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Magnolia
Finding their home and garden was pure serendipity, says sculptor and architect Louise Durocher. While searching for a larger condominium in downtown Seattle, she and Michael Nelson fell in love with and bought a 3,600-square-foot home built in 1902 on the west side of Queen Anne. After renovating the home’s interiors, they turned to the garden. Once obscured by a dense laurel hedge, the now-transformed garden comprises an inviting series of stone terraces; an elevated koi pond; lush, foliage-strong plantings; and an original brick outdoor fireplace. With the perspective of an architect and the spirit of an artist, Louise sat in several areas of the garden to evaluate its various perspectives, and to see how the light changed each season and throughout the day. She has divided the garden into various rooms for entertaining, dining, and contemplation. A highlight of the garden is one of her sculptures: ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ a pair of abstract figures fabricated from sheet metal and rebar. The pieces fit beautifully beneath the canopy of a magnolia tree original to the property. Features: Outdoor sculpture by Louise Durocher, musical performances Queen Anne He’s a landscape architect with an affinity for hardscaping and special design. She’s a horticulturist who loves color and texture. Tim and Kathy King blend their talents in a 30-by-90-foot Queen Anne lot that makes maximum use of every square inch. The couple has turned their tiny backyard into an elegant, Asian-inspired destination where relaxation and social pursuits are equally welcome. A bamboo hedge screens the garden from a neighboring property and serves as a backdrop to a nearby gazebo — the backyard focal point. With a cantilevered roof, the structure provides shelter from the elements and a sense of enclosure for intimate gatherings. “It has the feeling that the roof is just floating,” Tim explains. Changes in grade have resulted in details like a sunken patio, which define room-like spaces. Kathy has designed containers and planting beds with foliage-interest perennials and shrubs. “I want it to look lovely more than I want to work hard,” she admits. An award-winning container designer, Kathy will demonstrate ideas for creating your own exciting potted gardens during the tour. Her specialty is creating containers with four-season interest. Features: Container design demonstration
Star and John’s original home was a tiny two-bedroom, one-bathroom 1920s bungalow. In 2001-2002, John, an architect, expanded the living space to four bedrooms and three bathrooms, ideal for a family of four. Yet the 3,200-square-foot lot didn’t change! Star and John invited neighbor and garden designer Virginia Hand to help them create a kid- and parent-friendly garden. Working within a concrete staircase and framework that was part of the home renovation, Virginia’s design program addressed the Roberts-Gish family’s desire for a sunny play area, low-maintenance features, and space for gardening. Star and Virginia collaborated on plantings, treating the whole garden as a “container” for an ever-changing list of favorite plants. Orange and magenta appear in Helianthemum, Diascia, canna, ice plant, and Agastache rupestris. Large Vietnamese pots, basalt columns, concrete cylinders, and piles of rocks collected on family trips to the Oregon coast serve as ornamental focal points. “I wanted the garden to have a somewhat edgy, eclectic feel to it and lend itself to my continual need to garden in the ‘zone of denial,’” Star jokes. Adds designer Virginia: “We’ve created various soil cultures in the planter areas, which is why a canna can be five feet away from the eucalyptus!” Features: Musical performances
Partners in Langstraat-Wood Landscape Architecture-Design Build, Carina Langstraat and Erik Wood have brought their signature style to the Queen Anne landscape surrounding their 1910 salt-box, colonial-style home. The couple is known for effortlessly pairing timeless European landscape ideas with a casual, uniquely Northwest attitude. Design elements include clipped hedges, strong geometry, and fresh planting combinations. Carina and Erik designed an entry garden along 10th Avenue West that allows them both privacy and a chance to chat with neighbors. A hornbeam hedge (Carpinus betulus fastigiata) gives a sense of enclosure, allowing light to penetrate during the winter and providing shade during summer months. A reclaimed iron gate provides glimpses into and out of their courtyard-style garden. Other noteworthy plants include Magnolia virginiana, a bay tree (Laurus nobilis), and olive trees (Olea Europea). Boxwood appears as “land sculpture” in the front garden and “portable sculpture” in the rear garden, where it is planted in containers. The backyard, enjoyed from above, features a perfect-circle lawn and swaths of lavender. You can see more of their work at www.langstraatwood.com. Magnolia Thanks to the natural topography of this Magnolia landscape, visitors ascend several steps from the sidewalk, follow a pathway around the 1940s ranch-style home, and emerge into a welcoming, naturalistic landscape that delights and surprises. The focal point of Doug and Lois Pendleton’s garden is a life-sized waterfall that tumbles from an upper corner of the backyard as if its source were in the distant Cascade Mountain range. Taking advantage of the steep lot, the spilling water culminates with a peaceful pool of water just below the viewing platform that also serves as a respite after a day of gardening. The garden is landscaped with an eclectic palette of Northwest natives, mature fruit trees that have been on the property for years, a brilliant coral bark maple, and a giant gunnera that has survived winter temperatures. Adding embellishment are found objects and Lois's ornamental art. “I love creating two-dimensional mixed-media collages, and this garden is like a giant, three-dimensional collage,” Lois says. “I keep moving plants and pots around until they feel right.” Lois, who has an extensive background in garden show production and promotion, will demonstrate her favorite container design ideas during the tour. She will focus on the diversity of container options highlighting foliage-interest designs with a splash of color. Features: Container design demonstrations (1 and 3 p.m.) Magnolia Margaret and Chuck Flaherty will wow you with their imaginative interpretation of “hanging gardens” at the Magnolia Garden Center. You’re invited to browse the garden center’s vast collection of design ideas to spark your own creativity — styles will range from contemporary to fanciful, large to small. You’ll see window boxes and wall planters, and discover new ideas for hanging baskets and living wreaths. You’ll find seasonal design schemes for sun and shade, and enjoy mixed containers and designs featuring single plant specimens. While at Magnolia Gardens, you can also pick up container recipes and instructions on how to create a living wreath; shop for unusual containers, hangers, beautiful plants, soil, fertilizers and amendments; and, as an added bonus, take home a sample of the new cornstarch-based super-absorbent granule Zeba Quench™, and reduce the watering of your containers and garden. Features: Refreshments — cool lemonade and sweet treats
Located one block away from the bustling Magnolia shopping district, Shirley Clemans’ modest 1940s house features all the amenities she desired, including comfortable interiors. The avid gardener and retired school administrator tapped Magnolia landscape designer Jennifer Carlson, whose own garden was a highlight of last year’s tour, to create a livable environment in her spacious back yard. Carlson’s “master plan” incorporates many of the property’s older shrubs and a pair of majestic Douglas firs into an English cottage garden with a woodland theme. Replacing the old driveway is a curvilinear drive of paving stones that bends gracefully around the trees. A cedar entrance arbor spans the drive to frame this restful retreat. A private sunken patio leads to new French doors on the home’s lower level, providing a vantage point for enjoying the sunny meadow of mixed thyme, heathers, and crocus. New cottage-style plantings were selected to attract birds, bees and butterflies. A flagstone path winds through the berry garden and ends in the sunny herb garden. A potting bench and English-style screen are set in an alcove for tending the garden’s many pots.
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Copyright © 2006 Seattle Pacific University. General Information: (206) 281-2000 3307 Third Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119-1997, U.S.A. |