After leaving Heronswood, a public garden that was originally the private home garden of plantsman Dan Hinkley and architect Robert Jones, the Fling buses headed for Dan and Robert’s new garden, Windcliff, in Indianola. Because there were 100 of us on the Puget Sound Fling tour and the access was too narrow for big coach buses, we had to take turns shuttling over. My group was dropped off first at the home of Dan and Robert’s next-door neighbors, the Brindleys.

Any impatience I felt about having to wait to see Windcliff disappeared upon arrival at the Brindley Garden. A charming sign welcomed us. I wish more garden owners would do something like it. Having a photo of it was a helpful memory jog when sifting through hundreds of images post-tour.

The back garden sits high above Puget Sound with a gobsmacking view of the water, passing ships, and downtown Seattle. With a view like that, I might feel paralyzed about what kind of garden to make. Do you choose to obscure and reveal views or keep plantings low and unobtrusive? Do you let loose with color and bold form or let the water view do all the talking?

Happily for the Brindleys, talented gardeners live right next door. With their advice, a garden design by Robert, and a planting design by Shayne Chandler, the Brindleys opted for lots of flower color, upright shrubs for framing, masses of wavy grasses, and sculptural focal points. The expanse of water is veiled here and there by grasses and red hot poker.

A colorful glass-and-steel sculpture anchors the center of the garden, drawing the eye.

Gaura was in full flower during our mid-July visit.

A leafy metal-and-glass birdbath adds a sculptural element.

Gaura

The garden overlooks Puget Sound and its shipping traffic. Downtown Seattle’s skyscrapers poke up in the distance.

Red hot poker and crocosmia blaze against the blues of water, hills, and sky.

Crocosmia and red hot poker

Glass garden art appears throughout Seattle-area gardens, influenced, no doubt, by native-son glass artist Dale Chihuly.

Reds and greens

An aubergine hollyhock

Inula’s fringe-petaled flowers

A tumble of apricot roses

Penstemon — so pretty with tubular red flowers, black stems, and silvery leaves.

Feathery restio

Grasses and that striking glass sculpture. Is it kinetic? I think so, and of course so are grasses.

A long view reveals Flingers exploring the garden, plus a sweep of eryngium and lavender around a yucca.

Spiny eryngium, one of my faves

Fragrant lavender and eryngium, a great combo and color echo

Lavender and yucca

A silvery something with a gold-edged yucca

Graceful angel’s fishing rod

Crocosmia and steps to an elevated back deck

A closer look at that fiery crocosmia

A wide boardwalk bridges a drainage swale that runs through the garden.

Jewel-like dahlias

Agaves and a yucca cling to a dry, rocky berm on one side of the garden.

Red bee balm harmonizes with burgundy leaves.

A bee gathers pollen from a partially petaled flower.

In the front garden, under towering trees, a rebar gazebo offers a destination among dahlias and hollyhocks.

Rustically charming

We took our group photo at the Brindley garden — most of us, anyway. I think a few people were still soaking up the Hinkley garden next door. What a fine group of people! Who are the Flingers, you might be wondering? They are gardeners with a public social media outlet where they share about plants and gardening — cultivators of the earth and the online gardening community. Our group this year included garden bloggers, authors, photographers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, TikTokers, and podcasters from 24 states plus Washington, D.C.; Canada; and the UK.

While waiting for our shuttle to the garden, I took a few people pics. This is Pilar Hernandez, formerly of Houston but now living in Washington.

Anneliese Valdes of CobraHead has been Flinging since the very first year in Austin in 2008. Kevin Gepford is part of the duo behind The Fuchsietum.

This happy trio — John Simi, Kim Halyak, and Sharron Johnson — are the organizers of next year’s Fling. It’ll be held June 5-8, 2025, in Memphis, Tennessee. I’m already looking forward to exploring Memphis gardens with them! Follow the Fling blog, Facebook, and Instagram to keep up with news and updates.

Up next: Windcliff (part 1), the garden of plantsman Dan Hinkley. For a look back at Heronswood’s woodland garden and Renaissance Garden, click here.

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Digging Deeper

Explore the world of succulents and cacti at the Austin Cactus and Succulent Society’s Fall Sale on 8/31 and 9/1, from 10 am to 5 pm. Held at the Austin Area Garden Center in Zilker Botanical Garden, it includes a plant show with specimen cacti and succulents, handcrafted pottery, daily silent auction and hourly plant raffles, and expert advice. Entry included with the cost of admission at Zilker Botanical Garden: Adults $6 to $8, Seniors $5 to $7, Youths $3 to $4, Children under 2 free.

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

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