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Posts Tagged ‘The Garden Conservancy’

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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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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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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Recently, the The Garden Conservancy had their “Open Days” garden tour here in San Antonio and there was one garden that stood out for its elegance and simplicity in design. The plants selected for this landscape were not complicated or overly fussy. My pictures just do not do the house nor landscape design justice.

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