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Archive for the ‘Garden Tours’ Category

GARDEN IDEAS FROM A PASADENA ESTATE

Posted in Garden Design, Garden Tours, tagged , , , on April 20, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Happy Friday! Every year at this time The Garden Conservancy organizes tours of gorgeous private gardens all over the country. I’ve been attending these tours for about 6 years now and I always walk away inspired! This Sunday is the Pasadena (California) tour so I thought I would share some ideas from a gorgeous Pasadena estate I toured several years ago.

I loved this custom-made trellis (above) and how it framed the entry to the home so beautifully.

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They also added this gorgeous climbing rose, ‘Eden’ from David Austin Roses, which highlights the entry to the home even more.

For a bit more drama they added two lollipop Gardenia trees on the front porch — very pretty.

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Cafe lights are fabulous because they always add a festive mood to any garden.

Whether squared or rounded, shaping your shrubs is always a good idea.

Here’s another example of a big statement made with exterior lights — love these over the outdoor dining area.

Click here for more information on The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Garden Tours.

Have a great weekend!

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GARDEN TOUR: THORNTON LADD HOME

Posted in Garden Design, Garden Tours, tagged , , , , , on May 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

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The garden was designed by the late Owen Peters in 1990 and surrounds a Thornton Ladd-designed modernist house completed around 1950. The garden was then again updated in 2012 by Amy Korn and Matt Randolph of Korn Randolph, as well as by landscape designer Judy Horton.

unnamed-18The Agaves were my favorite, along with Purple Smoke Bush in the background — so pretty. Other plants in this area of the garden are: Westringia, Olive, White Crepe Myrtles, Rosemary, Waxleaf and deciduous flowering Magnolia.

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A big thank you to The Garden Conversancy’s volunteers, as well as all the hosts who so kindly opened up their homes to allow us into their private world for a day.

This Saturday, it’s the Los Angeles Open Days tour, which covers mostly the westside of Los Angeles. If anyone is interested in going, click here for more information.

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GARDEN TOUR: PASADENA CALIFORNIA

Posted in Garden Design, Garden Tours, tagged , , , on May 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

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One of my favorite things to do each spring is to attend The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days which are held all over the country. This past weekend the tour took place in Pasadena, which never disappoints.

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Many homes in Pasadena are built on hillsides which makes it a bit more tricky when designing. This home sits on 2 1/2 acres and was originally designed by architect Louis DuPuget Millar in 1908. It was recently updated by architect David Serrurier. This photo looks out onto the pool terrace from a wisteria-laden dining terrace seen in the photo below.

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The outdoor dining terrace situated under beautiful wisteria.

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The homeowner chose some gorgeous lights to hang above the outdoor dining table.

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All the gardens on the tour were beautiful, though I unfortunately missed one of the gardens designed by Judy Horton. Of those I viewed, I especially enjoyed the garden designed by Nod Eriksson (featured in this post). He was on site answering questions and talking about his work on this particular project.

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Me, taking a photo of the lovely fountain pictured below.

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Pride of Madeira and Bougainvillea hang elegantly over the fountainthumb_DSC00321_1024

Trimmed boxwood and antique urns lead guests into the rose garden.

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My photo doesn’t do this main entrance justice. The details were really lovely. Especially delightful were the water feature, herringbone brick walkway and beautifully potted gardenia. Other plants used in this area were, iceberg rose, boxwood, and lamb’s ear. Not visible in this distant picture, are delicate pink roses, called Eden, outlining the entry.

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Beautiful potted gardenia

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Clipped Boxwood and Pittosporum

Later in the week I’ll post another garden which had the most gorgeous agave.

If you would like to see more lovely gardens, just click on my category “garden tours” on the right.

Cheers!

Shannon

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PETERSHAM NURSERIES

Posted in Garden Tours, Home, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on November 3, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Although, I didn’t have much time for sightseeing on my recent trip to London, I was determined to visit Petersham Nurseries. Located a short walk from the train station, along the River Thames, Petersham has two cafes, a wine cellar and an inspiring garden center.

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The setting around Petersham couldn’t have been more picturesque.

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The public footpath

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Above, the sign to Petersham Nurseries.

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A peek inside the glasshouse restaurant

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The teahouse, with gorgeous hydrangeas and geraniums out front

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Inspiration for my next garden party…

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Lunch…

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How lovely & simple is this?

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Although, I couldn’t bring back gorgeous plants or antiques, I was able to enjoy a beautiful lunch and take it in, if only for an hour. Looking forward to my next visit!

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GARDEN TOUR: SANTA MONICA

Posted in Garden Design, Garden Tours, tagged , , , , , , on June 3, 2015| 1 Comment »

As a garden designer there are so many other designers I draw inspiration from — Edwina Von Gal, Louis Benech, Jinny Blom, and Scott Shrader to name a few. The garden below was designed by Scott Shrader, and was a big motivation for why I decided to go on the tour.

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The Mimosa table

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The tour was part of The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program. The program is offered throughout the country and gives us an opportunity to poke our heads inside some gorgeous private gardens. Click here, for more information regarding this program.

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GARDEN TOUR: CRESCENDO FARMS

Posted in Garden Design, Garden Tours, tagged , , , , on May 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Although, this garden tour happened a couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed it so much I really wanted to share my two favorite gardens with you. This first one, situated on three lots in Brentwood, was just gorgeous. From its “multi-purpose barn” to the layout of the vegetable garden to the many wonderful seating areas — I walked away with some beautiful ideas.

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The multi-purpose barn in the background

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Inside the barn

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Small orchard

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Seating area near the main house

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Dining area

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Beautiful little play house with climbing rose

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The main house

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Loved this rustic pergola with dining area and fireplace

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Climbing rose on pergola

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Another seating area with fire pit

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Next time, my favorite garden on the tour — a gorgeous gem in Santa Monica.

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GANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND

Posted in Garden Design, Garden Tours, Travel, Visit, tagged , , , , , , on March 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Settled in a gorgeous residential neighborhood in Santa Barbara, Lotusland is a 37-acre garden that was once the private residence of Ganna Walska, an eccentric opera singer turned plantswoman. The garden is full of subtropical and tropical plants from around the world, as well as more than 130 varieties of aloe, rare species of cycads, Chilean Wine Palms and massive amounts of cactus. unnamed-2

 The main house (now offices), was built in 1919 by architect Reginald Johnson and is a gorgeous example of Mediterranean style architecture.

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The famous Lotus pond, which was once a pool.

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An old Euphorbia drooping from weight and old age.

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A fountain near the Olive Allee and Cactus Garden.

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Old Man Cactus

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A beautiful old Euphorbia in the background with barrel cactus and purple aeonium in the stone planters.

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One of my favorite agaves, and one that is extremely popular here in Southern California –the Fox Tail Agave or Agave Attenuataunnamed-47 A group of striking colored Euphorbia

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An idea any garden lover can take home — an interesting planter potted with one type of succulent — left alone to grow into a little gem like the one above.

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A 130 year old Dragon Tree
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Ganna Walska’s reflective pool with giant clam shells and tons of abalone shells

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She lined her entire reflective pool with abalone shells.
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The Cactus Gardenunnamed-1

The work that went into this garden is amazing. The dedication in growing many of these species from seed, or as small pups, must have taken an extreme amount of patience and vision. It’s definitely worth a visit. For more information on Lotusland, click here.

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