Part 2, A mother & son's garden in Oakland.

20 Aug '07 4:53 pm

See the last entry for the written description and the first 20 photos.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Fred and Sherry have a plant sale once a year. Yesterday I bought a few things I can use near my puddle - I mean - pond. (I did walk away with some major pond envy, but I'll recover.) Soon I hope to have pictures for my Diary forum of them planted around my pond. Thanks for coming and please come again.

PS: Oh, and if any of you ever do get out to the San Francisco bay area, Fred says I can bring friends up any time.

20 Aug '07 7:58 pm

Great garden, I love the pics. We here at Mooseys all have different garden styles but when I look at these pics I can see a similarity to your own garden. Do I sense a bit of envy there. From what I have seen from your beautiful garden pics there really is no need. Im sure your new 'puddle'/ pond will look magnificent with your new treasures planted.
If I ever manage to get to the San Francisco Bay area I would love to visit Fred & Sherrys Garden with you. Thank you for the thought.

21 Aug '07 7:41 am

Count me in too!Just a wish really-your photos and description are very inspiring.We are allowed to be envious because it is envy in the nicest possible way !
Dixie.

21 Aug '07 3:21 pm

I hadn't thought of being envious in the nicest way possible. That I can live with. If I did have a crew and deep pockets it would be tougher in a way, because then my choices would have to be comprehensive rather than just opportunistic and quirky like they are now. Maybe I'm in the right league afterall.

23 Aug '07 1:45 am

What a delightful garden tour! Just lovely seeing other peoples' garden and dream! Thanks for sharing, dear friend! Very Happy

23 Aug '07 5:54 am

Thanks for posting the photos of this very nice garden Mark. I agree with the others that it feels a lot like yours. That could be due to the fact that it is a very California style garden; however, I would wager that a lot of it is just the "Great minds think alike" factor. This garden does present some very interesting new ideas. I really like the different path and patio treatments they have done. Particularly nice is the path of square blocks of polished stones arranged in patterns.

23 Aug '07 4:23 pm

I think you're right, Faith. I think there are similarities between my garden and this other California garden that I like. I've been asked to what degree this style is prevalent here and I have to say I'm not sure. You see every style here really, asian, cottage, english rose, canna-banana (or tropicalismo), southwets or arid.

Mine is most indebted to the Harland Hand garden, which I've described eslewhere as "enhanced naturalistic with exotic fourishes". I know I like landscapes which feel plausibly natural, even if the plants come from all over the globe and even if the garden is also enhanced or paradise-like. I like gardens which have enough height to enfold you within 'rooms' and block your view from other 'rooms', and I like gardens in which there are a lot of contrasts between plant textures and colors.

Now what out of all that is 'California style', I'm not sure. Kind of murky distinctions, but I agree that what I like so much about the Fred and Sherry garden is what I'm drawn to create in my own garden, albeit on a smaller scale.

24 Aug '07 7:16 am

Yes, Mark, that is a rather non-descript kind of classification. This garden and yours are very reminiscent of many gardens that I have admired in my visits to California, so that is why I tend to "see" that as a style. I remember Mary commenting that my garden was a very "Southern" garden, which surprised me. I don't think of it that way, but I suppose that because of the combinations of grasses and other perenniels, it could be viewed that way by some. I actually don't think of my garden as having any "style" at all; rather just a collection of plants that I love and that do well in the situation I have to offer them. Not all plants will survive, nor thrive in my garden.

24 Aug '07 3:53 pm

"I actually don't think of my garden as having any "style" at all; rather just a collection of plants that I love and that do well in the situation I have to offer them. Not all plants will survive, nor thrive in my garden."

Of course there is something about how we place them and so forth that all put together amounts to our style I suppose. I don't doubt that you are correct that there is something in common among many gardens in an area like here in California. I think those of us who live in an area are probably least able to recognize it just because we are so surrounded by it and take it for granted.

From my outside perspective I can tell you that some areas of your garden strike me as rather elegant and formal. I'm thinking of the rose berms, the hanging bench area and the meditation garden in particular. But then you also have your 'butterfly fields' which are more wild and natural, more like a meadow garden. There is a saying I like a good deal, it might have been Emerson? which goes "A foolish consistancy is the hob goblin of small minds." I say bully for you for indulging your desire for all your garden styles. It bothers my stepson that I have my dry island bed surrounded on one side by the 'woodlandesque' look of the birches with the ferns, hellebores and bluebells beneigh them, while directly across the new pond from it is a jungle feeling area with big leaves, and on the other side of the center arch from the dry bed is the one I water the most full of roses and all manner of blooms and lush growth. Eh, what are you gonna do?

One plant which does so well for you but would certainly not thrive for me is your favorite rose. Judging from the number of petals it would have a hard time opening them all in our foggy morning weather.

Part 2, A mother & son's garden in Oakland.

Part 2, A mother & son's garden in Oakland.

A garden in Oakland

visiting

Me too.

Very California Garden

California Style

Your description of your garden fits my garden also.