Gardens on Tour 2012: Shadow Mountain Garden
Selected to inspire the 99%, not the 1%, this year’s Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour in Austin was a big success. Past years have sometimes leaned too heavily on mansions with fantasy hardscaping and gardens that seemed beyond the reach of the average Joe. But this year the homes were, with one fun and interesting exception, attractive middle-class suburban homes with practical, grass-reducing, liveable gardens to complement them.
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.
What a great photo tour. Thanks for posting that so quickly, it gives me my fix this morning. I do like what they did with the paths and how they offer some glimpses into the next room. Looks like you all had a great day. Can’t wait to see the rest.
Looks like you all had a wonderful time.
We had to miss this year. Grandkids graduating from COLLEGE! Yikes!…
Anyway, this garden does look like one you’d like to live in. A garden more obtainable for the average gardener, than the ones last year.
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the tour.
Oh, I love that they’re focusing on obtainable gardens for the average suburban gardener. Big expensive gardens can be inspiring, but I like to see what other people like me have done. What fun to tour with a group of friends!
Looks like you were all having fun! And wow…an outdoor kitchen that actually looks useful and not just like patio BLING…
I’m looking forward to all of your posts of this tour because I couldn’t go, and I echo Alison’s comment above that I’m very happy the tour focused on gardening that can be undertaken by the average Joe. (I actually wrote the Wildflower Center about this issue 3-4 years ago.)
While expensive landscape designs can be stunning–and yes we can glean ideas from them–these high-end gardens aren’t always motivational for the average person. A nice mix of high-end, average, and budget-wise gardens are what I want to see.
Can’t wait to read your next post. Laura
Really enjoyed a fun day with you great gals. I was so pooped by the time I got home that I sat down and closed my eyes! And it wasn’t even that hot. We were blessed with a gorgeous day and some lovely gardens and one extra special visit! I haven’t even had time to download my photos yet.
Looks like everyone was having great fun! Great fellowship I’m sure.
Great shots of an interesting garden, Pam. I second the comments about gardens for the rest of us. That’s what I tried for when I used to organize the Dallas Open Days tours. My experience is that when most people go to estate gardens, all they can see is the money. Thanks again.
Saturday was an amazing day! The weather was just perfect and right at opening bell of the tour here came this band of camera-toting cuties examining every plant. It was a great way to start the day…the Austin bloggers out in force peeking into a private garden. I guess it’s what you guys live for! It was a treat watching you. I only wish you could have met the owners who were away to attend a family event. He is the grass-master with the re-chargeable electric tools, German push-mower, hand edger. I’ll have you know that a few days before the tour he mowed the grass, AND he edged along the curb by hand! She is in her garden daily keeping tabs on it all; she does the feeding, the trimming, the hand-watering (last summer). My company comes about three times a year to walk through and tweak, and we do the heavy-duty leaf cleanup in the fall, and then in January when that huge Red Oak denudes. Anyway, I wish you could have met the homeowners who just love their garden. Pam, your beautiful photos will give them an idea of what they missed. Thanks so much! Until the next tour! 😉