The garden is the creation of textile artist Pattiy Torno, who cheerfully introduced herself as she took her own photos of the bloggers noshing on BBQ throughout the garden. She has a talent not only for plant combos like the one pictured at the top of this post but also for creatively reusing cast-off materials, like this curving path of metal plates set in gravel.

Other repurposed objects are more subtle, like this tiny sedum planter made out of an old…what is that? I don’t know, but it’s cool. Surrounding it is a beautiful medley of rose campion, ‘Blackbird’ euphorbia, iris, and ‘Angelina’ sedum.

A closer look at the metal planter and the blooming ‘Blackbird’ euphobia

Pacific Northwest-style combos of glowing chartreuse and burgundy foliage appear too, like this pairing of creeping Jenny and barberry. A chipped granite block punctuates the outer corner of the stone-edged bed.

The garden stretches half the length of the parking lot between two art studios. A large shrub-and-perennial border along the sidewalk hides the interior of the garden from view, sheltering a formally shaped gravel patio which is entered on this side through an arbor and the metal-plate path.

A closer look at the rusty garden seating, and that beautiful table with leaf cut-outs

If I hadn’t read on the Curve website that Pattiy designed the steel fence herself and hired a local craftsman to build it for her, I’d have thought it was made of salvaged material too. Doesn’t it have the look of creatively repurposed wheels or something?

Larkspur blooms in abundance in front, nearly obscuring the fence.

A rusty metal post topped with a metal orb serves as a tall corner post.

Here’s another one that marks the doorway between the gravel patio and a lawn beyond.

A wider view: gravel patio in front (with Frances of Fairegarden and Barbara of Mr. McGregor’s Garden) and two metal posts at the far end that mark the transition to the lawn garden.

The variegated, nearly white shrub in back is unknown to me, but I love the way it echoes the daisies in front, with purple spiderwort providing contrast in-between. Update: Lisa has ID’d it as variegated Japanese knotweed.

The living sidewalk in front of the garden is paved in recycled bricks turned on their sides, filled with gravelly soil, and planted with tiny sedum.

What a lovely place to enjoy our lunch!

For a look back at my post about the mountainside Gentling Garden, click here. Coming up next: The Goth-meets-fairy garden of Wamboldtopia.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Last Thursday through Sunday I toured Asheville gardens with 90 or so fellow garden bloggers for the 5th annual Garden Bloggers Fling. (Previous Flings have been held in Seattle, Buffalo, Chicago, and Austin; next year’s will be hosted in San Francisco.) We were bused around Asheville and nearby Clyde on two buses, sometimes on mountainside roads with steep drop-offs and hairpin turns. On the second day we spent all morning and had lunch in the gardener’s garden of Peter and Jasmin Gentling, my favorite stop among many delightful gardens of the whole weekend. The Gentling Garden is big enough to ramble and get lost in, even with dozens of other garden bloggers, cameras snapping madly, fanning out to capture the scene.

Jasmin and Peter welcomed us into their garden with humor and generosity, giving us the history of their historic home and its terracing that was buried under rampant undergrowth when they moved in, explaining that Jasmin likes flowers while Peter values evergreen structure and foliage, and pointing out that there is plenty of seating throughout the garden because they believe in sitting and being in the garden, not just working in it.

We listened attentively with cameras at hand, ready to spring forth and capture the morning light. One nice thing about touring gardens in the mountains is that you can sleep in and still get great light, as the sun has to clear tall trees and maybe a mountain or two before it can light up the garden.

Two of our most excellent Fling hosts: Christopher C., aka the Planner Man, of Outside Clyde, and Frances of Fairegarden

Another thing you need to know about Asheville gardens is that they use a lot of stone and therefore often have a rugged, timeless character.

Christopher had instructed us that we would need sturdy shoes on the Fling, and he was right. Irresistible, primitive stone stairs like these beckon you to explore hidden overlooks and other secret spaces.

Above the house, along the driveway, sits Peter’s painting studio, a charming stone-and-wood-sided structure with a translucent roof for good lighting.

Inside, a peek at Peter’s artworks. Some of the pieces appeared to depict sumo wrestlers, and I noticed other evidence of Japanese influence in the garden…

…like this Japanese-style gate…

…and this fence, with a red-leafed Japanese maple blushing above it.

Peter said something rather extraordinary before setting us loose: he said that winter is their garden’s best season. How many of us can say that (assuming you have a real winter, as Asheville does)? Looking around the garden, I began to understand why. Rock walls and terracing, evergreen shrubs along garden paths, and graceful trees whose shapely trunks are revealed in winter must all contribute to the garden’s good bones, and I can imagine how lovely it looks under a soft blanket of snow.

Near the house, a collection of Japanese maples and other trees offers shade.

Grass paths lead from garden to garden, enticing you along.

I ran into Phillip Oliver of Dirt Therapy here; visit his blog for more gorgeous pics from the Fling.

Larkspur

In the sunny, open center of the garden, white rose campion, Arkansas bluestar, and roses offer seasonal color.

Another look at the rose campion and the crosshatched timbers that make up the stair treads

Pocket lawns appear here and there throughout the garden. Stone retaining walls frame the lawn and offer places to sit. In the surrounding garden beds grow giant allium and variegated grasses, punctuated by planters filled with succulents.

You can always find a place to sit and contemplate the garden.

Does anyone know what this flower is? The foliage is dark purple and lovely. Update: It’s possibly Clematis recta ‘Midnight Masquerade.’ Thanks to Freda Cameron for the ID.

An unseasonably early spring caused us to miss the big azalea and rhododendron display, but a few native azaleas were in bloom.

Poppies too

I like them just as well when they’ve gone to seed.

Small sculptures, thoughtfully placed, appear throughout the garden, like this nude striding through pink geraniums…

…and this one perched in a birdbath.

Plant curiosities abound too. This voodoo lily in bloom wafted its stinky odor a little way up the hill.

Silver-dollar plant. See the seeds silhouetted inside the flat, round pods?

Crosshatched timbers become nurse logs for other plants.

A pond with water lilies occupies a lower terrace, framed by surrounding trees.

What a great place to sit and watch dragonflies darting or birds coming in for a drink.

Another charming garden bench

Frilly pink columbines were blooming in front of a chartreuse-leaved plant…

…that also sported a few blushing-pink leaves. What a lovely shrub. Does anyone know what it is? Update: Corylopsis spicata ‘Aurea.’ Thanks to Scott Weber for the ID.

When lunch arrived, a group of us headed around back of the house to the rear terrace, passing this rustic, hip-roofed shed.

The large, brick terrace has room for several seating areas, including this oversized table and chairs…

…and facing gliders. A steep hillside on the left is held back by a series of retaining walls swathed in cascading foliage, which makes the terrace feel like a secluded hideaway.

Candy-striped amaryllis were blooming by the back door.

The front porch is equally charming, with rocking chairs galore. Rocking chairs are the official seating of Asheville, or so I believe after seeing them in the airport and on nearly every front porch in town.

After lunch it was time to say goodbye. Peter and Jasmin generously promised that any of us could stop by and visit again, should we find ourselves in Asheville. I hope to take them up on their kind offer one of these days, maybe one crystalline winter morning, if I’m lucky.

Tune in tomorrow for the lush garden beds and creatively recycled hardscaping of the garden at Curve Studios.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

That’s not me, though, nor 99% of the designers I know. I’m a do-it-yourselfer (or hire-it-yourselfer) with a limited budget, just like most of my clients. I have a wish list for my own garden, and I’ve checked off a few projects during the 3-1/2 years we’ve lived in our current house, and I’ve put a lot of sweat equity into the garden. But my list still contains the bigger projects I dream of, mostly involving wall building or patio roofing—expensive projects that will just have to wait until the piggy bank is fuller. So, without further ado, here are a few before-and-after shots of my garden, which is always “in progress,” just like yours, I imagine.

Before: A small lawn surrounded by live oaks occupied the middle level of our back yard when we moved in.

After: I laid a sunburst stone path that radiates out from a stock-tank pond focal point, with new garden beds under the trees and a shed built by my handy husband to hide the swimming pool mechanicals.

Before: We were fortunate to inherit limestone-faced raised beds along the back of the house, but they were a mishmash of scrawny and overgrown plants when we moved in. I pulled out everything and added several inches of good soil.

After: Now it’s a crazy jungle of spiky and variegated plants that I love.

Before: Slippery grass led down a steep slope on both sides of the back yard. I’d already started adding beds when this picture was taken, and we’d recently installed a wood fence in front of a patchy redtip photinia hedge, gaining privacy.

After: A crushed-gravel path edged in free rock from the local cemetery, with drought-tolerant beds on either side, makes a safe, pretty passage through the garden.

Before: Looking up the other grassy slope in the side yard, a fence blocked the view, and those fantastic boulders were wasted, just sitting in the lawn.

After: A crushed-gravel path provides no-slip footing, and I moved the fence up-slope, closer to the street, to gain more back-yard space. New beds and the path flow around the boulders, giving them natural presence.

Before: Out front, Asian jasmine and star jasmine carpeted a live oak berm in the center of the circular drive. Easy-care but boring.

After: A new deer-resistant, drought-tolerant garden is still filling in. The blue, green, and gold garden contains ‘Color Guard’ yucca (Y. filamentosa ‘Color Guard’), softleaf yucca (Y. recurvifolia), gopher plant (Euphorbia rigida), Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima), Mexican oregano (Poliomintha longiflora), foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Meyersii’), bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa), Texas dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor), heartleaf skullcap (Scutellaria ovata), ‘Sparkler’ sedge (Carex phyllocephala ‘Sparkler’), Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus drummondii), variegated Miscanthus grass, majestic sage (Salvia guaranitica), silver Mediterranean fan palm (Chamaerops humilis var. argentea), Artemisia ‘Powis Castle,’ copper canyon daisy (Tagetes lemmonii), spineless prickly pear (Opuntia), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana), Lindheimer nolina (Nolina lindheimeri), and Texas nolina (Nolina texana). I usually also add annual ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome and red cordyline for long-season, drought-tolerant color.

Before: An expanse of St. Augustine grass out front

After: A new streetside garden, with a gravel parking strip in front and generous path behind, welcomes visitors at the curb, gives me a place to stroll through the garden, and eats up a whole lotta lawn.

Want to see what other designers around the country are doing in their own gardens? Please visit Garden Designers Roundtable for links to the other Roundtable participants, or click below:

Susan Morrison : Blue Planet Garden Blog : East Bay, CA

Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In The Garden : Los Altos, CA

Mary Gallagher Gray : Black Walnut Dispatch : Washington, D.C.

Jocelyn Chilvers : The Art Garden : Denver, CO

Deborah Silver : Dirt Simple : Detroit, MI

Debbie Roberts : A Garden of Possibilities : Stamford, CT

Christina Salwitz : Personal Garden Coach : Renton, WA

Andrew Keys : Garden Smackdown : Boston, MA

Rochelle Greayer : Studio G : Boston, MA

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) blooms beside a dry creek.

A disappearing fountain is tucked beneath a wax myrtle near the dining area.

And a blue agave in a hot-orange pot makes a pretty focal point near the tiny back porch. This is definitely a garden that relies on foliage rather than flowers to create year-round interest, which segues me right into Foliage Follow-Up, a celebration of foliage on the 16th of every month (following the flowers of Bloom Day).

Ornamental native trees like Southern wax myrtle and Texas redbud provide leafy screening of the neighbors and softening of the fence line, and they create a cozy nook for a firepit surrounded by comfy seating, giving the garden another entertaining area.

Wax myrtle and cenizo, another nice foliage combination

Redbud and wax myrtle, fronted by flowering perennials and a potted agave. The flagstone path leads you over a dry stream and back around to the front yard.

We ran into Jenn Butel, who blogs at Rebar and Roses. (What? Not updated in 2 years! Have you quit blogging, Jenn?)

Jenn kindly took a photo of our touring group: David Cristiani of The Desert Edge, Daphne Richards, Catherine Jones of The Whimsical Gardener, Renee Studebaker of Renee’s Roots, yours truly, and Jenny Stocker of Rock Rose.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my recap of the tour. I skipped one garden that I’d previously seen on tour—more of a wildscape than a garden—at Jester Wild Drive. For a look back at the colorful, waterwise Zadock Woods Garden, click here.

And for my fellow foliage lovers, please join me in posting about your lovely leaves of May for Foliage Follow-Up, a way to remind ourselves of the importance of foliage in the garden. Leave your link to your Foliage Follow-Up post in a comment. I really appreciate it if you’ll also include a link to this post in your own post (sharing link love!). If you can’t post so soon after Bloom Day, no worries. Just leave your link when you get to it.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Let’s start out front, where I took a lot of tight shots to avoid the hordes of people studying this garden and to focus in on the sun-loving, flowering perennials, grasses, and woody lilies. Here we have red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) with bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa), copper canyon daisy (Tagetes lemmonii), Autumn sage (Salvia greggii), and ‘Redshift’ coreopsis. The boulders are retaining the bermed-up bed, which is planted along the sidewalk (with a reduced lawn on the inside), and crushed Marble Falls granite is used as mulch, giving the plants excellent drainage.

Agave weberi and Australian native shoestring acacia (Acacia stenophylla) preside over flowering Autumn sage (Salvia greggii), four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa), and Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha).

Beautiful red yucca in full bloom

Closeup of red yucca blossom and seedpods

Purple Autumn sage and four-nerve daisy love the reflected heat.

Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) and batface cuphea (Cuphea llavea)

‘Redshift’ coreopsis

Yucca rostrata and four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa)

Mortared stone defines the reduced zoysia lawn, which opens up inside the streetside beds.

You can see how the bermed streetside garden provides a sense of enclosure and screening for the front of the house.

Along the driveway, in that difficult, narrow strip of dirt so many of us have, bamboo muhly grass (Muhlenbergia dumosa) takes it in stride, offering billowing, chartreuse foliage. I’d say the owner has kept the bamboo muhly pruned because it has a compact shape you don’t normally see. I think it looks great either way. Four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa) peeks out at the muhly’s feet.

Entering the back garden, you get a long view of the main bed along the red cedar fence.

Here’s a wider view. This is a skinny, narrow back yard, but there’s still room for a small lawn, generous perimeter beds, and an arbored patio. Notice how the designer bowed out the bed to avoid a narrow, stick-straight bed along the fence; he also refrained from a fussy, too-wiggly line.

That line curves around the corner, softening it, and swoops back to the patio. A Monterrey oak, also known as Mexican white oak, stands in the lawn and will one day shade this side of the garden.

The attractive patio is paved with Llano Texas sandstone. A pergola provides much-needed shade.

Another view

The pergola is constructed of eastern red cedar…

…and supports a hanging collection of cactus and succulents…

…as well as this metal bat.

The owner has a collection of metal garden art, in fact, like this daisy…

…prickly pear…

…and tribal person with a bird on his arm. There was also a giraffe and a roadrunner, fun accents for the garden.

Silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea) cascades over the edge of a built-in planter along the back of the house, and is studded with echeveria.

Heading back to the car, I admired the hellstrip bed along the outside of the fence, a neglected space in many people’s yards. This sunny, hot, hard-to-water space supports some tough, xeric plants like cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens), ‘Will Fleming’ yaupon holly, Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima), four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa), and yellow bird of paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii).

Up next: The Brecourt Manor Garden. For a look back at the art-displaying Ridgecrest Garden, click here.

And since tomorrow is Foliage Follow-Up, I’ll be pointing out lovely leaves in my last Gardens on Tour post tomorrow. I hope you’ll join me in posting about your favorite foliage for May.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The garden was only just planted in March (!), so it hasn’t filled out yet. Over time these bermed beds will be a mass of color and grassy movement.

The owner has an affinity for interesting, large rocks, like this hollowed-out geode, which is planted up with succulents and feathergrass. I’d have used a stone mulch in there, rather than wood.

These wooden orbs make interesting garden ornaments.

Rudbeckia

In back, an elevated pool and deck overlook a canyon and the Austin antenna farm.

This is very nicely done and where I would live all spring, summer, and fall if it were my house. Not much here in the way of a garden though.

Most of the remainder of the back yard is a large lawn, presumably a play space for children, plus a shady spot beneath a tree that shelters a trampoline and a hammock. This pieced stone path leads to a small herb garden.

Back out front, I admired this planter with orange calla lilies.

And this one with agapanthus, violas (still blooming!), and a tiny loropetalum. Otherwise, the planting selection didn’t really grab me, but it was overall quite a lovely property and fun to see, especially with that Stonehenge-like sculpture in the front yard.

Up next: The Zadock Woods Garden. For a look back at the shady Shadow Mountain Garden, click here.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

I toured with a group of garden-blogging friends, and we started at 6309 Shadow Mountain Drive, a Northwest Hills garden that was redesigned in 2007 by Cathy Nordstrom of Sans Souci Gardens. At the entry, a lovely pieced-stone walk leads through shade-tolerant bicolor iris (Dietes bicolor), dwarf yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria ‘Nana’), Berkeley sedge (Carex divulsa), and Texas sedge (Carex texana) to the front door.

From the street, a ribbon of grass along the curb keeps a manicured look for the neighbors, while a berm of deer-resistant perennials, shrubs, and understory trees offers screening for interior spaces.

Peeking past rosemary, lantana, yucca, and muhly grass, you glimpse a pocket lawn with an inviting bench at one end. The flagstone path on the right…

…leads around to the side garden, a shady oasis from the Texas sun which has been made into more than just a pass-through with a slightly curving path, pretty groundcovering plants, the retention of a focal-point juniper tree with a beautifully twisted trunk, and a wooden arbor announcing the transition to the back garden.

Our group was already having a great time, as any plant lovers do when set loose in a garden together. Here’s David Cristiani of The Desert Edge, who drove all the way from Albuquerque to see Austin’s native gardens and visit with fellow plant nerds; Renee Studebaker of Renee’s Roots, who specializes in edible gardens and wears great shoes; Daphne Richards, our local extension agent who appears each week on “Central Texas Gardener,” sometimes with her dachshund Augie; Jenny Stocker of Rock Rose, whose gorgeous garden recently appeared in Southern Living; and Catherine Jones, whose beautiful, contemplative nature photos can be seen at The Whimsical Gardener.

In the back yard, a narrow, xeric garden backs a swimming pool and gazebo.

Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) was in bloom.

So was ‘Wendy’s Wish’ salvia, an Australian cultivar that I’m trying in my own garden this year.

I liked this tidy, reasonably scaled pizza oven and outdoor-kitchen counter.

Coming around the other side-garden path we spotted Linda Lehmusvirta, producer of “Central Texas Gardener” and blogger at Central Texas Gardener Blog. This side garden shows what you can do with a narrow, shady space: curve your path in an arc (don’t give in to squiggles), plant a mix of evergreens and shade-tolerant flowering plants with a narrow profile, and open up the space to views and breezes with a see-through, wrought-iron fence or gate.

We nearly had this garden to ourselves, thanks to our opening-time arrival, and we talked and shot photos to our hearts’ content.

Up next: An art-collector’s Indonesia-meets-Texas garden at Ridgecrest Drive

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The gardens surround a new contemporary house on a half-acre property in North Dallas. The landscape was installed between spring and fall of 2010. The owner is a master gardener who likes to focus on native and water-wise plants to create a habitat that invites nature—birds and butterflies—into the garden. Zoysia lawn areas, stone walkways, and terracing make pathways to antique roses and bunch grasses.

The garden hasn’t filled in yet, but you can see that it will one day be a billowing, blooming garden with accents of ornamental grasses and tough, xeric plants. Interestingly, the owners didn’t go for a retrained, modernist garden of massed plants to complement their contemporary home, but chose instead a naturalistic mix of natives and old roses and other drought-tolerant plants.

Hardly any lawn exists out front on the large, sloping corner lot except near the house, where broad grass paths lead through the garden. The slope is tamed with a dry stream (not visible here) and an extensive planting of deep-rooted ornamental grasses, silvery artemisia, and small native trees like this desert willow.

Another view

A gigantic, steel coneflower sculpture greets you as you stroll around the house toward the back yard. That’s an Arizona cypress beside it.

You can find living coneflower in the garden too.

In back, a burgundy Japanese maple stands out against the steel siding of the house.

The back garden is quieter and more dominated by a swath of lawn along the house. But what really stands out is this gleaming, shady porch with ceiling fans twirling.

Another view

Stone steps lead down to this sunken garden, sheltered by a wooden arbor, between the garage and the main house.

Attractive natural textures where the arbor meets the stone siding of the house

Past the back porch, a multi-walled trellis-screen makes a unique room divider that screens from view a rainwater collection system and vegetable garden. It may also serve to provide privacy to the back yard from cars passing by on the road out front.

Another view of the trellis screen

Additionally, a stone wall screens the large rainwater cistern and steel-edged vegetable beds from view of the street.

I like this visually lightweight aluminum fence and gate. The grass path leads through the corner garden and back around to the front of the house.

Native coral honeysuckle vine clambers up the fence, glowing beautifully in the warm afternoon sunshine.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my posts about the Dallas Open Days tour. As for the other two gardens on the tour, I skipped the butterfly farm due to lack of time, and the Merritt/Kleinmann landscape (I won’t call it a garden) surrounding a 1958 modernist house just didn’t resonate with me. For a look back at the garden rooms of the Middleton Farm garden, click here.

If you’re looking forward to more tours, I’ll have some soon. Today I’m seeing the Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour 2012. More gardens!

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

A suburban oasis loosely composed as three distinct aspects. A casual, manicured space of green lawn, bamboo enclosure, and trickling water that emanates from a small koi pond comprise the first garden. A lush and rampant garden of flowering trees and enclosing evergreens gives privacy and a natural expression to the pool and outside dining patios and a respite from the unrelenting summer sun. The third garden is business, comprised of irrigated raised beds filled with vegetables and culinary herbs with a backdrop of peach trees.

I didn’t start with the lawn, bamboo, and koi pond mentioned above. Instead I headed around back, through this parking court with a modernist assortment of concrete walls…

…past this perforated wall festooned with ivy…

…and into the back garden, where a patio shaded by a grape arbor offers protection from the summer sun.

A built-in pizza oven promises tasty meals on the patio.

Just off the patio, a swimming pool beckons. I like the narrow decking lined with herbs and other plants, and the way the rest of the yard is screened from view, creating an intimate pool area and making you want to explore the rest of the garden.

New growth on a hedge of nandina echoes the orange-cushioned chaises.

Behind the pool area and a shed was this surprising sight: chickens! Is Dallas turning into Austin?

Stroll past that nandina hedge by the pool, with another grape arbor espaliered above it…

…and you enter a sunny, welcoming vegetable garden with etched-concrete raised beds.

Dill

Partitioned from the vegetable garden by a perennial bed, this shady oasis opens up on the other side of the garden.

Looks like a peaceful place to relax with a good book.

A stand of black bamboo screens the side yard and part of the front yard from the view of neighbors, sheltering a small koi pond and seating area.

Koi

A rock sculpture complements a bamboo, elephant ear, and liriope combo perfectly.

Homemade sculpture: cow skull and deer antlers

I really enjoyed the division of space in this garden, creating various garden rooms for entertaining, growing food (and munching on it?), and relaxing.

Coming up next: The native-plant Passmore Garden. For a look back at the palm collector’s garden of Matthew Nichols, click here.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Matthew Nichols’ tropical, urban garden belies its location in the West Dallas area of Oakcliff. Most of the garden resides in raised beds as the native soil is alkaline and shallow. The design of the eight year old garden is informal, yet lush in textures. Most of the collection focuses on: cold hardy palms, cold hardy citrus, hardy subtropicals, xeric natives, cycads, bamboo, broadleaf evergreens, antique and Earth-Kind® roses. There are many citrus varieties growing on multi-grafted trees. Many plants are being tested to find the best low maintenance, hardy varieties for North Texas where blazing summers, drought and winter temperatures into the teens are common.

Matthew is really into palms, which I wish I knew more about as they have an architectural presence in the garden, and many varieties are drought-tolerant. His front garden is a riot of serrated fronds.

I like this elegant combo of ‘Macho Mocha’ mangave and persicaria, which has a nice color echo and contrasting shapes.

And this one: purple coneflower, heartleaf skullcap, burgundy canna, and pink agastache.

On the front stoop, I admired this pretty begonia in flower.

There are plenty of attention-grabbing plants in the front garden, like this columnar cactus…

…and this beautiful blue palm…

…and the statuesque palm tree by the front door.

Moving around to the back garden, I saw that Matthew had acquired the next-door neighbor’s lot and was planting up the space between their two houses. Ah, room to expand!

In back, a small swimming pool was nearly obscured by spiky foliage, leaving only a sort of tunnel for slipping into the pool. Yes, this is a true plant-lover’s garden. A potted palm shows to advantage against a blue wall.

Mystery plant. I met Matthew here, and he told me this is a relative of the hollyhock, although he doesn’t know the name. He grows it, naturally, for its striking leaves, not its insignificant flowers. Update: This is Macleaya cordata, or plume poppy.

Squid agave (Agave bracteosa)

Matthew’s garden was fun to explore, jam-packed as it was with interesting, tropical-esque plants. It was a good start to an eclectic tour.

Coming up: The Middleton Farm garden with distinct garden rooms for playing, eating, and relaxing.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.