My previous post was about Loree’s front garden. This post is about the back garden.
The portal to the back garden is the agave gate that Loree’s husband Andrew designed:
While distinctly separate, the back garden repeats many of the same themes as the front garden: bold foliage, architectural forms, spiky plants, plus ferns — so many ferns. What you won’t see a lot of is flower color. There are a few exceptions, and they truly stand out. I’m sure that was the intention.
Let’s get started. As I mentioned in
my previous post, these photos were taken over three days in different lighting conditions. That’s why the colors may look a bit different.
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| Agave gate on the right |
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| Pyrrosia ferns tucked into trunk of a Trachycarpus fortunei and the crotch of an Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ |
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| Foliage reigns supreme. The dark leaves are from black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’), which you will see in many of these photos. It makes a great foil for lighter colored foliage. |
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| Rhododendron pachysanthum |
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| Woodwardia unigemmata |
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| Pyrrosia ferns on top, Clematis ‘Pixie’ below |
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| Back of the house on the right, the orange wall is the neighbor’s garage |
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| This corner is anchored by Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’, still in glorious bloom during my early April visit |
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| Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’. The species is native to China, Korea, and Japan. |
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| Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’ |
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| Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’. I’ve never seen this shrub in our neck of the woods. |
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| View into the back garden. The gate is behind me. |
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| Yucca rostrata and Trachycarpus fortunei |
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| Various pyrrosias in dish planters along the side of Loree and Andrew’s garage; gate to the left |
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| Pyrrosia sheareri |
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| Dicksonia antarctica |
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| Beautifully complementary foliage |
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| If you’ve followed Loree’s danger garden blog for any length of time, you know she’s a master at creating innovative compositions like this one... |
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| ...and this one |
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| Pyrrosia lingua and Pyrrosia lingua ‘Ogon Nishiki’ |
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| Wider view, garage in the center (shade pavilion just outside the frame on the far right) |
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| Stepping stones leading towards the gate |
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| Shredded umbrella plant (Syneilesis aconitifolia), a woodland native from China, Japan, and Korea... |
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| ...and a plant that fascinates me endlessly |
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| Podophyllum is another plant I’d love to be able to grow. Here’s the green form... |
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| ...and here is a red form (Podophyllum ‘Red Panda’) |
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| Maidenhair fern (Adiantum) |
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| I’m endlessly fascinated by the variety of ferns in Loree’s garden |
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| Lomatia ferruginea |
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| Spores on Neolepisorus fortunei ‘Green Ribbons’ |
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| Neolepisorus fortunei ‘Green Ribbons’ |
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Amazing what you (i.e. Loree) can do with
a splatter screen and burlap. The metal pieces are perfect companions. |
The signature structure in Loree’s back garden is the shade pavilion that becomes a greenhouse in the winter.
Check out this photo to see what it looks like in summer mode, with the polycarbonate panels removed.
The shade pavilion was designed and built by Loree and Andrew. Loree has written about it extensively;
this danger garden post is a good place to start if you want to learn more.
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| Outside... |
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| ...and inside |
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| Just some of the plants that spent at least part of the winter in the shade pavilion |
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| Fatsia japonica ‘Murakamo Nishiki’ in a stock tank between the shade pavilion and the fence |
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| Fatsia japonica ‘Murakamo Nishiki’ |
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| Japanese painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’) |
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| Wider view of the shade pavilion (and the garage on the left) |
Some of the planters near the shade pavilion:
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| Planters with maidenhair fern... |
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| ...and moss |
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| Farfugium japonicum ‘Gigantea’ |
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Queen Victoria agave (Agave victoriae-reginae)
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| Tasmanian tree fern (Dicksonia antarctica) |
In the summer, the empty area in the photos below becomes an outdoor dining and entertainment space:
Remember the controlled pops of flower color I mentioned at the beginning of this post? The orange flowers of
Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’ was one example. The flowers of Loropetalum chinense ‘Sizzling Pink’ in the photos below is another.
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| Nolina ‘La Siberica’, Loropetalum chinense ‘Sizzling Pink’ and... |
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| ...whale’s tongue agave (Agave ovatifolia) |
There are many things I admire about Loree’s garden: her great eye for design; her imagination, creativeness, and original ideas; and above all her self-control and restraint. That may sound weird, considering Loree is an inveterate believer in
cramscaping, but everything she brings into her garden serves a purpose. Me, I buy whatever catches my eye and stick it wherever there’s space. Not that I’m unhappy with what I do, I just wish I had more of Loree’s self-discipline.
• ———————— •
This post from March 2026 celebrating the 17th anniversary of Loree’s danger garden blog is a detailed look at the evolution of the garden since 2009. There are some jaw-dropping before and after pictures.
And if you’re not following danger garden yet, definitely
do so now.
© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.
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