Last July I had the opportunity to visit the garden of Nancy Goldman, which goes by the name Nancyland. The name is sort of an homage, I believe, to her full on embrace of all that makes her happy. If you live in Portland and are part of the gardening/plant loving community your life has no doubt been made richer by the volunteer work of this lady.
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This was actually the second time I’ve been to her garden, the first was in the dead of winter and I only spied things from the sidewalk. A photo from that post, of the garden's hellstrip pebble mosaic (of which this is just a tiny sample), has become one of the most frequently "pinned" (on Pinterest) photos from my 1500+ blog posts, I believe it is the work of Jeffrey Bale.
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Forget the pebbles I was more enchanted by the echium...
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And this is the first garden where I've seen Dianthus 'green ball' growing. A darling of the cut-flower industry it hasn't really taken hold in the gardening world.
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The tiny strip between house and driveway has been well planted. Some might say over-planted (and that's why I love it)...
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Heading into the back garden...
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And this catches my eye and takes me back to 2011 and my visit to Lorene Edwards Forkner's garden in West Seattle. Her book Handmade Garden Projects has detailed instructions on creating these imaginative works of art.
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Stepping into the garden I am immediately at home, all those containers!
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But that "contained" space opens up on a much larger landscape...
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Before we explore just look at all those layers! How many different plants do you count? (8? Maybe?)
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"My garden kicks ass" (or so I was told)...
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More Bale artwork? One would think...
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All the cool gardeners have a schefflera.
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In the "deep forest"...
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Yep, more of the metal work from Lorene.
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Rebar and branches, hard to tell apart.
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Those pebble mosaics are everywhere!
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A shoe rack and planted shoes on the raised deck, Nancy is known for those shoes...
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Glancing around the deck before...
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Descending into the front garden...
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Metapanax delavayi I believe.
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Our front doors are an extremely similar green, maybe even exactly the same shade...
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Compare this growth to when I first discovered this garden in late December.
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The curved metal backdrop was so much more visable then.
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Twisty Baby Locust (I think - it seems a bit large but has the right leaves) is a huge feature in the front garden.
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And at the sidewalk level the poetry box stops passers-by.
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As, of course, does the hellstrip mosaic...
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House? What house?
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All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
This was actually the second time I’ve been to her garden, the first was in the dead of winter and I only spied things from the sidewalk. A photo from that post, of the garden's hellstrip pebble mosaic (of which this is just a tiny sample), has become one of the most frequently "pinned" (on Pinterest) photos from my 1500+ blog posts, I believe it is the work of Jeffrey Bale.
Forget the pebbles I was more enchanted by the echium...
And this is the first garden where I've seen Dianthus 'green ball' growing. A darling of the cut-flower industry it hasn't really taken hold in the gardening world.
The tiny strip between house and driveway has been well planted. Some might say over-planted (and that's why I love it)...
Heading into the back garden...
And this catches my eye and takes me back to 2011 and my visit to Lorene Edwards Forkner's garden in West Seattle. Her book Handmade Garden Projects has detailed instructions on creating these imaginative works of art.
Stepping into the garden I am immediately at home, all those containers!
But that "contained" space opens up on a much larger landscape...
Before we explore just look at all those layers! How many different plants do you count? (8? Maybe?)
"My garden kicks ass" (or so I was told)...
More Bale artwork? One would think...
All the cool gardeners have a schefflera.
In the "deep forest"...
Yep, more of the metal work from Lorene.
Rebar and branches, hard to tell apart.
Those pebble mosaics are everywhere!
A shoe rack and planted shoes on the raised deck, Nancy is known for those shoes...
Glancing around the deck before...
Descending into the front garden...
Metapanax delavayi I believe.
Our front doors are an extremely similar green, maybe even exactly the same shade...
Compare this growth to when I first discovered this garden in late December.
The curved metal backdrop was so much more visable then.
Twisty Baby Locust (I think - it seems a bit large but has the right leaves) is a huge feature in the front garden.
And at the sidewalk level the poetry box stops passers-by.
As, of course, does the hellstrip mosaic...
House? What house?
All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.