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growing in grasses 2
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I was just sent two new photos of my project in Italy (mentioned before HERE) now that it is fall. The garden looks fantastic, which is a real testament to the Owners taking such wonderful care of it! That is such an important aspect of any garden's success, and I'm delighted to share these images with you:
I've talked enough about Filoli - so I'll just post the photos from last weekend: 
Something I did not know was that they had a ton of sculptures installed - with price lists in the gift shop, apparently. I like the new additions.
I love catching people in my photos right when they're wondering if they can possibly escape before I click the shutter. Sorry, I was too quick this time, but holy crap - lookit those Hydrangeas!
The Cleome were incredible - again, people in the shot to show just how BIG they are (the Cleome, not the people)!
Love the pond, there are fish in there too - I don't know what kind, but I could sit and watch them for a good while, goofing off in the waterlilies (not sure who would goof off more, the fish or me).
Here I thought I was taking pictures of Magnolias, but these two are so sweet.
...and again, Filoli manages to make even ordinary Pelargoniums look amazing! I bought one at the gift shop, just could not resist, so don't be surprised if you see them in future posts...
as usual, the intense exuberance of the plantings are utterly breathtaking. Vigor and vibrance around every corner.
and of course, a trip to Filoli wouldn't be complete without photos in the Olive Grove. Talk about a sense of place!
I have come to loathe the term "low maintenance". It is essentially meaningless. I am starting to wonder if when a client requests a "low maintenance" design, what they're really saying is that they don't want to do any work themselves, including taking the trouble to find a decent gardener or asking questions.It is imperative for both the client and the designer to discuss exactly what types of gardening activities may occur before doing any design work. Be honest! REALLY! For example, when I got my hair cut last week, I told the stylist that I wash and comb my hair, nothing more. I would not promise to use any appliances or products, and she gave me a cut that works well for my specific needs.
You can see from the above photo (taken on my patio earlier this month) that thanks to my personal distaste for weeding, I have a number of (un-planned) plants just growing together, willy-nilly, doing their thing. I am okay with that, so this is the design solution that my personal garden employs. I'll let nearly anything grow as long as it is healthy and doesn't produce anything painful (thorns, burrs, stingers). This works for me because I live in an apartment and I know that if/when I move, the whole thing will be ripped up - there's not much to be gained by fretting over weeds. Given a different situation, my personal garden might look quite different or it might not.I also grow several roses and a few shrubs - some in containers, some not. I grow dozens of rare bulbs, more than dozens of perennials, and a few orchids, but I don't do much "work". Every year I reliably cut Roses, Freesias, and Sweet Peas for indoor bouquets. I know that rose flowers develop at the very end of a branch and that each cut to remove a flower is, in fact, a pruning cut (and where to take that cut). I also know that my Sweet Peas will bloom nearly forever as long as I keep cutting the flowers off - it is just terrible having an apartment full of sweet pea flowers, just awful...
There are countless ways to design a garden so that it doesn't feel like a ton of unwanted work, and so that taking care of it is at least somewhat enjoyable. Getting it to that point is as good a reason as any to work with a design professional and/or do a bit of research for your own garden design solutions....but please don't call cutting flowers "maintenance", that just takes out all the fun.