Warm Thoughts; The Dudan Garden

Meanwhile,  in California at the Garden Bloggers' Fling back in June it was time to visit a lovely private garden designed by Buenoluna Landscape Design and Floradora Gardens.  The property sits atop a hill and has great views all around.  The garden was designed to make use of the beautiful views as much as possible.

 

There are stunning elements in the garden like this great water feature but they enhance rather than trying to compete with or obscure the dramatic views.

With greater proximity, the water feature itself  is a great focal point.

The Dudan Garden has many seating areas, some quite intimate

 

and others a bit more grand.

 

There are great plants throughout the garden superlative, hardscape and interesting artistic touches but this garden reads as a whole, a show with many stars who play well together to create a wonderful ensemble cast.  There is beauty but no big egos here. 

The Dudan is a garden meant to be lived in and enjoyed.

There was a peaceful sense of place in this garden making it a perfect venue to relax, eat lunch and enjoy each others' company.

The pink Kangaroo paw was a big hit. 

Just for Scott, who will know the name of this grass because he grows it. I'll be looking for this plant this year so do remind me of its name.

This magnificent tree was an attention grabber. Isn't it stunning?

Caesalpinia mexicana also grows here in the Washington  but it craves heat so needs a special location to be really happy here. 

On this, the third day of the fling, I experienced my first wildlife sighting.  That is, unless you count seeing,  en route to our first garden,  a fellow walking purposefully down the sidewalk carrying a smart looking briefcase and wearing absolutely nothing.  What was even more interesting was that the other pedestrians on the street acted as if this were an everyday occurrence.  Anyway, the cute lizard in the picture below was adorable and spent some time looking at me before it skittered away.

Speaking of skittering away, I'd best go do something useful or at least pretend that that's what I'll be doing.  Hope you enjoyed the warmth!