In the garden of good and evil, it's all good
Anticipating the peak bloom of her roses, Lori of The Gardener of Good and Evil invited the Austin garden bloggers to a happy hour visit yesterday. Overcast, almost misty conditions enhanced the romance of her garden, which is billowy and pillowy with roses, flowering vines, and feathery but tough-as-nails complementary plants like ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia and bamboo muhly grass (tawny from the cold snap but recovering).
Lori is fond of pink roses in all shades, although white and red roses find homes here too. Mounds of silver artemisia and burgundy-leaved loropetalum help bridge the movement between cool- and hot-colored roses.
Scent is surely a driving factor for Lori’s choices because every rose I leaned into smelled heavenly.
Tucked into beds like any other plant, not segregated in lonely rose beds, Lori’s roses are part of the tapestry of her garden.
At this time of year, the roses really shine. But when they fade off in summer or winter, various evergreen plants like salvia, artemisia, and rosemary are there to take over and hide any bare leggyness the roses may show.
The view as you enter Lori’s back garden
I was not good about recording the names of her roses. I just walked around and inhaled.
Lori has a number of well-placed cobalt blue focal points that give the eye something to settle on amid all that billowy foliage.
I love the juxtaposition of soft and spiky. The addition of an architectural silvery blue agave gives added dimension to this vignette, and its color is set off by the burgundy leaves behind it.
Mmmm
Closer to her house, Lori introduces hot yellows and orange. In this unique foundation planting, agave and Bulbine frutescens mingle with abandon. Under the eaves of the house, the agave finds dry conditions quite to its liking, I expect.
Lori’s bulbine is already in full bloom (mine is still recovering from winter’s cold snap). I believe that’s ice plant below.
Another view of the bulbine. The yellow and orange varieties are intermingled.
In the front garden, lawnless except for a strip along the curb, a mulched sitting area and diminutive white Adirondacks, backed by a long stock-tank planter, anchor the space. A large rosebush (‘Mutabilis’ I believe) shields the sitting area on the right.
Other raised beds in Lori’s sunny front-yard garden contain edibles, like this brilliantly colored chard.
Lori, thank you for sharing your beautiful, romantic garden with us yesterday. It was a piece of heaven on a pleasant spring evening. The “gardener of good and evil” has done good!
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
It was beautiful – so glad you had your camera to capture it so we can all relive it. I had a great time visiting with everyone, too. Scent is the reason I picked my few roses, too. There’s nothing like inhaling that beautiful perfume, is there?
The fragrance in her garden was unbeatable, Diana. I tend to go for fragrant foliage (salvia, artemisia, rosemary) more often than fragrant flowers, but I must rethink that. —Pam
Pam, the air was filled with fragrance, wasn’t it? I think the misty day really helped the experience, making us feel enclosed in our own private paradise of roses, scents, and blooms. Thanks for being the historian! Gorgeous photos, as always.
Thanks, Robin. I found Lori’s garden easy to photograph thanks to her artfully placed focal points. They helped me frame interesting views and set off the roses nicely. —Pam
What a stunning garden! I’ve never seen roses integrated so beautifully as done in your friend’s garden.
That artemisia is used so well. Does artemisia hold up down there? I’ve not grown it because we have such humidity that turns silver foliage black by August. I have to keep my achillea cut back after the first bloom.
‘Powis Castle’ artemisia holds up beautifully here, Cameron, and we have terribly humid summers too. Maybe the key is good drainage? Whenever it gets leggy, I just whack it back, and then it benefits from a full cut-back in mid-February before spring growth starts. —Pam
Pam, I so very much appreciate the Austin gardens you show us! The artemisia is fantastic at the base of the roses…the blue gray coloring works perfectly with the pink blossoms, the agaves and the cobalt pots! More gardens please! gail
I shall endeavor to deliver, Gail! There’s a tour coming up on Mother’s Day… —Pam
Quite lovely! Obviously she either doesn’t have resident deer or has them fenced out of the “salad bar.” Austin is way ahead of Sacramento this spring. I’m beginning to turn green with envy… or is it moss & mold? Enough with the rain already! LOL
Her back yard is fenced, but I think she doesn’t have to worry about deer anyway since she has roses in her front garden.
But what’s this? A California gardener is envying someone else’s weather? The world must be turned upside down. 😉 Austin’s spring has actually been slow this year, but it’s a bumper crop thanks to the El Nino rains over the winter. Hope you dry out soon. —Pam
A beautiful garden. That bulbine is amazing. Mine didn’t make it through winter. The new that I planted, is still getting it’s feet set.
And, the Powis Castle nestled up against the roses, is striking. It’s one of my favorites, for it’s softness.
Great photos, as usual.
Exquisite! Those blush coloured roses are spectacular. And I want that blue bird bath! 🙂
That is a beautiful garden! I can just smell the roses. You did a great job capturing its essence.
What a wonderful treat to be able to explore this beautiful garden. I think she has the right idea of only growing roses that are fragrant. I can only imagine how wonderful her garden smelled.
The agaves were sensational, perfect for setting off the fine leaved neighbors. Wish we could have them here (outside, I mean).
Christine in Alaska
How wonderful! I really wish we had a larger community of gardeners and blogger here.
A beautiful garden…it makes me miss our old rose garden. I can almost smell them from here.
Thank you for sharing Lori’s lovely garden with us. This made a very nice break in my busy gardening day.
Uhm….I can really appreciate a rose lover who also includes a few agaves and a stock tank!
Agaves and old roses make wonderful companions here in Austin. And Lori had at least two, maybe three, stock-tank planters. A woman after my own heart. —Pam
Amen Sister, this is a beautiful garden. Thank YOU for sharing with us. Your camera captured the feeling perfectly. I can almost smell those roses.
You captured some of the highlights of Lori’s garden beautifully but no photograph can capture the scent. Every rose has such individual characteristics. They are each stunners but the also work really well together. I’m glad that she and I share the same taste in roses and that she wants to rip out that jarring Knock Out rose from amidst her the delicate pinks and deep pinks of her antique roses. Lori is really creative with using vertical spaces too. It’s amazing how much she packed into her small standard back yard and yet it didn’t feel at all crowded. It felt exuberant.
A beautiful garden with heady aroma and those blue pots on which to rest the eyes. Thanks for the view.
Count me as another person who is glad you had your camera along, Pam! What Lori has done in just a few years is astounding… all those roses and silvers, so lovely – some elegant Rose named Duchesse or Countesse lounging its scented way up a tree trunk, blue pots everywhere and vines softening the tops of the surrounding privacy fence…I’ve never seen the white solanum used so well in any garden.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
What a beautiful garden. I love her roses. They look so full, healthy and romantic.
What a beautiful garden Lori has – it’s a dream garden. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Ya’ll are weeks ahead of us in rose bloom. Beautiful garden. Fantastic photos!
What a romantic garden! Thanks for sharing.
Super beautiful garden. I’m sorry I missed it. Thanks for taking us along!
Really lovely. The masses of bulbine and agave along the foundation are very inspiring. I also like the repetition of blue pottery that calls to mind memories of another Austin garden.