Gardens on Tour 2012: Ridgecrest Garden
The second garden on this year’s Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour, in the high-dollar Westlake neighborhood, was the exception to the smaller suburban gardens that dominated the tour. Although the garden beds (designed by Lann Sawyer of Lannscape) at 1400 Ridgecrest Drive would scale well to a typical lot and budget, they are studded with a collection of oversized stones and other large-scale art, like these stone pillars. The bermed beds themselves are planted simply with coneflowers, feathergrass, silver ponyfoot, iris, and the like, creating a frame for the homeowner’s outdoor-art collection. (The owner is Brett Hatton, owner of Four Hands, an imported home furnishings wholesaler.)
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.
That’s quite a pool area! Interesting rocks and orbs.
Wow that pool/deck space really needs some softening up with containers full of plants! (did you leave your business card on the table?)
Ha! No, in fact we met the designer—a very nice guy who told us this garden is only 2 months old. Can you believe it?! I am sure they are still in the process of planting up some areas and finishing others with pretty containers. The owner had two pieces of outdoor sculpture still half-wrapped in packaging material on his front porch, awaiting placement in the garden. —Pam
Love the monoliths!
(hope he drilled the bottom of that geode!)
Pam, you’ve done an amazing job photographing big views of these tour houses. Either there weren’t many attendees, or you waited patiently for these clear shots. It’s been a mob scene on tours I’ve attended so far. Beautiful stone work on the house and around the pool.
Denise, we got to the first two gardens pretty early, so traffic was still light. Plus the pool deck of this garden was closed to visitors, so I could get good shots with no one in them! —Pam
I love all the stone. I have never seen a geode as large as this one. Wow, everything is larger in Texas. Like you I would put some stone as mulch there. Like it was the inside of the geode. Now those wooden orbs are something I might try. They wouldn’t come out as large (Texas ya know) but I could play with the chain saw a little maybe. Great decor in this garden. Maybe it will develop into something reallllly interesting when the kids grow out of the lawn games.
Lisa, I believe the designer said the rocks were imported from overseas, so even though they’re Texas-sized, they are not native. Do you sculpt with a chainsaw?? —Pam
Mmmm…all those stones & boulders speak to me. Instant gratification while waiting for the garden to fill in.
I expect a geode to be lined with amethyst, wouldn’t plant in one. But I guess the Texan geode is amethyst free?
Have just collected seed for ruby grass, growing in our friend’s citrus orchard. Now I think of adding some plants to the Karoo Koppie, feathering among the aloes. Hmmm …
EE, the rock-art installations are imported from overseas, if I remember correctly. Hmm, maybe the homeowner could mulch those succulents with purple crushed glass. —Pam
Gorgeous area. I love to see what can be done in our TX soil and water conditions.
I totally forgot to check out the pool area…would have been nice to add some pots, just a few, with some tall spikiness and spillers. Glad you were there to get all the things I didn’t even “get”.
That sure is a beautiful place! My daughter gave me a deep pinkish calla lily for Mothers’ Day. I’ve never grown one, and will need to keep it in a pot so I can bring it inside for the winter.