Succulents and More™

On my April trip to Portland , one of the destinations I was most looking forward to was Bella Madrona. I’d been there once before, during the 2014 Garden Bloggers Fling , and had fond, if hazy, memories. For some reason, I never finished my post that I started 12 years ago, but here is a good one about Bella Madrona and the Fling written by Pam Penick on her blog Digging . Bella Madrona defies description. There are trees and shrubs and flowers, art pieces and found objects, a stream and a bog, several meadows, and even a secret forest inhabited by gnomes. As I was reading up on what others have written about it, I came across a term that captures its essence perfectly: pleasure garden. It makes me think of something grander, something that goes beyond plants; a space designed to bemuse, entertain, and thrill. When you look at the photos below, you’ll see what Bella Madrona is: lush, eclectic, playful, romantic, serene, mystical. I’d even call it whimsical if the w word wasn’t so wor...

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. Agave gate on the right Pyrrosia ferns tucked into trunk of a Trachycarpus fortunei and the crotch of an Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ 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 folia...