Succulents and More™

We saw a lot of different gardens during the 2014 Garden Bloggers Fling ( #GBFling14 ) in Portland, Oregon. Some were serious, some were playful, but none quite matched the over-the-top exuberance of JJ De Sousa’s Garden. You want plants? Check! You want art? Check! You want style? Check! JJ De Sousa’s garden is an unbridled feast for the senses, and it had me from the moment I saw that bright orange metal gate with its three carrots. Orange is JJ’s signature color. You see it repeated in countless places in her 9,500 sq. ft. urban garden in southeast Portland. I’m not usually attracted to bright colors and if I tried to introduce one as blazing hot as orange in my own garden, I’m sure I would fail miserably. But JJ knows that you cannot be timid when working with a color like orange. You have to embrace it whole-heartedly—go for broke. And she certainly does. Her garden positively sizzles.

Vista Garden was the second property I visited last Saturday as part of Marin County Open Garden Day sponsored by The Garden Conservancy. The description in the official program sounded fantastic: Sited on a plateau with sweeping views of Mt. Tamalpais and surrounding canyons, Vista Garden is a balance of engaging outdoor rooms and dramatic sub-tropical plantings. The entry features a heritage oak and unique use of Arbutus marina as privacy screening. A grove of Australian tree ferns and specimen agaves suggest something more eccentric is ahead. The front garden is framed by native quercus and specimen olive trees that sit within a modern framework of bold, textural sweeps of foliage including asplenium, miscanthus, liriope, equisetum, and a ‘meadow mix’ of sun-loving perennials and exotics. The hidden sitting area is tucked behind a prehistoric equisetum hedge and showcases an agave collection that leads guests to the Vista Walk.  This quiet, shady, path lined with bambusa and...

In yesterday’s teaser post about the San Francisco Flower & Garden show I mentioned some of the general trends I noticed. Today I want to take you to the display gardens where you’ll see these trends interpreted in different ways. Since taste is extremely personal (and in my case barely predictable), I may make some unflattering comments about displays you yourself may like. If that’s the case, please apologize my frankness. I’m not trying to step on anybody’s toes or belittle the hard work that went into each and every display. However, some display gardens I simply couldn’t stomach. But a strong reaction like that is still better than indifference and boredom. There was really nothing that bored me! Walking into Expo Hall where all the display gardens are located, this was the first thing I saw and I loved it. Minimalistic, serene and involving water and stone: right up my alley.  

I’m starting off the new year with a request for inspiration. While not the most stylish, the garden table below has served us well for 15 years. It had a frosted glass top until recently: When I lifted out the umbrella in order to put it away for the winter, the very bottom of the metal umbrella post caught on the center hole in the glass top, causing the glass to shatter. Luckily it was safety glass, but sweeping up zillions of bits and pieces of glass off aggregate concrete wasn’t fun. I don’t want I to junk the table base because it’s still perfectly good. That’s why I’d love to hear your ideas: What could I do with it? I was thinking of making a mosaic top, but the only experience I have is seeing it done on TV. This would be awesome, but my skill set is probably only sufficient for a simple design . Another idea is a perforated sheet metal top, provided I can find a place in the Sacramento area that will cut a piece to size (4 ft. diameter). If you have any suggestions, pl...