I wondered what to say about one of my favorite gardens on the Fling tour, the Grey Garden. The
garden's home, built 1999, loomed high above the road. We de-bussed
and walked up a steep stairway. On one side was a driveway, on the
other, a rocky steep slope, beautifully planted.
Didn't get great photos of the front slope. Sorry.
Note the sleeping baby elephant sculptures at the base of the planter:
As it was the last garden of the first day, I was very tired. My new knee was holding up, but major surgery takes a lot out of a person for some months. The day previous, I'd quickly skimmed the description of the Gray garden but forgot the details, except "colorful fiberglass panels". Hmm. Sounded a little...non-plant oriented, like it was going to be a garden full of stuff instead of plants.
At the top of the stairway, aside the home, was a patio.
A very spiffy patio!
With a nifty fountain:
I was puzzled. "That's it? That bit by the stairway? That's the garden? Nice rocks, fine plants, great design, but that's all?" I parked myself on the spiffy sofa while everyone else lined up for wine.
Someone else's beverages. I craved a diet cola.
As the line dwindled I realized more garden had been hidden by all those people. A whole lot more. With lots and lots of perfectly grown, pristine plants: ferns and Hostas and more ferns and more Hostas and Brunnera, Hakone grass and Rhododendrons, Japanese Maples and a weeping Willow and a Birch grove, all embroidered together by stones, flowing down a steep hillside.
The size of the people in the next photo gives you an idea of how vast this back garden was.That's the birch grove:
Yeah. Beautiful plants everywhere.
The much talked-about feature called 'Toadhenge' (upper right), constructed from slabs of rock already on the property:
Chartreuse plants like Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' and chartreuse and black stone and ceramics created the main color scheme.
Small art objects scattered unobstrusively throughout pristine plants:
Feet show the scale of Gunnera foliage:
The property next door with it's old, more modest home was a contrast with the garden we visited. Puget sound is the water beyond:
Plants flowed down the hill through the rocks like water:
White frosted Brunnera and a silvery Hebe(?) add contrast to all the rich variety of green shades. In the upper right of this photo, to the right of the Brunnera, was the only plant I found that looked damaged in any way:
The construction of of this garden involved geological investigation, structural engineering, and skilled construction to secure the steep hillside in place.
In addition the plant selection and maintenance were superb.
Small touches of color only besides the main trio of black/grays, chartreuse, and greens.The lower patio, which was at the base of the slope, behind the home, had a pond.
Rock face, literally!
A stairway I could not ascend. There was much I could not access. Standing on the lower patio you felt as you could see the entire panorama of rocky hillside and flowing foliage, but there was more, with paths up and around "Toadhenge". Hidden places to explore, a delight in any garden.
This visitor appeared to be looking in stunned awe, or maybe that was just what I was feeling:
Nice trunk:
Ah, finally! There are the fiberglass panels. Someone commented, I thought, the panels were currently were a placeholder for some future project:
The willow:
I was awed and thrilled by this garden. It was of course a big-budget luxury--the engineering and construction to reinforce a steep water-weeping hillside in a rainy climate is hugely expensive, but it could not have been more beautiful or more natural in appearance. I very much admired the discipline in plant selection, so different from my own experimental mish-mash.
Not everyone loved it as much, which surprised me. I missed comments as to why--the hands of professionals too much in evidence? But the plants were so beautiful. The whole thing was beautiful. An achievement of many different people and much work.
Reading your post, I have to rethink my feelings on this garden. You've nailed it with - it felt very professional. Bought, not hands on. I think it was beautiful, but for me didn't give me warm feelings of someone loving being out there creating their own mish-mash magical garden. Now, would I airbnb this place, ABSOLUTELY! lol, oh and I can admit to even a tinge of jealousy- having the money to acquire a toadhenge, or simply ALL OF THAT GORGEOUS rock would be fabulous. You are right, it is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is a different kind of love--love of beauty that someone else has created. Art collectors loving art. And of course the plants create beauty themselves--no matter who plants them. I thought a good amount of the rock was already there? The river rock of course looked like it was brought in.
DeleteIt's an interesting garden and your photos are incredible! I'd never want a garden like this for myself, but wow, it's impressive for touring and it's beautiful in its own way. I love the little art element touches here and there. And the rock walls and walkways...I love those, and could see incorporating more of that type of thing in my own garden. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteAll the rock was a major feature in and of itself--that was one of the (many) cool things. In a way it was a giant all encompassing rock garden, with moisture loving woodland plants instead of dainty alpines.
DeleteHa! My first reaction when I reached the top of the stairs was also a degree of disappointment as I initially assumed that the patio set-up was all there was. (I'd inadvertently destroyed my guide to the gardens when my fizzy water spilled all over it, leaving me with nothing to set my expectations upon arrival.) Still, like Tracy, while I loved a lot of the plant mixes - and Toadhenge - it felt very "done" to me. Acknowledging that art in a garden is a very personal thing, the sheer volume of all the little touches also distracted from rather than embellished the garden in my eyes. In addition I gave in to my still unfixed knee and never climbed up to the higher areas of the garden so it's entirely likely that I missed a lot.
ReplyDeleteI sort of ignored all the little object--not the large sculptures obviously installed, but the little things like a "live laugh love" cut into a river rock--those that seemed to me very out-of-place. You had photos of some in your post as I remember. I assumed many were gifts from loved ones, friends, family--just the impression I got because of the stylistic mismatches in a very stylish garden.
DeleteI was amazed and a bit puzzled about how every single plant, except the one I spotted, looked absolutely perfect, flawless. How the heck did they manage that?!?
Wow! this garden is stunning. All that rock. It's eclectic and a bit quirky. Lots of beautiful foliage. I am with you in thinking this is a fantastic garden. Very different than a lot of the others. It's fun to see a garden's personality show.
ReplyDeleteThe rock, yes, and all the plants so crazy pristine and healthy! And the size of the place. Amazement after amazement.
Delete"Big-budget luxury" indeed. Gorgeous, beautifully done, WAY out of my league. I can easily see it featured in a home and garden magazine. I grow many of the same plants, (which reminds me, I need to transplant my Brunera seedlings...) though on a (much!) more humble scale.
ReplyDeleteChavli
I think it was a loved garden, though. Even though the owners may or may not garden much, they obviously loved creative beauty. Yeah, way out of my league too. The pristine condition of the plants was also an amazement. Brunnera, sigh. Such a beautiful plant. Too hot and low humidity dry for it here.
DeleteI was nodding my head to what both tz and Kris had to say. It was a beautiful outdoor space for entertaining. A showroom. I love that people with the money to do so had such a thing created, and invited us to visit. I've been mulling over what I want to write about this space. Thank you for adding your thoughts to the voices in my head.
ReplyDeleteThe owners seem to be art collectors. A love of beauty that extends to living plants, stone, water--that goes beyond mere objects--now that's a good thing, I think.
DeleteAll that rock, geoengineering the slope, for us homegrown gardeners, signaled a high degree of professionalism involved. To some that alone might be off-putting because unattainable. However...I was observing a Bay Area garden designer as she encountered the garden, and she said something like "Now you're talking!" or "This is my kind of garden!" Can't remember exact words but wholly enthusiastic. I think the fiberglass panels were my favorite! And the planting was flawless. It felt more like a public garden than a private garden to me, something that a high-end hotel might do.
ReplyDeleteThe quality (and size!) of almost all the Fling gardens this year was waaaay up there. Felt like woodland paradise.
DeleteWould love to have visited this garden. The rocks and the sculpture, texture of plants are awe-inspiring.
ReplyDeleteIt was beyond amazing. I'm still amazed thinking over the visit.
DeleteI want to say this was the most surprising garden on the Fling, hidden behind the stairs and the wine line (like you, I'm more of a diet soda gal). But maybe that honor goes to the Livingston Garden, with its plunging hillside garden and swinging bridge. No matter. This one was astonishing and amazing. I loved it too and explored every nook and cranny, or so I thought. I missed the rock face and sleeping elephants. What a sophisticated yet playful garden it is, with lovely, hospitable owners!
ReplyDeleteFun to read different accounts of all the gardens--I missed a lot with my knee not 100% yet. And we all paid attention to different features. I thought of the contrast of one aspect between the Livingston Garden and the Gray Garden--when the slope behind the home goes up, you have a view of, or you think you have a view of, the whole slope from your home or like they had, from their lower deck. Like a theatrical set. For the Livingston, it would be a trek. I was not able to go down to the bottom of the Livingston Garden--could you see the whole thing from there?
DeleteYes, lovely kind owners, and eye-dazzling, awesome garden. Brilliant engineering, too.
No, at the bottom of the Livingston Garden you are surrounded by vegetation and trees, with no theatrical view of the whole panorama. But with lots of hidden-garden and hidden-patio discoveries.
DeleteSince I didn't see the gardens, it is fascinating to read different blogger's views. I imagine this one as a stage set for an outdoor performance. Midsummer Night's Dream ?
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed theatrical--like an IMAX movie screen--you had this huge, towering image of beauty to sit and look at from the lower deck seating area--even better because there were areas hidden behind some of the plantings--you thought you could see it all, but there was more!
DeleteEven though I saw the garden myself it was fun and fascinating to read what other people saw.
It was masterfully crafted. Upon further reflection, this type of tropical ebullience is what I imagine when I read about plant explorers making their way through a jungle. Despite how temporarily disillusioned I felt in the moment, it was indeed a beautiful garden that had a lot to teach me. I appreciated the contrast with the other types of gardens that people designed and now I am wondering what the Bay area holds given what Denise said. You have my favorite photo of the Gray Garden from all the blogs - the giant, pock-marked maple trunk. Gorgeous. I am glad they left it.
ReplyDeleteBeing from a dry climate, I loved that feeling of--not brown and dry. Thanks for the ID on that tree--I thought it was a maple, but wasn't sure. Here there would be an oak woodpecker nest in each of those gaps.
DeleteI did have a "why do I bother gardening I could never do this" feeling off and on in some of the gardens, but when I get out in mine and have fun playing in the dirt, the superior beauty of other gardens doesn't seem to matter.
I honestly still don't know what to think of this garden. I didn't love it - it felt stiff and artificial - but I certainly have been thinking about it a lot. I relate much better to gardens that bear the personal imprint of the gardener.
ReplyDeleteThe concepts of "landscape garden" or "land art" feels applicable. Seeing it as "landscape", to be viewed as a cohesive whole, a la Capability Brown, or even "land art" e.g. De Maria's The Lightning Field, Maya Lin's The Wave Field, etc. rather than "garden" a gardener's personal assemblage of vignettes and choice plants.
DeleteI get around to reading my favorite blogs a little less often than I would like these days. Better late than never? I loved this garden. I thought it was beautiful and magnificent, and I like the sculpture I saw in your pictures -- toadhenge and the woman's face near the water. Placing sculpure in the garden, and making it into an oh! experience is a skill that eludes me. When I try, it just looks cheesey. This garden is not a one-woman or even one-couple maintained kind of garden; this garden seems like it has a crew of professional gardeners working on it on a regular basis, and they are ruthless in what stays and what goes. And yet I like it. I can imagine strolling through it early in the morning or at dusk, and the feeling of peace it would bring and the delicious smell of green and earth and water. But it is not my garden or yours. I tend to my little itty-bitty postage-stamp-size garden myself. I delight in my orange and lemon trees, my roses and lavender, and my pots of herbs. They bring me the same contentment that I imagine walking through this statement garden brings. To me, that's all that matters. Each of gardens in our own ways (all the commenters here have very different kinds of gardens), but I believe we all receive the same level of joy from our toil, each in our own way. We cannot not garden. It brings us just a bit closer to God.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
I haven't been garden blogging much, distracted or taken up with other stuff mostly actual gardening but also some home maintenance and also just avoiding the internet. The "news" once informative and educational apparently now makes me want to panic, it's terrifying, deeply depressing.
DeleteI always always feel better being out in my garden, not so fabulous as the Gray Garden of course but such a profound comfort and connection to a greater world, just as you say, and say more eloquently and beautifully than I can at near four AM, awake from fear and anxiety. I'll be out in the garden when the sun is up, where everything makes more sense.