Potrero Hill Entry Garden

The goal of this garden is to have an ever constant flora display, twelve months a year. It is a challenge at times but the lady of the house loves it.  October is our most flexible month. So much works at this time of year.

Hayes Valley Roof Garden

Newly sow greens and vegetables on the roof of the Zen Center with views of City Hall, Nob Hill and Russian Hill.

Momiji Maple Nursery

The entrance to Momiji Nursery is marked by this large Hollywood Juniper.

Octavia Boulevard

In Hayes Valley along the old Caltrans right of way, the city allows urban farming until the parcel of land is sold to developers. This little community garden makes the otherwise bleak walk from the Mission to Hayes Street a lot more interesting.



Look at those really short sunflowers!

Heron's Head Park

Recently restored wetlands where the PG&E power plant used to be. It's gone. That's Hunter's point on the horizon.

Glen Park Entry Garden

I ran across this perfect succulent garden on my way to a birthday party in Glen Park. The colors are amazing and the textures are flawless. Not to mention each plant was a true specimen. Kudos to the owner, design and installer, whomever they may be.

Great combination of Yucca, Aloe with 3 types of Agave. 

London, England heading back home

 Back in London after circumnavigating the sphere of London.

Hedges

Before this trip to England in 2012, I didn't have much to say about hedges other than banality. There are a few things I retained from this experience and to have fun with hedges is one of those ideas. The gardens at Hidcote pushed my edge. In the top photo we see two different plants hedge into a single plane. I think those are Yews with a Boxwood silhouette.

Astonishing. (If you haven't noticed, this trip has also made me learn more superlatives.)

 


One comprised of deciduous Copper Beech and evergreen Holly.

English Garden Tour - 2012

 The one that started it all. 

Chelsea Flower Show - May 23, 2012

East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens

East Ruston Old Vicarage was the last garden we saw before heading back to London for our flight home. It took 7 hours and two tea room visits to get through this massive garden. Although it is smaller than Wisley or Stourhead, it was entirely planted with hedge alleys of intersecting views and more rooms than any garden we saw. One of our favorite gardens and a great way to wrap up the tour.

Beth Chatto's Garden

Beth's garden is known for it's dry and wet section. She describes it as "poor gravel soil and boggy hollows." The English have funny words. She took the two difficult soil situations and ran with it. I am partial to the dry garden. It had more Mediterranean plants than any other garden we saw in England. The only place I recall seeing an Eucalyptus. Since a major reason for this tour was to find plants to work with back here in San Francisco, I was able to identify with this garden. This is where I found Parahebe perfoliata or Derwentia perfoliata. Now I notice it at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens at Strybling and will start to use Parahebe in my gardens.

We have only a couple days left on our English Garden Tour. We finally made it to the east coast and its a stormy day. We arrived early and chatted with some Dutch ladies in the parking lot. They came over this morning on a ferry from the continent. The Dutch are world renown plant propagators and collectors but they lack the land to make the extensive gardens that you find in England. They are partners in a lucrative trade.

Blenheim Palace

Located in a small town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire, the grounds of the palace dwarf the town it is so intimately attached. This is one of Capability Brown's design. He was a 18th Century designer that help create the Landspace Movement in England by replacing formal gardens with landscape design. As opposed to Naturist or Formal, this is to look like a painted landscape. Brown transported and plant 300 year old Oaks here. The one below may be one of those he planted in the 1780's. This tree may be over 600 years old.

Waterperry

We arrived on a rainy morning. In fact it has rained for the last few gardens but today was more steady rain than just grey cloud cover. This too is a big garden with lots of long beds and a knot garden room. We were wet and did a quick lap and end up back for cake and coffee with all the other blue hairs.

Hidcote Manor Gardens

It's connected history and period wise with Sissinghurst. She knew him. He was an American ex-parriot, we suspect he was queer. His only garden design was Hidcote, his mother's place.

Kiftsgate Court Gardens

Just as we arrive, the rain starts. Fortunately it only lasted for 30 minutes or so. Then we headed out to a freshly washed garden. This garden is directly next door to Hidcote and is well worth the visit. I had seen this rectangular pool in Gardens Illustrated magazine this past year. The lily leaves above would rain into the fountain. We arrived in this room during a shower and didn't notice the leaves were a fountain until it stopped raining.