natives such as the Kangaroo Paws seen in the foreground are becoming very frequently seen in dry California gardens.

I loved seeing a mature specimen of Phlomis purpurea among a group of shrubs in the narrow bit of yard on the driveway side. The varieties with yellow flowers are much more common in the retail nursery trade. I have this variety in my holding area waiting to find a home in the dryer parts of my garden and now have a much better understanding of its ultimate size and form.

Entering the lawn free back garden there is a comfy spot to sit among colorful perennials and dwarf fruit trees. The dark purple blooms of Salvia guaranitica soften the wall of the backyard studio. In the foreground left Penstemon ‘Margarita BOP’ is in full flower. A dark red Anigozanthos, possibly the cultivar ‘Bush Sunset’ draws you into the outdoor living space beyond.

What a great space to host family and friends–plentiful seating and a built in fire pit make this the space to gather on a cool evening!

WATER EFFICIENT GARDEN IN SANTA MONICA

A unique irrigation system incorporating low volume drip equipment and a weather based irrigation controller  keeps this garden of California, South African and Australian natives in fine form. The urns and rain chains flanking the front door are part of a rainwater catchment storage and reuse system adding to the efficiency of the design.

A small Forest Pansy redbud tree anchors the corner of the front garden. Plants bordering the decomposed granite path include Erigonum grande var. rubescens (red buckwheat), Cistus salviifolius (sage leafed rockrose), Verbena lilacea ‘De La Mina’ and Salvia clevelandii ‘Winnifred Gilman’.

The narrow side yard path to the back garden greets you with a burst of color from Heterotheca sessiliflora ‘San Bruno Mt.’, commonly called beach aster.

A petite patio area accessable from the home or the side path provides a private place of respite. The small scale tree is a Senna splendida or golden wonder senna. My references list this as an evergreen shrub which bears bright yellow flowers. I don’t know if this has been grafted to be a standard or limbed up from its mature shrub form. The low narrow window behind the seating gives the home’s canine inhabitant a view to the garden!

The walled back garden is softened by unthirsty shrubs and trees including the Australian willow myrtle, Agonis flexuosa, in the upper left.

Espaliered Ceanothus ‘Julia Phelps’ will provide bright blue flowers behind the raised veggie beds–check out that monster artichoke!

CASA NANCINA IN SANTA MONICA

A diminutive home surrounded by colorful courtyards aptly describes where garden designer Nancy Goslee Power makes magic for her clients and hangs up her own gardening gloves. Known for her work at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, the outdoor learning environment at LA Kidspace and many other public and private gardens, we found Nancy to be charming, approachable and very at home in her (at the same time) formal, chaotic, lavish, discreet and quirky garden. Her New Orleans style cottage sits high above the street and  bears the bold colors of her travels to foreign lands.

After a short climb we reach the door to the lower courtyard–barn red with an opening just large enough to get a little peek.

The lower courtyard is lushly green with more plants than I could ever identify growing just about however and wherever they desire. A romantic balcony overlooks the garden and its twin water features. We were invited to enter the back courtyard via her cozy home. I was excited to be able to purchase her 2009 book Power of Gardens and have her inscribe it for me. I have her first book, The Gardens of California, published in 1995 and it is a classic in the garden design field.

From the open front door you can see straight through the cottage to the focal point of the back garden courtyard–this charming pond and fountain. They are built against the side wall of the back cottage which was originally her college age son’s quarters and now is used as a studio. Pots overflow with annuals, perennials and houseplants needing a respite outside. A seating area nestled up against the home is a perfect vantage point to wind down after a day’s work, cooled by the breeze and climbed by the water.

A shady path leads to the small back cottage which also has a view back into the courtyard.

Even the VERY narrow side yard has style! River stones set in a herringbone pattern lead us back to the front courtyard. Meeting Nancy in the setting of her own charming garden was the highlight of today’s tour.

THE RAU GRIFFITHS GARDEN IN LOS ANGELES

Landscape Architect Tom Rau, who specializes in waterwise, environmentally friendly and sustainable landscapes, had a hand in all of the last three gardens. His own garden features a sedge meadow inspired by the “American Meadow” designs by John Greenlee and installed in 2011.

Many of the garden’s existing mature plants were kept and a variety of California native and climate appropriate perennials, ferns, bulbs and grasses were added.

Salvia clevelandii has it own way with the back garden, sharing space on several levels with other large scale unthirsty plants. The plant diversity and cover attracts many birds and other wildlife.

Green layers in many forms, textures and colors rise right up to the horizon !

THE SAVAGE MOYER GARDEN IN LOS ANGELES

This front garden was redesigned and installed in 2015, removing the turf and replacing it with a colorful assortment of Mediterranean plants, succulents and California natives.

As with the first garden of our day I found this garden to be in totally harmony with the modern architecture and palette of its home. It was visually very pleasing and felt as cohesive up close as it did from the curbside.

This broken concrete serpentine seat wall creates a buffer between the garden and the street.

Between the seat wall and the street, retention basins for two rain gardens have been constructed. The plant materials in these gardens benefit from the runoff from the roof and side yard (both prone to flooding) and filter out pollutants .

Stunning purple Pacific Coast Iris provide contrast to the predominantly warm color palette.

THE PATEJAK GARDEN IN LOS ANGELES

We end our day just across the street from the two previous gardens. In contrast to those lots, this garden was steeply sloped both in front and back. The back garden was the highlight for me.

This slope was previously overwhelmed with colonies of Pride of Madeira and Matilija poppies. Both colonies were thinned in 2014 and the slope was replanted with drought-tolerant plants including lavender, agave, salvia, ceanothus and Santa Barbara daisy. A winding staircase was installed to allow access to the hillside–I am sure the view is fabulous! The turf was replaced with native sedge, Carex praegracilis.

This large agave anchors a raised succulent area at the base of the retaining wall.

A water feature flanked by two Cercis occidentalis (native redbuds) was added to complete the transformation.

It was on this calming note, Judi and I ended our whirlwind weekend garden hopping and headed back home to Orange County. We successful out ran the rain both days and did not get really lost even once–and yes, you can still do that with GPS.

Soon I’ll head back to my own garden dreaming of plants I’d like to try and ideas for new gates and trellis work. While the gardener still lives, a garden is never done!

We’ve had a late lunch on the run and are climbing high into the hills as we wind our way toward the last three stops on our 2017 adventure on the Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour. Many years of garden road trips have taught us to start with the stop farthest from home, doing the longest driving BEFORE the gardens open. The obvious bonus is that when we are dog tired at the end of the day it is a faster trip home to put our feet up!

The BARB & TED URBANSKI garden in NORTH TUSTIN

This multi-level garden sits on about an acre and a half on a north facing hill. The homeowners have been gardening this plot for over 30 years and have developed distinct areas to meet their specific needs and desires.

You can see from this glimpse of the front steps that these gardeners have encountered and met many challenges on this very steeply sloped lot.

The enclosed garden we reach at the top of these steps is filled with succulents, roses and perennials. It is a very mature garden as witnessed by a very tall Brugmansia or angel’s trumpet. The palette is muted and the garden seems to meld with the hill at points. The plant on the right is labeled ‘European swamp iris’. The foliage and form is more like the Dietes genus in which we find the so-called Moraea iris but I can’t find anything in that group either that has this type of flower. This is where botanical names can really be of benefit–if I would like to add this to my garden I need to know what it really is if I am to have any chance of finding it!

A steep set of homeowner built stairs leads up to a yet another level. Conifers and evergreens give this area lovely dappled shade and add to the sense of the garden rising to the clouds.

This Queen Anne style gazebo was built to taken advantage of the view of the foothills. Also on this level is a small greenhouse where the homeowners propagate cuttings of native plants destined for Peters Canyon Regional Park.

A second waterfall drops into a large pond which offers refuge and sustenance for local wildlife.

A grouping of recreated Old West buildings serves as a fun play space for the grandchildren.  There is nothing manicured about any of these garden spaces but it is obvious that this garden is loved and has been developed as a restful haven for its owners and their family and friends.

The DOROTHY & STERLING NEBLETT garden in Orange

The expansive nature of this garden is not readily apparent from our first glimpses. A spot at the end of a cul-de-sac results in multiple, private garden spaces on three sides of the large home.

Leaning heavily on tropicals and blooming shrubbery to fill its massive beds, this garden feels very ‘green’, cool and restful. This beautiful stonework is carried through both the front and back gardens acting as a tie that binds the various garden spaces together.

The homeowners graciously invited garden visitors to approach the open front doors and feel the ambiance of the garden as it is seen from the main living areas. Soothing sounds of water greeted us at the front porch.

One of several mature carob trees, Ceratonia siliqua, stands in place as a sentinel at the side gate. This architectural tree reinforces the tropical feel and provides a bit of softening of the long block wall.

This great potting area was secluded enough to make a mess when you need to and had  running water, too!

This is the first of many entertaining areas. The symmetry of the pergola and long center water feature is classic. The beautiful stonework is flanked by deep beds of Agapanthus just starting to send up budded stalks. So sad not to see this in full bloom. This area would stand alone as a lovely back garden!

A wide stone path winds into the main part of the back garden. On the right there is a diminutive privacy garden visible from the master bath.

This bright white Bougainvillea will eventually cover the wall, further softening the stucco.

The flagstone path opens out into the expansive lawn area central to the back garden. The perimeter has been landscaped using large scale shrubs and trees, offering a true sense of enclosure and privacy. A very tall shade structure shelters a dining area removed from the home’s main patio space.

Tall palms define the patio area attached to the home. Ample seating and a full outdoor kitchen complete this entertaining space.

A flagstone path mirroring that on the other side of the grassy space carries us along the side of the home toward the street. A manicured golf practice area is set up, ready for its next duffer! A bench from Taos, New Mexico, offers a spot to sit under the shade of a coral flowered bougainvillea and watch the play.

Although very large, these gardeners have reduced needed maintenance by selecting carefree plant material known to thrive in the mild Orange County weather. This is truly an entertainer’s garden with numerous places to relax, eat and play.

The FU & CHUNG garden in FOOTHILL RANCH

These gardeners recently removed a more conventional front garden and replanted the space with California friendly plants and a petite dry riverbed.

A climbing rose, ‘Polka’, secretes a cosy front courtyard from street view.

A narrow side path leads to a small back patio from which the gardeners can enjoy their garden. The steep slope beyond their fence expands the feels of this compact garden space exponentially.

This garden boasts a riot of color. The path you can catch a glimpse of is a reflexology path and meant to be walked barefoot. I fell in love with this beautiful lavender poppy!

 

The exuberance of this garden was charming and the space was a great example of gardeners just making their gardens feel good to them as they happily dig in the dirt!

So ends another year for the Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour. I have many happy memories of finding an interesting new plant or just the right bit of garden art–going to Heard’s Country Gardens was an eagerly anticipated event in the 1990s for me and my gardening girls. The nursery is gone but Mary Lou is in our hearts forever.

Still road tripping on the Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour 2017!

The HELEN MOLLES garden in SEAL BEACH

This front garden is a riot of color, scent and wildlife and is designated a WWF Monarch Way Station. The nasturtiums weave their way through, up and over star jasmine used as ground cover. A punch of purple is provided by Durant erecta (or D. repens depending on your references material) whose inflorescence is seen below.

A secondary path spans the front allowing you more opportunities to watch the birds and butterflies partake in all this garden has to offer.

The side yard has been used equally  well with a variety of vines, perennials, ferns and lots of interesting art and artifacts. Layers of plant material give you a sense of enclosure and privacy in the back garden which features a calming Koi pond. The gardens are completely self constructed, including the pond and hardscape.

The homeowner’s legacy as an art teacher is seen throughout with her own work and pieces from her former students. I was really taken by this series of little sculpted heads used as a border! As we exited the back garden she invited us to do a little chalk art on her wall by drawing our favorite flower.

 

The BRIAN & DYLAN DAVIS garden in FOUNTAIN VALLEY

Father and son worked together over a number of years to create a backyard haven for their turtles and Koi. They designed and built multiple ponds, large and small, and even chronicled their progress on Instagram. The ponds wind through a myriad of plant materials with a decidedly tropical flavor.

Bravo to working together to create something beautiful and sharing it with all of us!

 

The JANE KAMENTSER garden in FOUNTAIN VALLEY

Garden rooms filled with roses, hydrangeas and other colorful perennials flow from front to back offering many places to relax, dine and entertain. This gardener sought to blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living spaces as well as provide feelings of enclosure and privacy while indulging her love of all things flowering.

Sculpture graces many of the gathering spaces. The soothing sounds of moving water are everywhere.

 

I’ll feature our last three MLH garden stops in my next post. After a fortifying meal and a good night’s rest, Judi and I hopped back in her car the very next day to take in seven gardens showcased at The Garden Conservancy’s Los Angeles Open Day, May 7. Stay tuned!

In 1993, Westminster nursery owner Mary Lou Heard dreamed of a garden tour by real gardeners and for real gardeners–a tour “for the rest of us”–and so this annual self-guided tour began. Mary Lou’s store, Heard’s Country Gardens, had become a much beloved place where plant people worked, laughed, shopped or just stopped by to say hello since its opening in 1985.

There were no tickets, only free will offerings to benefit Mary Lou’s chosen charity, Sheepfold, which provides hope and safe refuge for mothers in crisis and their children. After the closing of the nursery in 2002 due to Mary Lou’s illness and her death shortly thereafter, the fate of the tour seemed uncertain. But those who loved Mary Lou were determined to celebrate her life and her contributions to the gardeners, moms and kids of Orange County and refused to let her legacy be lost–and so, the tour goes on! You can visit the tour’s website at http://www.heardsgardentour.com to find out more about Mary Lou’s life and see photos of previous years’ tours.

The forecast was rain, wind and possible thunderstorms for the Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour 2017. These dire predictions did not deter my gardening BFF, Judi, and I from pouring over the online and print guides detailing this year’s 42 open gardens, sorting out those we both had seen in previous years and finally arriving at our short list of 7 from which to map our route. There are Saturday only, Sunday only and open both days locations. We only have Saturday to tour so it was crucial to plan our time wisely. Seven stops were soon ready for the GPS!

To give every garden its due, I’ll split our day into three posts starting with a wonderful garden filled with plants, animals and artistic garden inspiration.

The KAREN & JIM MITTENDORF garden in SANTA ANA

The addition of four young dogs kept this verdant and tranquil garden off the tour for the last two years. GBFF Judi said it was not to be missed and she was so right! In the owner’s words “California water-wise and drought tolerant plants were once the focus of  our yard but now dog-wise and dog tolerant plants are a definite must.”

The garden is a spectacular example of the garden design principles of unity, order and rhythm. The owners have chosen to use massed groupings of harmonious plant materials which flow through the space and carry your eye and interest along for a restful ride. Foliage plants which form the foundation for the garden include many species of Japanese maples, both planted in the ground and in interesting troughs and bowls; cultivars of Pittosporum tenuifolium; Duranta repens (or erecta depending on your references) ‘Variegata’ and ‘Gold Mound’; Philadelphus, commonly called mock orange; boxwood and many more. Walk with me through this lovely outdoor space, home to gardeners, Koi, pups, a ‘take no prisoners’ turtle, brother and sister rabbits, lovely song birds, garden art and inspiration.

 

It was so difficult to pare my photos of this garden down to just these–I did not want to leave any of them out! This beautifully designed and maintained garden was a joy to see and so full of inspiration, from the art and artifacts to the restrained palette and mass plantings. It is very pleasing to the eye and, according to the resident gardeners, will continue to grow and evolve as they do.

It was well past 80 degrees at 10:10 am when I pulled into the lot at the Filoli Visitor Center–an abrupt change in weather from previous class days. It was forecasted to be in the mid 90s at my home some 4 hours away so the 80s looked pretty good to me! California has had a very long, cool, wet spring this year but every gardener I know has been waiting for the other shoe to drop and I think they both hit the floor today!

We decided to flip flop our classroom/garden walk time today in an effort to stay cool but had to do a bit of prep work to get started on our outdoor topic today–Seed Collecting. Instructor Mimi Clarke had pulled together a few materials to walk us through some collecting basics before we headed to the garden. Filoli’s formal gardens have 2  displays of annual flowers each year. All the annuals grown at Filoli are grown from seed by staff gardeners in the greenhouse area and transplanted into the beds en masse. The baby blue eyes and forget-me-nots grown as companions for the spring daffodils and tulips are repeated throughout the garden to connect the various beds as thread connects the squares on a quilt. Additional annuals such as wallflowers, silene and aubretia are used as foreground fillers. All these spring annuals are sown in fall, thinned and potted up in cell paks and are all ready in the ground and blooming when the garden reopens in February each year. Just now the staff gardeners are watching their decline and will collect their seed at the optimal time, pull out the plants and replace the display areas with summer blooming annuals.

A refrigerator kept at 40 degrees in our potting shed classroom is the repository for the seed wealth of Filoli’s gardens. Envelopes of collected seed are labeled and stored in plastic bins. Any purchased seed is stored here also.

Mimi demonstrates an easy way to germinate seeds at home using styrofoam seed starter sets which wick up water. These styrofoam sets have been used at Filoli for decades and many garden catalogs have similar sets for sale.

We do a quick review of the two types of seed dispersal mechanisms we learned in Basic Botany–dehiscent and indehiscent. Dehiscent seeds are ones whose seed coating (called the testa) splits along the seam when the seeds are mature and shatters, releasing the seeds.  The testa on indehiscent seeds remains intact and the seed collector must physically separate the seeds from the chaff when dry. Knowing which type of seed dispersal is associated with the plant you want to propagate is crucial for timing seed collection. Once the dehiscent seed’s testa has split, the seeds may be lost. You must collect these BEFORE the split and then let them ripen in paper bags until the seeds are released. Armed with paper envelopes and bags, we are off!

Remember Viola cornuta ‘Jersey Jem’? Filoli’s signature viola is unavailable commercially. We comb through the leggy and declining plants filling our bags with seed heads. Mimi told us the staff gardeners will remove the entire plant within the next couple of weeks, bag them in large grocery sacks then store them in the potting shed’s dark closets until the herbaceous material has dried and the seed cases have popped, releasing the tiny seeds to the bottom of the bag.

We search for mature seed cases of the Nemophila menziesii, baby blue eyes. This annual was not quite ready yet–another week or two will result in many more mature seed heads.

The seed pods for Erysimum (the purple and yellow beneath the tree roses) are very long and slender much like the seed pods for California poppies. We were also able to collect from Aubretia deltoidea, forget-me-nots, and several  columbine and foxglove hybrids. Booty bagged and ready for ripening we headed back for lunch via the rose and cutting gardens.

Garden Design was our afternoon topic. Mimi’s approach was threefold. Good garden design results from order, unity and rhythm.

Order is the backbone or framework of your design and includes establishing a good balance of plants and hardscape/structure, determining the theme and staying true to elements which are consistent with it, and thoughtful choices regarding scale, texture and color.

Unity when achieved is a sense of interconnectedness of the different parts of the garden. Repetition of larger masses of a limited variety of plant material throughout the overall design leaves the viewer with a sense that each vignette relates to another.

Rhythm is also created with the repetition of color, shape or texture throughout a single bed which then relates to the overall design. Consistent, repeated elements allow your eye to move along the vista taking you from one end to the other.

This vista is along the path between the perennial garden and the knot garden above. You can see the repetition of the color of the copper beech tree’s leaves (background) in  the leaves of the nine bark shrub (middle left) and then again in the adjacent knot garden. The trees you see at the horizon are actually quite a distance away and are being used as a ‘borrowed view’ in conjunction with the more recent layered plantings. This vista has order, unity and rhythm!

We spent some time discussing the design process, looking at the factors which will influence the final garden design. I was interested the Mimi had place the architectural style of the house 5th on the list. I think I would have put it at #1 but as we reviewed the list I realized I have been putting the cart before the horse for many years! First up was BUDGET with the caveat to be realistic and not underestimate was is needed for major renovation or redesign and to be sure to allow for the behind the scenes necessities of hardscape, irrigation and lighting. In other words, don’t buy the sofa before you have the floors refinished.

Now determine the INTENDED USE OF THE GARDEN: plant collecting, children’s play, dining, quiet contemplation, etc. Children will have a hard time with a ball and bat in a formal rose garden delineated by boxwood hedges.

#3 INTENDED LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT IN THE GARDEN: my M.O. has been to create a beautiful but high maintenance garden and then not understand why gardening has become WORK  all of a sudden. Ask yourself if you want to spend every weekend doing routine deadheading, etc. , hand watering in dry times or regular pest/weed management tasks. Asses your life priorities. Be brutal. Be realistic.

Plant choices are crucial in determining HOW LONG TIL THE GARDEN MATURES. Is this your forever house? Are you near retirement? Mimi asks the question, “Do you want to have a stunning garden in five years or a lower maintenance one in twenty years?”

Now we FINALLY get to the style of the home! The garden and home need to work together harmoniously. A desert landscape replete with cacti and bleached out skulls is not such a good fit for a columned colonial manse.

#6 TURF NO TURF? Check back in with the intended uses of your garden and think out of the box to turf alternatives.

Lastly, APPROPRIATE DENSITY: think about your garden’s mature look down the road and use appropriate spacing for plant material. Can you live with some open space now as plants grow into their mature forms in exchange for not having to pull out half of what you planted 10 years down the road?

We finished our discussion with a walk over to the house and had the opportunity of viewing some historical garden plan renderings. Filoli is over 100 years old and as gardens are not stagnant but living, breathing and ever changing there have been numerous plans put forward over its lifetime!

Mimi also introduced us to the Library with its extensive collection of horticulture, botany and landscaping references which are available to be check out by class participants–what a bonus for us.

I’ll close by letting you know I was able to identify the dogwood like tree/shrub included in the pics of the Santa Rita bonus garden in the Gamble Garden post earlier this week.  As I was leaving the house after class I took a quick stroll through the plants available for sale at the gift shop and it was right there. It is Cornus capitata ‘Mountain Moon’, common name Himalayan strawberry tree or evergreen dogwood. Apparently only trees grown from cuttings bloom early in their lives. Seed grown trees  are 8-10 years to bloom. Reference material tells me they are not reliably evergreen but I would imagine there would be little leaf drop in Palo Alto’s temperate climate.

Next up I will be taking in the Garden Conservancy Open Day in Los Angeles and the Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour in Orange County–then I will sleep for a week at least!