Views and Vistas California Style

As I mentioned in the previous posts about my experience in California, I felt like I was gawking at everything that came into view.  I was in awe.  Some of the views were small, courtyards or hillsides, others were as far as the eye could see.
The first garden is Matt Gill's garden, filled with fantastic sculptures that he made in his workshop on the lower level of this property.

 The backyard backs up to a highway overpass.  The hillside is filled with amazing plants, holding the soil and rock in place.

For those who wondered about the dog bone in the last post, here is another view, along with the highway high above the garden.   I love the bone, suspended on a support, in homage to his pet.

From the Gill garden we went back into town, to the Organic Mechanic garden.  It is a small courtyard garden in the middle of a few apartment buildings.  We went down a pathway.....

Through a portal....

And into bold plants with bold colors.  This garden was filled to the brim with plants and interesting hardscapes.  A tiny vista that takes you far away from the city ----

Large plants created rooms within the courtyard. Small views with a grand feeling.

That afternoon we were taken across the water to the Wave Garden.  As we walked down the street from where the buses dropped us off I marveled at the gardens.  

The Wave Garden was so full of color and sculpture and killer views.  

The Conservancy of Flowers in the San Francisco Botanical Garden was amazing on the inside, but also lent itself to beautiful sunset vistas, glowing in the last rays of the day.

The next morning we had views and vistas to think about as Saxon Holt lead a workshop on 'Filling the Frame' in the Botanical Garden.  There were some wonderful long views through the gardens and beyond.

Many of you know me for all the tree posts over the years I have done.  I love seeing tall trees with all their scaffolding -- another great view. 

Our workshop instruction was to fill the frame and tell a story.....lead the viewer to want more.  This curved pathway beckoned one to come further into the garden. 

There were some long views, all the way to the telecom tower on one of the far off hills.  

Sunset gardens had more of these grand trees...doesn't this view make you want to climb up into its branches?  

On the other side of the building from where we had a short presentation on some new plant varieties was an expansive bed of grasses, hiding a covered patio in the shade.

 Filoli, the country estate we visited, was out in Woodside, CA.  The estate was built in the early 1900's and its name comes from the owner, Mr. William Bowers Bourn's favorite credo- "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life".  Money came from gold mining and Spring Valley Water, the estate is on the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake.   It certainly had the long views.

In some respects it reminded me of the Biltmore with grand gardens.  I chose not to go into the house and fill my time in the gardens.  Some of the Fling attendees did go inside and have posted about it.  You can find the link to more posts here.

Rebecca Sweet's garden had some quiet spaces, this one in the front yard.  Love the view into the cool green shade.

After you go through the gate to get into her backyard, you are welcomed with the bold color of a Bougainvillea and lush beds leading you to the back of the garden and her workshop.

Small courtyards in the front yard of the next garden lent themselves for some smaller vistas. Testa-Vought Gardens were a welcome spot on this hot day.

Their views from the covered patio were of a bocce ball court and an inviting swimming pool.  Just looking at the water made me feel cooler...or was it some watermelon served by the homeowners?  Wonderful!

The next morning was incredibly hot, seemed fitting as we were in Ruth Bancroft's Garden of desert plant material and sculptures.   Cactus with a backdrop of flowering shrubs and bold colored artwork made for some lively views.

One of the docents wanted to make sure we had this view...he called it Longhorn Cattle Cactus.  Not sure of the correct name but the 'horns' were shaped like a TX longhorn.

We lunched at our next stop, Dudan's gardens.  I felt as though we were on top of the world.  We ate under the shade of a grand tree on a stone wall.  What an inviting setting.

Views as far as the eye could see.  

The house and garden were on the top of a knoll, or a mountain, or a hill, not sure what to call it, but the views were 360 degrees.  Literally on top of the world.

Under the tree was a small pond, inviting dragonflies and hummingbirds to swoop and dart around us.

How would you like this to be your view out your kitchen window?  Ok, minus the Garden Bloggers.  The Nichols garden wasn't large but again, one packed full of color and interesting plant material...and views.

Their home is on a sloped lot and every inch was planted.  So many of the plants were so large, yet they seemed to be perfect for the space they inhabited.

The garden of Keeyla Meadows was filled with interesting views, usually with one of her pieces of artwork as the focal point.  The day was so bright, photographing it well was hard.

Views, vistas, focal points-- a vital part of these gorgeous gardens.  Views framed by plant material or focal points with sculptures were great lessons in design and significantly added to my experience in San Francisco.  Stay tuned for the final posting on bold color!!

©Copyright 2013 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Hardscapes and Bizarre-scapes

Summer has settled down a little and it is time to get back to sharing my experiences while in San Francisco.  As I weeded through my 1,000 + photos, I tried to figure out how to go about posting this fabulous trip.  I felt as though I was in another land, another world almost. Some gardens were bold and bright with vivid colors, some were blues and grays foliage and dry conditions.  Some had small vistas, others were views as far as one could see.  Many of the gardens had sculpture and other hardscapes in their design.   So, the San Francisco Fling will be broken into three posts-- this one- sculptures and unusual plant material, the next one will be views and vistas, then finally all the bold colors. These are a little photo heavy, sorry if it takes a while to load.   So let us explore SF---

The bus I was on first stopped at Matt Gill's garden.  Matt Gill's Sculpture Garden.  First garden, first experience in the unusual...both plants and great sculptures caught my eye.

This garden was planted on the hillside under an overpass of the freeway.  Limited only in the space...this gardener was really thinking outside the box.  Some of the plant material was what I have as a houseplant....only 100 times the size!

I have the one below in a small pot......this one towered over my head.

This pretty little blue seed pod was planted in a lot of the gardens.  Dianella caerulea, don't you love it?  There is a variety named 'Becca' - perfect for my family garden. 

The next garden we went to was the Organic Mechanic's garden.  A courtyard in the center of tall apartment buildings....with some great planters and hardscapes.  Isn't this tire a great planter?

Many of the bloggers in my group were taking a lot of pictures of this pathway.  It is all repurposed brickwork, manhole covers, tiles and various other great finds. 

When we got to Annie's Annuals nursery I was tickled to so many pieces of garden art.  Large and small pieces, something for every garden!  Moooooo baby!

Sculptures and unusual plant material awaited us at the Wave Garden.  It was at this point I knew, I was not in my element.  I love the plants, I love the gardens, I love the hardscapes, but I had no idea what all I was looking at.   Isn't this stunning?  Here we have one of the many Mysterious California plants.  I will just embrace them for their beauty.

The bold color of succulents were at every turn.

Glorious sculptures accented spots in the garden.

The Conservatory of Flowers in the Botanical Garden had some incredible plant material.  I have seen some carnivorous plants, but never ones this large nor ones with fangs.

This fly has made a mistake hanging out here!   These carnivorous plants are in the tropical pitcher plant category-  Nepenthes.

The flooring in the Conservatory is not to be missed.   Love the whorled arrangement of the petioles.  Mysterious California plant.

Tree bark far different from what we see in the South.   This grand specimen was in the gardens at Filoli.  It is a Hinoki False Cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa, there was a tag so not a Mysterious California plant.  Hinoki False Cypress in my world is about four feet tall and bark/trunk is unseen unless you crawl into the foliage.

Even in Rebecca Sweet's lovely garden there was plant material unfamiliar and unusual.   Rebecca told me the name of this one......in one ear and out the other.  She thinks it could grow in my zone.  Hmmm..... sure is attractive.   Love the berry pink berries.  Anyone know this one?

Ok, this is a lemon tree...but it is planted in the garden!  Outside, not in a container, doesn't have to be dragged into the greenhouse or garage or house to overwinter.  How cool is that?

The most otherworldly place we visited was Ruth Bancroft Garden.  The sculptures were all over the garden, most for sale as a fund raiser.  Walk with me through the desert landscape in the 100+ degree heat as we see many many Mysterious California plants and some cool sculptures.

 To my untrained eye, the photo above has what looks like Tillandsia or Air Plants....but enormous.  Cactus and palms, aloes and other dry climate plants fill the landscape.

 Then there are the sculptures.... winged dinosaur-like creatures.

And bold colorful large shaped sculptures.

Agaves large enough to hide a small car.  These are quite mature plants.

One of the docents said some were over a hundred years old. 

My dad was a baseball fan, thought he would appreciate this one.

There were three different kinds of Eucalyptus trees in this area of the garden, this one is Ghost Gum Tree in front of a Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis.

I enjoyed walking through this garden, appreciating the plantings with their form, size, shape, color and how the light played on each.

After the desert the garden at the Dudan home was peaceful and awesome at the same time.
I love this little setting with a water feature.

Later we arrived at the Nichols garden.  So many great plants, but so huge!!  I love the begonias...never have seen ones this big. 

Next was the garden of Keeyla Meadows.  Artwork was at every turn.  This garden was on a tiny lot but packed full of artwork and colorful plants.   

Love the arched entrance to the backyard.  You can see Keeyla at the entrance.  

I think one of my favorite sculptures in her garden was the Brugmansia flowers next to the living example.

Keeyla had sculptures in every nook -- love her use of color.

Our last stop for the Fling was Flora Grubb Gardens.  If I lived in SF I would be at Flora Grubb and Annie's Annuals at every opportunity.  Wall-hanging succulent planters were quite appealing.  Can't you see your favorite succulents plugged into these letters and hung on your outdoor wall?

Stay tuned for more of San Francisco through my eyes.

©Copyright 2013 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.