Signage leads us here to sign the guest register.
And to descend steep stairs.
The paths lead to this. Looking up, there's a beautiful view of the bay.
Here is Janice's description of her garden, "All of the elements that work together to form a garden - color, texture, fragrance, and form - you find it here."
"Perennials, succulents, clematis and covered arbors all greet you and combine with the sounds of water moving through the fountains and pond that the homeowners installed.
"Steve hauled all of the 6x6 timbers for walls and filled behind them with over 100 yards of soil that he and Janice moved down to the garden from the top of the driveway."
"The decks and the original plantings were designed by Ruth Burrus over 20 years ago."
Edibles and ornamentals mingle beatuifully in the lower sunny garden!
There are many seating areas throughout the garden and on the large decks on the house. One often wonders in a garden this amazing if the gardeners themselves are able to sit very much.
Path to the greenhouse and beyond!
Looking up at the house.
Ah, sweet peas! Is there anything to match their fragrance?
Having walked through the bottom garden, we begin to ascend the path on the other side of the house.
A shady dining room complete with a carpet of baby tears.
Let's sneak up the staircase to the lower deck. Looks like there are plans for lots of sempervivum!
From the deck, views of what we just experienced from below.
The great structure here works so well as it allows the more flamboyant growers to shine in their season and holds the space together beautifully in all seasons.
Sweet details are everywhere in this meticulously kept garden.
Lots of electrical insulators. Is someone an electrician?
Still ascending
Looking back.
Sedum bench.
Now we're back on the level on which we started.
Interesting copper pipe trellis with fused glass panels!
With foliage like this, who needs flowers? A beautiful tapestry.
The pond
Don't worry, if you fall in there's a rescue doughnut if you can get it away from the mondo grass.
There is a long stream/waterfall that starts close to the top of the drive and empties into the pond.
There was not a single weed or leaf out of place. How do they manage that?
"The garden is a certified Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary. Through hours of manual labor, Janice has removed all of the invasive ivy growing on the property, and has replaced it with ground covers. This garden is a sensory delight of sound, fragrance and views all bound together, with a respect for nature, creating a memorable experience for the visitor."
It surely was a memorable experience for this visitor! Thanks Stve and Janice for opening your garden!
This looks like it was a very nice garden. There are a bunch more coming up in a couple of weeks in Everett/Snohomish, I think. Want to visit them together?
ReplyDeleteIt was very nice indeed. Yes! let's visit them together!
DeleteQuite a challenge to have a steep garden to work with but they've done a fine job!
ReplyDeleteSteep gardens are a challenge but are often quite beautiful!
DeleteAmazing! There's nothing like a good slope and a view of water to make a garden really special -- not to detract from what the gardeners have done here.
ReplyDeleteThe gardens are amazing and that view is incredible!
Delete"not a single weed or leaf out of place"...I was thinking that just before I read it. Immaculate! So that line of Hostas on the deck (6th photo from the top), is there a planting area there or were they all in containers? They look so happy and lush.
ReplyDeleteI think the hostas were in containers but there might have been a wooden box in which they were all planted.
DeleteBeautifully designed and beautifully kept with so much interest, especially the fused glass and copper panels. !00 yards of topsoil is a lot of work. We've done about 50 over the last three years and I can't imagine doing twice that. Worth it though to get that wonderful garden.
ReplyDeletePerhaps keeping the garden weed - free seems like an easy feat for people who've hauled 100 yards of topsoil.
DeleteI was struck by how meticulously edged the paths are. The Blue House -- is that a garage on their property or a house facing the street behind? Perspective is so hard to judge in couple of photos.
ReplyDeleteI found the answer to my own question. There's a chain link fence back there just outside the arbor vitaes. An arbor gate opens into the neighbor's property. On the other side the greenhouse backs up to the fence. The neighbors have a lovely garden too, just not quite as overwhelming.
DeleteWow, you figured it out! Everything in this garden was meticulously cared for!
DeleteWas that lot huge? It looks like it based on all the owners have managed to fit into it. I can't imagine the work that goes into keeping it that pristine.
ReplyDeleteZillow says that it's .42 acres but it seemed much larger, maybe because of the slope and the well thought- out design/placement of the house, etc. Zillow could be worng. The work of keeping the garden that pristine would seem overwhelming. Of course, the garden may have gotten some extra work to prepare for being open.
DeleteI stopped to ponder at the "over 100 yards of soil" statement. It's hard to wrap my head around it. It's the small treasures that make this garden special: the doughnut with the black mondo, the blue chair with the Brunera, the succulents arraignments: all fantastic. Love the balcony that is lined with the Hostas. What a sight!
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of soil, isn't it? Bet they didn't have to visit the gym for quite some time! This garden had great details that show that the gardeners have quite a sense of whimsy to go with their excellent horticultural skills.
DeleteWe pour so much love, imagination and effort into this slowest of all art forms. It has got to be gratifying to have an appreciative visitor such as you...and, by extension, all of your fans.
ReplyDeleteI hope so. Although I wasn't able to meet the Tallmans, their garden made me want to meet the people who created this wonderful space.
DeleteNo weeds! Wow! But the thing I really like about it is that it looks very welcoming and warm. Love all those succulents. And the view of the bay ... fabulous!
ReplyDeleteIt did seem welcoming and warm! Fab view for sure!
DeleteIt's all nice, but nothing really wowed me until after the "still ascending" photo. I don't know if it's the colors or the use of more shrubs and foliage plants. Probably both. Whatever, i like that part of the garden much better. That flat sunny area seemed kind of muddled and bla, but then I never react well to perennials in rectangular beds with clipped boxwood and straight paths. Grumble, grumble, bla bla.
ReplyDeleteWe all respond differently to gardens or parts of gardens. I liked the shadier parts myself, maybe because is was a warm day, maybe because shade gardens seem very peaceful and more forest like. The whole thing was way cool though.
DeleteOh my goodness! What a complex and lovely garden! I hope they open again and I can get there next year.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you get to see this one! The elements reminded me or your garden.
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