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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Garden of Joen and Howie Parks

On July 27,  Alison and I visited several gardens in a group  called "Treasures in the South Sound" on the Northwest Perennial Alliance Open Gardens book.    The first of these was this sweet garden. 

"Ours is a collector's garden, downsized from two acres...to less than a half acre four years ago." 

The front of the house features a nice assortment of small conifers and Japanese maples along serpentine grass paths.
 Terraced up from the street, this garden has relatively low maintenance requirements, other than the lovely lawn bits, and fits into the neighborhood nicely.


Some people do such a beautiful job of making combination pots. 


 The swath of lawn in the back garden along with some great older evergreens give the garden a peaceful feel. The gentle undulating lines of the flower beds is particularly appealing. 



 These stained glass panels were part of the greenhouse in the Parks' former garden.  Mr. Parks crafted this trellis to incorporate them.

Lovely texture contrasts in this mixed bed.


A kindred spirit,  Joen also loves tuberous begonias and keeps her tubers from year to year.

I guess when you find someone else who's a little crazy, it makes you feel better about yourself, right?

So beautiful and so well grown.  What a treat!


The garden shed is well integrated into the garden.



Alison pauses to take a picture of  this gorgeous hydrangea.  Don't know the name, do you?



Just for you Alison, since you asked yesterday (the post about moose) where squirrel was. 

My heart went pit a pat when I saw this nice big clump of Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty,' one of my favorite plants!


Who doesn't love allium seed heads scattered around the garden?

Or those of clematis?
 
 
Rhododendron with gorgeous indumentum.
 
 
 
An old lichen-covered bench acts as a trellis.  Sweet.

 Hope you enjoyed this quick tour of the Parks' garden.    And thank you Joen and Howie for opening your garden to us!

30 comments:

  1. Their garden look pristine and that huge clump of Spotty Dotty certainly is impressive (wish ours would bulk up like that...).

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    1. It seems like they take forever to bulk up. I'm going to try dividing mine for the first time in the early spring before new growth emerges. Hope I don't kill the whole thing.

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  2. This was a great garden, and she was so nice to come out and show us around too. I love seeing your posts months later, when I've almost forgotten the garden myself. I hope some day my two Podophyllums will look like that. Thanks for showing me where the squirrel was!

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    1. It's fun to do these later because it brings back memories of the fun we had touring gardens this summer!

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  3. Beautiful garden! That hyrangea looks like Hydrangea Aspera which I grow in my garden. Mine is under a big pecan tree, gets almost total shade and doesn't bloom like that. It has really fuzzy, odd leaves?

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    1. Yes! Fuzzy odd leaves and interesting peeling bark.

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  4. Any idea how old that 'Spotty Dotty' clump is? So so so envious!

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    1. She said that she brought it with her from the other garden but it's only been there for a few years. She also mentioned that it seeded around. That's what happens when there's naked soil that's not totally covered with plants, not that I'd know about that myself mind you.

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  5. Glad you drew attention to the varied textures: something I'm always trying for.
    You should feel GREAT about yourself ever since you tapped into the blogosphere and found yourself surrounded by others who are more than a little nutso when it comes to plants.

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    1. Always feels good to be surrounded by others who share my insanity.

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  6. Beautiful - really. And I like that squirrel!

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    1. Glad you liked the garden and that silly squirrell!

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  7. This is a very pretty and beautifully done garden. The trellis incorporating the old stained glass windows is such a great idea. The squirrel is so cute!

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    1. Lots of fun things and plants to find in this garden!

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  8. I love those Aspera-type Hydrangeas...they somehow manage to be both graceful and slightly gawky at the same time :-)

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  9. Perhaps I'm related to these West Coast Parks. It's not likely, but I would be glad to call these gardeners kin.

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  10. Lovely garden. Lots of texture. It must have been hard, but probably satisfying, to go from two acres to less than 1/2 acre.

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    1. They were downsizing and moving closer to their kids so I think they're happy about the move.

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  11. I actually think you have found a garden I have not visited! Your pics make me want summer back.

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    1. This being our first year as members of the NPA, nearly all of the gardens were new to us. It'll be nice to see some of the ones we missed this year next summer. It seems that summer flew by faster this year than usual. Most years, I enjoy autumn but this year I keep waiting for the weather to shoot back up to the 70's and 80's. All of those brightly colored leaves and Halloween stuff in the stores seems foreign. Somehow autumn shouldn't be here yet.

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  12. Lovely garden! And I hugely appreciate that pot of mixed plants! I tried to make a couple of pots like that in late summer and I must say they grew oddly, lacked symmetry and had no sense of balance what with some plants killing others mercilessly. They needed a mission statement maybe. I'll try again.

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    1. You'd think it would be a snap, like making a flower arrangement with plants but somehow mine never look very good for long. Oh well, this gardening thing is all about learning from our mistakes, right? I should be really smart by now. Alas...

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  13. That planter is over-the-top flamboyant. What a neatly edged garden. I admire that. I would find it easy to go from my 2 acres to 1/2 acre, in fact that is my dream, I'd just cut out all the lawn, Big-leaf Maples, and Red Cedars.

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    1. Want to trade? we live in the city on a lot that is a quarter of an acre. I dream of having more space.

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  14. Peter' you visited a lovely garden. The first and second photos are beautiful - I love conifers especially of different colors: blue, dark green, yellow!

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    1. Thank you, Nadezda, the use of conifers in this garden was lovely.

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  15. Love that hydrangea - and the squirrel!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.