My second visit to Scott's Seattle garden

Today's post is my final garden visit from a trip up to the Seattle/Bellevue area in mid-September, subject: my friend Scott's garden. I first visited this garden back in 2021 (here), and while there have been changes in the three years since, not so many that the garden didn't feel familiar. 

I think I was better able to enjoy the garden this time because I knew the general layout, and (as Scott pointed out) the last time I visited I was still relearning how to walk after breaking my ankle and the resulting surgery. This is not a flat garden. Case in point, that steep staircase disappearing into the foliage.

There are shady bits, and sunny bits. Today we focus on the shade, and I'll warn you there are camera photos and phone photos mixed together, so the quality and color of the light is going to be a little random.

These first photos are all around the patio off the side of Scott's home.

Now we've climbed up one of the staircases to an upper level in the side garden. Scott built all of the retaining walls himself using tons of urbanite (aka recycled concrete).

I liked this simple rusty metal flower stake, we'll see more from the same Ukrainian company on Friday.

One of Scott's three (I think?) wollemi pines, Wollemia nobilis.

It makes beautiful compost!

Storage? Casual artwork? Things waiting to rust?

Looking down to the patio where we started this tour.

Mahonia some somebody. 

The dappled light makes it hard to see, but that's a comfy settee, should one have time to kick back for a bit.

There are many empty pots around the garden, Scott has suffered some plant tragedies these past few cold winters.

Puya! (I think)

There are so many containers throughout Scott's garden. He's a master at working them in so you don't really notice just how many there are.

You know I always hope to see a pyrrosia or two, I was not dissapointed.

Here Scott was reminding me that he purchased this bromeliad during our trip to Rare Plant Research back in (maybe) 2022.

Another comfy sit-spot...

Parablechnum cordatum / Blechnum chilense with a begonia.

What a bunch of shady goodness right there...

Rhododendron orbiculare, maybe...

This staircase is new since my last visit, and very very fabulous. Those trunks belong to Eriobotrya japonica (loquat), that Scott planted in front of his home for screening and privacy. He decided to limb them up, and then built a staircase right through the middle.

I love it.

Aren't the trunks wonderful? Such beautiful bark. I came home and cut a few more branches off my loquat, which isn't nearly this tall... but someday!

I think Scott said he planted this adiantum.

Sinopanax formosanus

We're almost around to the back of Scott's home now, where we'll end today's post. Here you see a palm trunk that's been through better times, but is starting to sprout some new growth.

Come back on Friday for a look at the sunny side of this inspiring garden.

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All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Owl Creek Farm in West Chester, Pennsylvania

Today we visit Steve and Ann Hutton’s Owl Creek Farm (another Philly Fling garden), on a very wet Saturday in September, 2023. The bus dropped us off at the end of a long driveway and we walked up to the house. This shot was taken on that walk...

I took this next photo up near the house. An odd combo of foliage textures.

Looking up other posts online about this garden (to see if they'd provide anymore info I could share with you, which they did not) I came across--this one--from Dallas Garden Buzz. Holy Moly! Did we see the same garden? I love the different photos and memories we all take away from a garden visit. No two people see the same thing, or want to share the same photos.

The fenced veggie garden, and maybe a cutting garden too?

A sleek and modern scarecrow?

I started out to explore the path through the grass next to the veggie garden and heard talk of ticks. That's a hard no. I turned around.

Multi-trunked Magnolia macrophylla.

I'm low-key jealous whenever I see a patch of short tetrapanax, mine are all so tall.

The rainy weather made for really dark photos.

Yes that's an Agave geminiflora in a large pot that's sending up a bloom spike.

A tree fern, with bromeliads, in Pennsylvania, will the surprises never end?

I thought maybe the screened porch might double as a place to store some of the non-hardy plants over the winter? (if they have glass to go in?)

That's a sweet patch of asarum sp.

I loved this bit of drama around the back of the house...

Once you passed under the plant covered trellis you entered a gravel patio area.

So many containers!

Fellow Flinger, Lori Daul.

And look, a gravel garden within the gravel garden...

Tropical in Pennsylvania, who knew?!

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All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.