Toad-henge sculpture is king of the hill in garden made for entertaining
Steep lots, rocks, lush plantings, and mountain views were a running theme at the Puget Sound Fling last month. The garden of Meagan Foley and Mac Gray fit right in thematically, but it also had us exclaiming wow as we walked around the house and spotted this anything-but-mellow-yellow patio garden. Supersized gunnera leaves, cascading mounds of Japanese forest grass and ferns, splashing waterfalls and fountains, elegant gray boulders terracing the slope and river cobbles tying it all together — plus a huge stone Toad-henge sculpture at the top of the hill to draw the eye. Shazam!
The owners say the sculpture reminds them of an enormous toadstool, and the similarity to Stonehenge is obvious, hence they call it Toad-henge.
Before we climb uphill, let’s admire the splashing fountain and waterfall and sleeping face sculpture of the small pond at the foot of the slope, right next to the patio.
A fire pit table and chairs offer a spot to enjoy the pond and garden. Were these Flingers to turn around and look behind them, they’d be gazing straight out at Tacoma’s Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound.
Climbing uphill toward Toad-henge, I spotted other mushrooms and glass ribbon art along a dark-stained fence.
Orange-capped toadstools pop up alongside ceramic figures (one pill makes you small?).
A wire giraffe was peeking out too.
Toad-henge loomed above, beckoning me on.
Fern texture
Golden and burgundy foliage flow along the boulder-terraced slope.
Getting closer
The terracing required to hold this steep hill is jaw-dropping, but thanks to the lush shade garden planted here, it feels natural.
A stone-and-wire turtle joins the menagerie.
A dry creek of river cobbles and palm-sized glass beads meanders along one section of the hillside, greened up with ferns.
The iridescent beads brighten the shade.
Above a level space about three-quarters of the way up the hill, a terraced garden of golden forest grass, fern, and other shade lovers glows in the shade.
A regimented grove of birch trees makes a ghostly bosque. The trunks are protected from critters with plastic netting. I can’t recall if the culprit was deer or beavers.
Lined and peeling birch bark, part of the tree’s natural beauty
At last, Toad-henge!
The scroll-like upright stones remind me of scholars’ rocks in Chinese gardens.
It is massive!
For a sense of scale, here’s Starla Willis of Dallas Garden Buzz posing beneath it.
Fern and ligularia, I think
And fern with Japanese forest grass
Such beautiful foliage, and rocks
A weeping blue Atlas cedar undulates through the garden.
Farewell, Toad-henge
Along a side path, I found more ferns and other shade plants and stone garden accents.
Back at the patio, the fire pit contains a metal starburst echoed by orange bamboo poles in the gunnera across the pond.
More orange appears in a globe light hanging from a willow tree and in glass beads tucked into a tree-trunk-like sculpture.
I mean, look at this space! It’s beautifully planted and lit and accented.
I spotted Helen Battersby making her way down the terraced stonework.
Smaller rocks have personality too.
The patio in gray and yellow is sized for entertaining, and all 100 of us Flingers fit into this hillside garden easily.
The owners even provided us with cookies iced with the Puget Sound Fling logo!
Happy people all around at this happy hour, including new Flinger Emily Joseph and longtime Flinger Loree Bohl.
These two Texans too — Andrea Fox and me (photo by Helen Battersby)
The garden continues out front. Stairs lead down from the patio and house to a boulder-terraced hillside with another basalt fountain.
A cute little figure in a planter along the stairs
The house is made for enjoying views out over the bay.
But man, the rock-studded garden stole all my attention.
Streetside view
Train tracks run between the street and the bay, and a train was parked here during our visit. It’s all part of the charm of Grit City — Tacoma’s nickname — along with the stupendous sight of Mount Rainier on the horizon.
Up next: A stumpery and bonsai at Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and Pacific Bonsai Museum. For a look back at gardens and the beach at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, click here.
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You capture this garden so well. And you remembered to take photos of the driveway and the view across the railroad trucks. What a great evening that was.
It WAS a great evening. I was so smitten by the garden that I never made time to just sit down in it, which I wish I’d done. But man, there was so much to see!
Same. I grabbed a glass of wine and continued to walk around.
Really wonderful photo essay of this garden. Those stairs defeated me at the end of the day, so I stayed below with my wine. Happy to see what I sadly missed in your photos. Well done.
There was plenty to see even without climbing the stairs to the top, Janet.
This was such an amazing garden. This was an engineering marvel. Wish I had taken more photos of the Birch trees, they really stood out up on the Toad henge level.
That grove of trees was such an evocative feature. I enjoyed it as much as Toad-henge.
It’s funny, I don’t remember many of the art pieces much at all. I was so focused on the design elements that I missed most of those. Of particular interest to me was their use of repetitive design elements, using the same plants (or at least plants with very similar textures) and repeating that theme throughout most of the garden. I think that really helped pull everything together into a cohesive whole that then made some of the more unusual plants stand out more in contrast. My favorite photo was of the little mushroom grove with the begonias and glass ribbon art. How could I have missed that!
Good points re: the design elements. It was a really nicely designed garden with good repetition of plants and color and beautifully chosen art to accent the plants. Plus amazing hardscaping.
I just kept hearing people say ‘Wow’! Everywhere I went ….’Wow’! This garden was like a curated installation, not a hair out of place! We were made feel very welcome and it was extraordinary to see what an artistic garden they have created with such a challenging canvas. Bravo!
I think I said a few “Wow”s myself, Avril. It was an impressive garden!