More magic at East Side Patch garden
When the Germinatrix came to visit her Austin Twitter and blogging pals last Wednesday, we capped off a day of garden visits with a happy hour at the East Side Patch, Philip and Leah’s magical garden in east Austin, which, by the way, will be open to the public on October 16 for the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days tour.
Philip’s house is newly painted to match the tapestry of foliage in the Patch, particularly the tawny yellow of Mexican feathergrass, which lines his decomposed-granite pathways, and the deep burgundy of cannas, purple heart, and evergreen wisteria (see below).
Goldfish in the stock-tank pond are tame pets, nosing up to look for a hand-out.
Jewel-like water lilies fan their petals out of the water too.
The Patch is all about light—dark vs. light foliage and light shining through foliage. Here burgundy cannas play off white-striped variegated miscanthus grass, and the feather-shaped leaves of sago palms glow in the rays of late afternoon.
I’d never seen an evergreen wisteria vine (Millettia reticulata) before. Philip has several, and this one, draped along the top of his oversized bench, was in bloom. We all leaned in for a sniff and debated what it reminded us of, eventually concluding “grandma’s house.” Yes, it had a faint aroma of mothballs, but not in an unpleasant, heavy way. It was more like a blanket on your bed that had been stored for years in a closet with some mothballs, and you’d just been tucked in by your grandma. Anyway, I liked it.
More leafy texture in the Patch
Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) leaves
A gazing ball in the succulent bed, with verbena, I think, blooming behind.
And the reason for this delightful gathering: The Germinatrix, also known as Ivette Soler, pictured here adjusting a necklace gift for one of the hobbits, as Philip calls them. Ivette has a way with kids, let me tell you. She arrived bearing gifts of bouncy balls and plastic bugs and jewelry and was an instant hit.
She was a big hit with her adult fans too. Come again soon, Germi!
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Wonderful pics and post, Pam! I tried to get a good shot of the wisteria, too–yours is much better!!
I tried to get a shot of Rock Rose Jenny sniffing a blossom, but sadly it was blurry. It was funny to see everyone sniffing and trying to identify the fragrance. —Pam
What a fun garden and delightful garden Leah and Phillip have made. You know I love these tours and find the color, texture and creativity of the gardeners very inspiring. Thank you for sharing! gail
My pleasure, Gail. —Pam
Pam, you have a wonderful gift of capturing gardens through your lens! I always enjoy seeing the gardens you visit in addition to your own. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Sheila! —Pam
This garden is luscious. What a delightful visit you had with your friends. I am glad I got to tag along.
I’m glad you did too, Lisa. —Pam
It’s all gorgeous… but I particularly like the evergreen wisteria (if “regular” wisteria came in that color, I’d be all over it!) and the way the gazing ball is tucked into that piece of wood. I keep looking at the gazing ball, loving how the wood curves around in the reflection and wondering if it’s as precarious as it looks.
Philip has it balanced pretty well on that wood. It’s an interesting detail among many in his garden, Kim. —Pam
You get to hang out with the coolest people in the coolest gardens. I have enjoyed this series of posts.
Thanks, Les. I do feel lucky to know so many cool gardening people here in Austin—and elsewhere! —Pam
Hi Pam.
Thanks for your post about the Patch (I was wondering why I was getting so much Digging traffic!) It was fascinating to see the ESPatch through your eyes and camera, and you took so many good shots. The “grandma’s house” analogy has changed my perception of the aroma of the evergreen wisteria forever! Very funny!…I like it too, not that I go around sniffing grandma houses you understand.
The now tan color of the feather-grasses DOES match the house color, you have a keen eye!
We had such a fun day with fun guests!
It was great to finally get to meet and chat with Germi.
Thanks Pam,
ESP.
A party in the Patch is the perfect way to close a day of garden visits with friends, so thanks again, ESP. It was a lovely day. —Pam
The “Germinatrix”? What does she do? Dress in spiked heels and force microbes to obey?
You guessed it, Grumpy! —Pam
Oh man, I just realized who she is! She changed the way I thought about gardens completely (if she’s the one I’m thinking about). Back when everyone was doing the cutsey cottage gardens, I stumbled across some pictures of her first professional garden design, and it just blew my mind, with all it’s great sculptural plants, interesting foliage, and succulents that I’d never seen before. Now that image is always in the back of my head, whilst I’m shopping for plants. Wasn’t she in a club of renegade gardeners or something?
Yes, you’re thinking of the right person, Becky. And yes, she used to be in a group of gardeners who called themselves renegade something or other. I saw her garden in a magazine years and years ago and was blown away by the colorful succulents and sculptural beauty of it all. I saved that clipping and still have it today. I told her about it over lunch, and how astonished I was to be having lunch with her years after admiring her garden in a magazine. —Pam
Thanks for taking us on all these tours! What great gardens and it looks like you all were having a great time as well.
We sure did, Linda. It’s hard to have a bad time when you get a bunch of passionate gardeners together, as you know from Spring Fling Chicago, right? —Pam